Thrust Back Into Starting Lineup, Sidney Jones Coming Off Best Game Yet With Seahawks
Down 16-6 in the early third quarter, the Seahawks were in desperate need of a significant shift in momentum. They got one, or so they thought, as Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy misfired a third-down pass attempt into the diving arms of cornerback Sidney Jones.
Taking the ball all the way down to Arizona's 11-yard line, Jones had sent a jolt into an otherwise dormant crowd at Lumen Field. But the electricity that coursed through the building would only be temporary, as field judge Clete Blakeman announced over the PA system that the ruling of an interception had been changed to an incompletion.
Head coach Pete Carroll erupted in frustration on the sideline, joined by the collective boos of the 68,833 fans in attendance. Jones and his fellow teammates looked utterly confused by the decision, believing there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field.
But upon further review, it was revealed that the ball did, in fact, hit the ground. Of course, this is allowed to a certain degree as long as the pass catcher—Jones in this example—is determined to have maintained control. This is the argument both Carroll and Jones lobbied for, and the fifth-year corner is standing by it after watching and dissecting the replay again.
"I have no doubt in my mind that that was an interception," Jones told ESPN 710 Seattle hosts Bob Stelton and Dave Wyman on Tuesday. "I've watched the clip hundreds of times probably already, and I'm like, 'What are they seeing that I don't see?' Even on the field there was no doubt. Sometimes you can know, like, 'Oh, I hope they don't see that.' There was not a second in my mind that I thought I dropped it. I thought it was definitely a catch, but what can you do now?"
While they weren't awarded the interception, the Seahawks had still forced the Cardinals to punt—something they managed to do just four times in 10 drives. But after thinking they secured excellent field position and three surefire points at the very least, they instead started their next drive from their own 22-yard line and recorded just one first down before kicking it back to Arizona empty-handed.
"I think the ball probably touched the ground," Carroll admitted after the game. "But that's a 60-plus yard swing in that moment right there. It was a great play, and I think you had to try really hard to want to turn that over because it was called on the field. You have to have whatever it's called—indisputable or whatever."
Eventually falling by a final score of 23-13, Seattle's offense never found a rhythm. As a result, the defense wound up playing twice as many minutes as the offense, losing the time of possession battle 40:22-19:38. The Cardinals ran 79 plays to the Seahawks' 49, out-gaining them 413-266 while the backup McCoy, starting his third consecutive game in place of an injured Kyler Murray, completed 35 of his 44 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns.
One of those scores was credited to Jones, who was beat on a short inside throw to tight end Zach Ertz in the second quarter. Other than that, however, he was the least of Seattle's problems on defense. In fact, he was one of its few silver linings from its potential season-killing defeat.
With D.J. Reed ruled out with a groin injury, Jones made his first start for the Seahawks since Week 7. He was targeted five times, allowing three catches for just 10 yards, including Ertz's touchdown. On top of that, he recorded 11 combined tackles—the third-highest mark on the team, trailing only linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner.
"My weight is not the highest compared to other corners around the league, but I feel like I'm the best tackler out there," Jones told Stelton and Wyman. "In terms of doing my job, setting the edge and making the tackles I'm supposed to make. Running backs or tight ends weigh a lot more than me and I still find a way to get them on the ground. I played safety growing up and I was always a hitter, and I still try to keep that same mentality in tackling and hitting and being aggressive."
Acquired in a post-preseason trade with the Jaguars, Jones will now retain his spot in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. However, this isn't necessarily an effect of his strong performance on Sunday. Instead, his newfound opportunity comes as a byproduct of another injury sustained in Seattle's secondary.
Tre Brown, who officially supplanted Jones in Week 8, suffered a patellar tendon injury while covering a deep ball to Cardinals receiver A.J. Green during the second quarter of Sunday's game. On Tuesday, Brown underwent reconstructive surgery and will miss the remainder of his promising rookie campaign.
Until Reed is able to return, Seattle's cornerback duties will fall on the shoulders of Jones and Blessuan Austin. The latter finally played his first defensive snaps for the team after signing all the way back in early September, allowing four catches on four targets for 49 yards against Arizona.
The loss of Brown is a hard one to endure. After spending the offseason, preseason and first half of the regular season scrambling for answers at cornerback, the Seahawks seemed to have finally found a winning duo with Reed and Brown. In their two starts together, the tandem held Jaguars and Packers receivers to a combined four catches on 13 targets for 55 yards and no touchdowns.
At a record of 3-7, the negatives continue to pile up for the Seahawks. Built with the intention of competing for a championship, they're now fighting just to stay out of the NFL's cellar. FiveThirtyEight.com gives them a four percent chance of making the postseason, with mathematical elimination inching closer and closer.
But while the playoffs may be an unrealistic goal at this point, the final seven games of the season still hold great significance to a player like Jones. He's set to hit unrestricted free agency in March and will now be given the chance to put on a two-month audition, either to remain in Seattle or land a deal elsewhere.
Right now, though, his sights remain set on helping his team make an unlikely late-season run towards the postseason.
"We're trying to figure it out so we can move forward and get some wins."
