When Derick Hall scooped up a fumble, caused by a Boye Mafe sack, and took off running for the end zone, there was Devon Witherspoon, flying into the picture to throw a block on an offensive lineman who outweighed the Seahawks cornerback by more than 100 pounds, helping pave the way for a Hall touchdown that helped Seattle to a win over the Falcons.

When Coby Bryant intercepted a Kyler Murray pass two weeks ago against the Cardinals, a turnover caused in large part by the play Witherspoon made to chase Arizona's quarterback and prevent him from running for a first down, there was Witherspoon, running past Bryant—after a quick stop to talk trash to Murray—throwing a block that took out two Cardinals players, again helping clear the way for a defensive touchdown.

And when Leonard Williams picked off Aaron Rodgers last week, a play made possible in part by Witherspoon showing pressure to bait the Jets quarterback into throwing a quick slant into the space Leonard dropped into, fooling Rodgers, well, you can probably guess what happened next—Witherspoon helped lead the charge to escort Williams into the end zone, though this time no block was required.

"He plays with his hair on fire," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "You talk about shocking effort, and if you want to shock people, watch 21 play. We talk about ball finding energy, and it kind of all comes together with Spoon. People want production and they want to be certain type of players, but if you don't do it every day, I don't see how you could have a reasonable expectation to be a great player. This guy brings it every single day, and does it every rep, and that's why he's a great player."

Ask any Seahawks coach or defensive plyer, and there is no doubt that Witherspoon has been having a fantastic second season in the NFL, even if his individual stats don't stack up to his Pro-Bowl rookie campaign. His 68 tackles, six passes defensed, one forced fumble and two tackles for loss are all solid numbers for a nickel corner, but they don't come close showing the way the man dubbed "Lil' Spoon" by former teammate Quandre Diggs is affecting games. Sometimes it's just lockdown coverage that prevents a pass from being thrown, and other times, it's the type of play he made against Arizona, which didn't show up in the stat sheet but led to a pick-six, and other times still it's just the sheer hustle and passion he bring on every down, and however Witherspoon is getting the job done on a particular play, there is no doubt that he has been a massive part of Seattle's defensive success even if he isn't producing gaudy statistics.

On Witherspoon's blocking for teammates on returns—he also had a nice block on Bills quarterback Josh Allen that nearly allowed Josh Jobe to score—defensive coordinator Aden Durde noted that trait is both a testament to Witherspoon's effort and also to his ability to take an point of emphasis from coaches to the field in game situations.

"That is obviously a credit to him (Devon Witherspoon), but it's also a credit to C.P. (Chris Partridge) and Les (Leslie Frazier)," Durde said. "They talk about the ball all the time and they talk about 'How can we become the best offense in the NFL once we catch the ball, once we pick up the ball?' And Spoon really takes that and runs with it—he literally runs with it—and he goes and attacks. Those kind of selfless acts, they build the defense and they build the identity."

A week earlier, Durde raved about the play Witherspoon made to set up Bryant's pick-six, from the way he crashed down to stop what looked like a fourth-and-one handoff, to how he recognized the play fake, spun around, chased Murray and pressured him into a bad throw, then found time to work in a little bit of taunting—twice—while still throwing a key block.

"It just embodies spoon, doesn't it?" Durde said. "He goes one way, then he reacts to a play, uses his football IQ that is off the chain, then he talks crap to someone, then he realizes, then he runs off and then he goes and throws a block, then talks crap to someone. It's just him. He's a ball of energy and he's so smart, he's a leader of our defense, and I just respect the hell out of him."

To Witherspoon, there isn't anything special about giving that type of effort on an every-down basis, that's just how he's wired to play the game.

"I just try to be a good teammate. I always tell them, I got your six out here, I got your back," he said. "I'm going to ride for my teammates, that's just the kind of player I am. That's just always been me, and it's always going to be me.

"I'm just passionate about what I do, and that's how I express it when I go out there and play. So I just go try to play hard every day so my teammates know they can depend on me. That's really all it is."