SEATTLE — DeMarcus Lawrence scooped up the loose ball in stride with his right hand and never touched it with his left on his way to the end zone for a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
If it looked like the veteran outside linebacker had done it before, it's because he had — only minutes earlier, and on an almost identical play.
Among the many highlights for the Seattle Seahawks in their 44-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Lumen Field were two return touchdowns by Lawrence in the first half, both of which came on fumbles forced by blitzing inside linebacker Tyrice Knight.
Per ESPN Research, Lawrence became the fourth player in NFL history with multiple fumble return touchdowns in the same game, and the first since Jeremy Chinn had two for the Carolina Panthers in 2020. The Seahawks used those two scores to jump out to a 38-7 halftime lead on their way to their fourth straight win, which keeps Mike Macdonald's team tied atop the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams, their opponent next week at SoFi Stadium.
«You can't draw that up,» said Lawrence, who had two defensive touchdowns in 12 NFL seasons entering Sunday. «T-Knight did a great job, running the play exactly how Coach Macdonald drew it up, and I was the lucky recipient of the two forced fumbles. I'll take it every day.»
Lawrence's first touchdown came on a 34-yard return midway through the first quarter. As with the second one — which came early in the second quarter — officials reviewed the play and upheld the on-field ruling that the ball was not moving forward when Knight knocked it out of quarterback Jacoby Brissett's hand.
Adding to the strangeness of the plays was that the Seahawks entered Week 10 having yet to force a fumble on defense
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