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| Photo: rookie Devon in action. Credit: The Seattle Times |
Devon Witherspoon is undoubtedly back to full strength after being hindered by a hamstring ailment at the beginning of his first season.
The Seattle Seahawks’ 24-3 thrashing of the New York Giants on Monday night featured a 97-yard touchdown return by the No. 5 overall pick in 2023 off his first career interception.
Witherspoon’s individual performances shone on a stellar night for the Seahawks defense as a whole, and so did his head coach.
“I never thought he wouldn’t play like this,” said Seattle head coach Pete Carroll on Witherspoon, who became the first rookie since Nick Bosa in 2019 to record two or more sacks and an interception in a game, per NFL Research. “This is the why we took him. To be active and to show that he gets this game of football, and it comes easy to him. He’s an explosive, dynamic player. We got to put him at nickel for the first time. This was a process, getting him back out there. We didn’t have enough time, we thought, to have him ready, although he’s been working at it the whole time. He did a great job tonight, and you can see why we like him there.”
Witherspoon contributed seven tackles, two of the Seahawks’ franchise-tying 11 sacks, four quarterback pressures, and a plethora of other stats to the game. The pick-six, which ended a Giants drive at the Seahawks’ 5-yard line and nearly reduced the score to one possession, had the biggest impact on the game. Instead, Witherspoon raced 97 yards in the opposite direction to secure a rout in prime time.
According to Next Gen Stats, Witherspoon sped up to 20.25 mph on the return as he sped across the field in search of the payoff. He was accompanied by two teammates, Tariq Woolen and Julian Love, who, according to Next Gen, reached the quickest speed on a play from scrimmage this season while blocking at 22.25 mph.
“Really it was just, don’t get caught,” Witherspoon said of what was going through his head. “Really mad at Riq and J. Love (Julian Love) because they made me look slow. They kind of walked me down, made me look slow. But shout out to them. I was just trying to get to the box, man. That was an incredible moment for me. First career pick is a pick-six on Monday Night Football. It don’t get no better.”