In the second quarter of Sunday's game at the New York Jets, the Seahawks were down 21-7, and the Jets were driving for another score, deep in the Seahawks' territory. It seemed like a significant early deficit might grow larger.

Watching from the sidelines, though, DK Metcalf knew that the defense would not concede anything easily and could ignite a turnaround at any point. One single play could alter the momentum of the game.

"I think we just had the don't blink mentality to where there's always the next play no matter what happens, positive or negative. We're always going to move on and continue to have each other's backs," Metcalf said.

On the field, with 7:39 left in the second quarter, the Jets had moved the ball to the Seahawks' nine-yard line. Julian Love still had the same thought process that Metcalf referred to as the defense readied to make a crucial second quarter stand.

"The mentality was, just don't flinch. Just keep playing ball," Love said.

And then the game flipped on one magnificent and eye-popping play that will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable defensive plays in Seahawks franchise history, Leonard Williams tipped an Aaron Rodgers pass to himself, and raced 92 yards for a TD that totally altered the outlook of a game that the Seahawks needed to win to stay atop of the NFC West.

Love and others in the postgame locker room proudly used the same terminology to describe the pivotal moment that turned the game around, and fully set the tone for a 26-21 victory.

"It's just resiliency," Love said. "We just wanted to be a catalyst for our team because we needed it in that moment."

Devon Witherspoon was racing alongside Williams on the interception return and knew that before his teammate reached the end zone, he had to stay focused to potentially clear a path for him.

"I'm trying to get out there and block, man. That's all my reaction was, try to block so he can get home," Witherspoon said.

Williams actually did not need to have anyone deliver any key blocks for him, as he simply kept on motoring untouched to score the longest pick-six by a defensive lineman in NFL history, per ESPN Research.

Dre'Mont Jones was running behind Williams, and as his teammate was zooming to the end zone, he found himself caught up in gleeful emotion, and joyfully sifted through various descriptors of his thoughts during the play, "Oh s---t. Holy crap. Oh My God. I can't believe this is happening, one of those, along those lines," he said.

Once Williams sailed in for the score, Dre'Mont Jones joined in the post-touchdown party with his teammates in the end zone.

"We cheer for each other all the time, we always got each other's back, so you see a teammate make a big play like that, at a needed moment, you gotta celebrate him," he said.

He said that huge play that flipped the game was a product of the resiliency that Metcalf and Love had alluded to.

"To be honest with you, this is probably the most we never wavered," Dre'Mont Jones said. "We didn't have a negative thought in our mind. We looked up, looked at each other, and said 'let's go'. We kept applying pressure."

Dre'Mont Jones then reiterated a buzzword of the day, which was so fitting that it could never be overused in the postgame conversations.

"It shows how resilient we are. I know that word gets thrown around a lot but it's true testimony that we're resilient," he said.

Byron Murphy II was fully confident that the rest of the day would belong to the Seahawks.

"I feel like it shifted the whole game. After that, I feel like we were in control the whole game after Leo [Williams] got the pick-six. It allowed us to take over and win," he said.

"We were able to cut to a one-score game at that point. Momentum swung our way," Witherspoon added.

As the offense prepared to play their role in the comeback in the wake of the defensive heroic, Kenneth Walker III knew that the rest of the game could be much different going forward.

"Leo [Williams] got that pick-six and I feel like that changed the game around completely. Momentum was going their way at first, then the way that he made that pick six, everybody rallied together," he said.

The defense set off a loud signal that the resurgence had begun, and the offense could now do its part. The Seahawks were not going to let it become a "trap game" against a 3-8 Jets team, despite getting down early.

"Being down early in a game like that, we could have easily gave up, but everybody decided to fight and keep playing and we came up with the win," Walker said.

A bevy of unusual plays had set up the team totals on the scoreboard to that point, Dre'Mont Jones noted, but now the aim was to finish the job on both sides of the ball.

"A whole bunch of stuff that's outside the box of a normal NFL game was happening today," he said. "But as long as we remain consistent, we should find a way to win."

The Jets never scored again. The defense continued to set up opportunities for the offense, as Love forced a third quarter fumble that was recovered by rookie Tyrice Knight, setting up a Jason Myers field goal that cut the deficit to two points.

"We try to get the offense the ball so they can go down there and score, and if they can't we have to go out there and play complementary football for them, so shout out to Juice, shout out to Leo [Williams]. We needed those turnovers and they came up big," Witherspoon said.

The offense stayed close by not turning the ball over, as quarterback Geno Smith did not throw an interception and there were no lost fumbles by any running back or pass-catcher. Smith also kept several plays alive by evading defenders to buy extra time on key passing downs.

"It's always good when we protect the ball with no turnovers, on the offensive side,' Walker said. "I feel like his decision-making today was great. He kept the drive alive a lot of times."

The defense paved the road to a third consecutive victory, setting up the offense to pull out the win after halting the game flow that put the Jets up 14 points in the first half.

"The first half was just sloppy. Not the way we like to play football," Ernest Jones IV said. "But we knew once we got it turned around we had a chance to come back and beat them. Once we settled in and started playing our game we knew we were the better team."

Murphy provided another look inside the inner circle when the scoreboard was tilted the other way in the first half.

"[Coach] Macdonald told us just stick together, don't let nothing faze us, keep going, keep fighting, keep pushing, and that's what we did, we got the job done, " he said.

Williams then came up big again after the offense punched in what proved to be the winning score, as he did his part to sew up the win with two critical sacks on the Jets' final drive.

"He's just great," Dre'Mont Jones said. "He's out there playing bully ball, getting to the quarterback, making big plays."

"That's the Big Cat," Love said. "He's one of the best players in the league. He was the difference-maker for us today, to be very real with you."

The defense has been a prime catalyst for a three-game winning streak, allowing four offensive touchdowns in the last three games. Dre'Mont Jones said the defense remained steadfast in its approach when things weren't going their way earlier in the season.

"We're eliminating a lot of those self-inflicted wounds that we had, when a lot of people were doubting us. We don't have doubt in ourselves like other people may project onto us. We stay the same, we stay level-headed. We want to be problem solvers. We want to be the solution, not the problem," he said.

Big plays have been signature feats recently, too. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Seahawks had interceptions returned for touchdowns in consecutive games was Dec. 9 and 16 of 2012. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas were the highlighted names then, and Coby Bryant and Williams are the featured defensive stars of the last two weeks.

The Seahawks made certain to stave off a loss before embarking on a pivotal three-game stretch against the Cardinals, Packers, and Vikings.

Love invoked the core term of the day again when looking ahead to the major matchups ahead.

"We obviously have a tough game against a good Cardinals team next week. We just have to battle, we have to stay resilient, stay focused on us, and hopefully we'll get where we want to get," he said.

Dre'Mont Jones was satisfied that the Seahawks did not falter against an opponent that is enduring through a very disappointing season, yet presented a true challenge because of their proven talents on both sides of the ball.

"We did what we had to do today, not to hold the Jets lightly. But we're the better team," he said.

After the victory, the postgame chatter naturally centered on Williams' TD, and Metcalf recalled his reaction on the sidelines at the time. Williams took care of business by himself, staying ahead of all others.

"I was excited seeing him run down the sideline, and to see him outrun everybody down the sideline was a sight to see," Metcalf said.

Per NFL NextGen Stats, Williams peaked at a speed of 17.8 mph, the fastest by any defensive lineman on any play since the 2022 season. It may have been the Seahawks' niftiest defensive highlight since Metcalf chased down Budda Baker in 2020.

So is Williams now ready to challenge Metcalf in a race?

"No, he ain't gonna beat me bro," Metcalf said with a laugh.