The NFC West divisional playoff clash is just days away, and while the San Francisco 49ers are preparing for it on their end, so are the Seattle Seahawks. It was just two weeks ago that the two rivals faced off, with the Seahawks winning 13-3; this next game will be round three.
The playoff game this weekend will conjure a much more elevated feel and atmosphere, given the nature of the game and the reward or consequence either team faces afterward. For many of the Seahawks' players, this will be the biggest game of their NFL careers. However, that is not the case for every Seahawks player, for instance, Ernest Jones IV.
The 2022 Super Bowl was likely Jones' biggest game of his career, and he was privileged to come out on the winning side as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He's got his Super Bowl, but now, he chases another, and he knows what it takes to help the Seahawks experience what he has already.
Ernest Jones IV speaks from experience on what it will take to win a playoff game
Jones is not quite an NFL veteran yet; he is only 26, after all, yet he carries a veteran's presence and aura. That veteran presence was instrumental in how the Seahawks played defense this season, terrorizing and suffocating most offenses every weekend. Jones' 126 total tackles and five interceptions this year were just a sliver of Seattle's lockdown defense.
His stellar production this year earned him a spot on the NFL's Second Team All-Pro, but he would never have reached that level of production had it not been for a crucial element that Jones believes is what it takes to win the big games. It’s that same element Jones attributes to the game plan for stopping the 49ers.
"...I'm sure they have a couple things schemed up for us, but, you know, it's always been about our execution and how we play, so I think the same thing applies this time around," Jones stated when asked about the difference between the last game and the next. "Ultimately, it takes one game at a time. We got to handle San Fran first, then whoever they send next to us, so we can get to the ultimate goal."
Execution is something the Seahawks' defense collectively has mastered all season. In 18 games, the Seahawks' defense held opponents to 10 or fewer points four times (including one shutout) and 20 or fewer points 11 times (one of those games was a loss). Even in a loss, the defense held its ground, and that's how good the Seahawks' defense has played.
Jones has been massive, despite missing three games due to injury; he still put up All-Pro numbers. Again, Jones has already been on a team that went all the way and captured the Super Bowl, and the Rams' run in 2022 was all about execution, with Matthew Stafford playing in his first year with the Rams and LA's own defense keeping Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals to 20 points.
Jones knows all about execution, so it's only right that the rest of the Seahawks — including the offense — heed his words. They're not just words; they are sentiments of experience, and that's how great NFL players lead. Jones will be one of many leaders who don a Seahawks jersey this weekend.