DeMarcus Lawrence Has Been 'Truly Game Changing' For Seattle

Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence has the ability to make splash plays and change the momentum of a game and Sunday’s win was the latest example of that.

Dec 28, 2025 at 06:03 PM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

Untitled 16_9 Landscape - 2025-12-28T175723.772

CHARLOTTE—DeMarcus Lawrence can do it all. He can get to the quarterback, he can force fumbles, recover them and he can even return fumbles for touchdowns (sometimes twice in one game).

"I feel like the type of plays he makes [are] like, truly game changing," Leonard Williams said.

Acquired during free agency earlier this year, the Seahawks linebacker with 12 seasons of experience has contributed more to Seattle's defense than just stats on a piece of paper.

In Sunday's 27-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, Lawrence finished the day with a team-high tying six tackles, 1.0 sack and a forced fumble that he recovered. Rookie Nick Emmanwori couldn't believe his eyes when he watched Lawrence make the play on the ball.

"I literally seen it with my own eyes, seen him do it," Emmanwori said. "So it kind of shocked me as a rookie, like a dude just makes it look that easy."

Lawrence's forced fumble helped energize Seattle's first touchdown drive of the game.

"He shifted the tide," Uchenna Nwosu said. "That punchout and fumble recovery turned the tide for the whole team. We went down got points, and from there we were able to make plays."

In his post-game press conference, head coach Mike Macdonald said defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who was a coach with the Cowboys in 2023 with Lawrence, deserves a shoutout for pinpointing Lawrence as a player who would fit well in Seattle.

"He was with Demarcus [Lawrence] for their time in Dallas and the alignment that AD and really the rest of everybody else and myself, like understanding about what type of people we want to bring in the building and the skillsets that we need in our defense, it really was a no-brainer. I think they just—we knew who he was and then we take pride in creating an environment where guys love coming to work and you can play your best football. That goes for whatever year he is now, ten, 12-year vets. I'm happy about his spirit that he has. You can feel his love for the game. That comes out on the field, so it's been great. It's been great. We love him. Doing a great job."

Sunday was just one of the latest examples of Lawrence's impact on the game and for Seattle's defense. In Weeks 13 and 14, he had forced fumbles in back-to-back weeks. And in Week 10 he had a pair of fumbles recovered and returned for touchdowns which earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Leonard Williams said, "His play making ability is insane. We always want to get sacks and tackles and things like that, but I feel like the type of plays he makes [are] like, truly game changing. He just somehow finds the ball, always around the ball. Sometimes we'll be in meeting and we're watching film and you'll just hear him say 'ball' randomly and we kind of joke and laugh about it. But it goes to show his mindset. He's like always seeing the ball."

Ernest Jones IV, who is considered one of Seattle's many defensive leaders said Lawrence has meant, "everything," to the team.

"I've noticed in these past couple, three, four weeks, his veteran presence really has kind of kept us levelheaded in a sense where we only think about whoever the opponent is and we're not looking too far ahead. So he's helped us out big time."

Though the big plays are what Lawrence keeps getting attention for, he said his main goal is to be the same player every day.

"I don't live off of pride," he said. "I just try to be consistent. That's my job – to take the ball away and get my offense more opportunities to score and I was able to do it today."

The regular season isn't finished and the Seahawks will have the opportunity to play in the postseason where Lawrence can continue to showcase how important he is to the defense, but it's clear his impact this season can't be understated.

"He's special," safety Julian Love said. "He creates something different for our defense. He is a perimeter killer. His effort as long as he has been playing is real special. His whole career he has been finding that ball. He hit the punch out, he's chasing people down on the perimeter. We need him out there, we're a really good defense with him on the field."

Quarterback Sam Darnold said, "Just what he means to this team is—he's awesome and great for this team and organization."