Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks continues to wow

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald describes the standard his players are expected to meet on the field in two words: “Shocking performance.”

On Thursday night, standout cornerback Devon Witherspoon was once again the embodiment of that ideal.

“Hungry” Seahawks outlast the Bears with a seven-sack rush

Witherspoon put his electrifying playmaking skills on full display, making three spectacular tackles for loss in the Seahawks’ stunning 6-3 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The versatile second-year cornerback also had a sack and tied for the team lead with six tackles, helping Seattle limit the Bears to just 179 total yards.

It was another reminder of the immense talent and relentless drive that made the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Witherspoon the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“He played crazy,” Bob Stelton said Friday on Seattle Sports’ “Wyman and Bob.” “I maintain that he is better at his position than anyone else on the team. … The best player on this team, in my opinion, is Devon Witherspoon for the second year in a row. He’s incredible.”

Witherspoon’s big night began late in the first quarter with a halfback throw to Bears running back D’Andre Swift. Witherspoon lined up in the slot, immediately recognized the play and fired into the backfield. Using his blistering speed, he raced past a block from former UW Huskies wide receiver Rome Odunze and beat Swift for a 7-yard loss.

Early in the second quarter, Witherspoon was in the slot again when he sensed a swing pass to wide receiver DJ Moore. Witherspoon stormed into the backfield, fought through a block from 211-pound wideout Keenan Allen and tripped Moore, resulting in a 3-yard loss.

Witherspoon’s most impressive play may have come in the third quarter. When Witherspoon was back in line, he initially went into coverage before recognizing a screen pass to Swift. After taking a few steps back, Witherspoon turned on the jets, closed the gap with blinding speed and delivered a hard hit that knocked Swift to the ground and resulted in a loss of 1 yard.

Witherspoon was also blamed for a sack on the first snap of the second half when he chased quarterback Caleb Williams out of bounds for no gain.

“He does things that no one else can do,” Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman said Friday on Seattle Sports’ “Wyman and Bob.” “He’s just everywhere on the field. He goes under, he goes beyond, he goes through people. …And for a guy who’s just not that big, it’s amazing what he does on the field.

“When I coached in high school,” Wyman added, “I always told (my players), ‘It’s an emergency.’ “If the ball is snapped, it’s an emergency to get to the ball as quickly as possible.” And some people talk that, but they don’t actually do it. He does it. He does it on every play. He has one speed, and it’s at full speed.”

Full throttle, no brakes @DevonWitherspo1. pic.twitter.com/AO4t9pSPYo

– Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 28, 2024

Beyond the stat sheet

After a standout college career at Illinois, Witherspoon put together a sensational rookie campaign last year. Splitting time primarily between the nickel and outside corner spots, he made a splash all over the field with a pick-six, 16 pass breakups, three sacks, eight tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Witherspoon’s stats have been a little more modest this season. After Thursday night, he had seven pass breakups, one sack, six tackles for a loss and one forced fumble in 16 games.

But even if the traditional numbers weren’t as eye-catching, advanced metrics suggest Witherspoon is still playing at a very high level. He ranks 17th out of 119 cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus scoring, including third in run defense. He has eight total pressures, which ranks fifth among cornerbacks. He has 35 running stops, the most of any corner.

And he definitely stands out on tape. As he showed again on Thursday night, he is a rare chess piece who can attack and play anywhere on the field.

“Spoon is one of the best corners in the game right now,” Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus said on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday. “To the untrained eye, if you don’t get interceptions at corner, they see you as a failure. But when you see this guy…he runs through receivers and breaks screens. He’s like a torpedo outside the box at the nickel spot, just waiting to chase the quarterback.

“He brings things to the team that don’t show up in the statistics.”

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard echoed that sentiment to Brock and Salk of Seattle Sports on Friday.

“Pound for pound, Devon Witherspoon is the best defensive player in the NFL,” Huard said. “The guy weighs 180 pounds and brings the hammer. … He doesn’t have the bag numbers. He doesn’t have the mind-blowing stats. But he’s going to make the Pro Bowl because he plays with that ferocity.”

And that wildness is contagious. Star defensive lineman Leonard Williams said this Thursday night after recording two sacks, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits in his recent standout performance.

“He is always one of those players who stands out with his energy,” said Williams. “And today he really showed himself. He’s made some big TFLs and just flies around. I feed off his energy and I love it.”

Williams described it as energy. Huard called it savagery. Wyman likened it to playing like it was an emergency.

Macdonald called it a “shocking achievement.”

“We talk about shocking performance — he plays with shocking performance,” Macdonald said Friday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports. “When you turn on the tape you are shocked to see Spoon playing. When I’m on the field with him, how could I not take my game to the next level? How could I not play with that kind of energy? It’s simply impossible.

“When we talk about force multipliers, this is what we mean. You have a positive impact on everyone around you.”

Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation at this link or in the audio player at the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More about the Seattle Seahawks

• Bump: What Charbonnet and McIntosh bring to the Seattle Seahawks running game
• What the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Bears means for their playoff chances
• Observations on the Seattle Seahawks’ crushing 6-3 win over the Bears
• Rust: Understanding the Seattle Seahawks’ ugly win in a must-win game
• Immediate reaction: The Seattle Seahawks hold off the Bears and earn a win without a touchdown

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