Unsung Seahawks player stunningly slams the door on the 49ers in Week 18

The game was very much in the balance in the fourth quarter as the Seattle Seahawks played the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18, a game where the winner would take the top seed in the NFC. Seattle's defense was dominant, but San Francisco had the ball inside the Seahawks' 10-yard line.

Quarterback Brock Purdy dropped back to pass, tried to hit running back Christian McCaffrey in the flat, the ball was slightly tipped by edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, and the pass ended up a bit behind McCaffrey. Instead of a catch, the running back bobbled the ball into the arms of linebacker Drake Thomas.

Was Thomas a bit lucky to have the ball go straight to him? Sure. But to be clear, unless Thomas is already in a position to make a stop on a very good player, the interception does not happen. Plus, Thomas proved once again what coaches kept saying about him when he was a backup: He just needed a chance to play, and good things would happen.

Drake Thomas makes one of the plays of the year for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18

He has gotten his chance this season. More specifically, he earned his spot. At the beginning of the season, Seattle's inside linebacker duo was Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight. Jones was a longtime veteran who had proved previously that he was capable of excellence. Knight was a second-year player who wasn't performing badly.

Thomas, though, simply made more disruptive plays in practice. He was always around the ball, and turnovers would occur. That translated to real games, too, and Thomas was soon starting over Knight.

Against the 49ers in Week 18, Thomas was in on five tackles, and he had two passes defended. One was the interception that basically ended all hopes San Francisco had of a comeback. Seattle wouldn't score again (mostly because of a missed easy field goal from Jason Myers), but San Francisco wouldn't either.

The final score of 13-3 was closer than the game itself. The 49ers could do little offensively and finished with just 173 total yards and nine first downs. The Seattle Seahawks have a swarming, unrelenting defense, and Drake Thomas embodies that.

He is the kind of glue guy every team needs, but he also seems to create splash plays just when the Seahawks need him most. That happened in the fourth quarter against the 49ers, and it will likely happen again in the playoffs and into next season.