Devon Witherspoon has had somewhat of a fairly quiet season so far, if you're just looking at the stat sheet. Heading into Sunday's matchup, he had three passes defensed and one forced fumble. In the Seahawks win, Witherspoon tied that season total of three passes defensed, coming up with an important pass break up on a third-down play that teammate Johnathan Hankins was able to intercept.
On Wednesday, head coach Mike Macdonald said even though Witherspoon's contributions hadn't been showing up on the stat sheet, he could still feel the difference he was making on the field.
"I'll tell you what, this guy, talk about force multipliers on your football team, that is Devon Witherspoon. This guy, he's an elite competitor. He's a guy that hopefully, he's leading the charge for us for a long time here. This guy, we talked about this at length, but he's worth a shout-out. He's so intelligent, he can play all the multiple spots, all the energy we feed off this guy and how competitive he is. Plays the way we want to play. You kind of want to play him everywhere, and so that's probably my biggest compliment to him. It's trying to figure out how we can play him the best to make him affect the game. We're thinking through that lens, and frankly, it's nothing that he's not doing that's not creating production. You could probably put it on me to get him into better spots so he can go affect the game, but that's definitely a focus."
And on Sunday, Witherspoon was just that, a "force multiplier".
"You felt him out there and he did a lot of great things," Macdonald said. "[The 49ers] offense does a lot of things and puts a lot of stress on you, consistently – motions and guys in different spots. So when you have a guy that played corner and nickel today and played with energy, and kind of be ahead of plays, it just sets the tone for the rest of the guys and it was a great job."
Along with Witherspoon's pass breakups, he had eight tackles, was able to draw a holding penalty and on San Francisco's final third down, was able to blitz and force Brock Purdy to throw a checkdown, rather than a pass down the field. That helped stall out their drive and set the Seahawks up for their game-winning drive.
"I don't really look for stats," Witherspoon said postgame. "I'm not a chase stats type of dude. I make the plays that come to me and the ones that don't I try to go over there and help my guys make the play as well. I don't really pay attention to the stats."
For his play on Sunday, Witherspoon was awarded one of the game balls.
"We said the ball was going to come alive," Macdonald said. Sitcky coverage and just an energy. Just an energy, just a guy. Let's give it to Devon Witherspoon."
And keeping his speech short and to the point, Witherspoon had a few words.
"This was long overdue. We were due though."
The Seahawks defeated the division rival San Francisco 49ers 20-17 at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024. Check out some of the best post game celebration scenes from their Week 11 victory.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) and guard Laken Tomlinson (70) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) and wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and center Olu Oluwatimi (51) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (51) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) and cornerback Josh Jobe (29) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) and head coach Mike Macdonald celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (51) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrated the Seahawks' win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
