Leonard Williams’ 67th career game at MetLife Stadium was his best one.
It also happened to be his first not suiting up for the Jets or Giants.
Williams tortured the team that drafted him as a 2015 first-rounder Sunday with an interception returned for a touchdown, two sacks and a blocked kick to lead the Seahawks to a 26-21 victory against the Jets.
“He’s playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level,” said safety Julian Love, Williams’ teammate on the Giants and Seahawks. “When he takes advantage of a matchup, he senses it from Play One and there’s blood in the water for the whole game.”
The Jets were driving to extend a 21-7 lead when Williams dropped into coverage, deflected a pass up in the air to himself for an interception, and looked ahead at daylight and a swarm of blockers.
Williams reached 17.84 miles per hour, which was the fastest speed clocked by an NFL defensive lineman since 2019, per NextGenStats. His 92-yard touchdown return was the longest pick-six by a defensive lineman in NFL history, per ESPN Research.
“I didn’t expect to get that far with it, to be honest,” Williams said. “I thought I was running fast, but you never know in the moment. All my teammates were hyping me up on the sideline, saying I was moving. Once I crossed the 50, I was looking to pitch it to somebody. I saw my whole defense and whole cavalry running down the field.”
Traded by the Giants to the Seahawks as a pending free agent on Oct. 30, 2023, Williams re-signed on a three-year, $64.5 million contract in the offseason.
He has his most sacks (seven with five games to go) since totaling 11.5 while playing on the franchise tag for the 2020 Giants.
“Even that season, I don’t think, was as dominant as what I’m doing right now,” Williams said. “I don’t think the stats necessarily always say the full picture, and I think now being older, more mature, understanding my strengths and the [opposing] offense more just allows me to play fast. I have more grown-man strength.”
Williams had 2.5 sacks in the previous game against the Cardinals but lost NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors to teammate Coby Bryant, who had a pick-six. Perhaps that’s why Williams decided to take matters into his own hands with his first career touchdown.
“I came out here today with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder,” Williams said. “Part of it is the energy from the team overall, treating every week like the playoffs since the bye week.”
None of it, Williams claimed, had to do with revenge on the Jets — who traded him to the Giants in October 2019 — or returning to the Meadowlands. He enjoyed seeing some familiar faces, including his last remaining former defensive teammate active for the game (Quinnen Williams).
Williams blocked a PAT after the Jets’ first touchdown and closed the game with two sacks to make sure that the Jets’ final drive stalled out before reaching the red zone. But the pick-six was the biggest of all.
“That play,” quarterback Geno Smith said, “changed the game for us.”
