As they were coming off the field at Levi's Stadium following their Week 18 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Leonard Williams and Julian Love who were teammates on the Giants from 2019-2022, shared a moment of reflection for how far they've come over their careers.

"We embraced and just said, 'Man, thank goodness we got here," Love said.

Love and Williams were part of the Giants teams that made the playoffs once from 2019-22, going 4-12, 6-10, 4-13 and in 2022 went 9-7-1 and won a Wild Card game before losing in the Divisional Round. In the offseason following that 2022 season, Love signed with Seattle during free agency and midway through the 2023 season, Williams was acquired by the Seahawks in a trade with the Giants.

That season, Williams went from a team that was 2-6 to a 5-2 Seahawks team. His very first game as a Seahawk? A Week 9 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens and then-defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald's defense.

"We got whooped," Love said. "We were just talking about that. I think that was Leo's (Williams) first game, we were, whatever, maybe something and one, maybe lost a game or two at that point. I'm like, 'Leo, we have something going. I'm so excited for you get here. We are winning.' Then we get the brakes beat off of (us) and I'm like, 'Oh, man, I'm sorry.'"

Since then, Seattle went 10-7 in 2024. And as leaders of the "Dark Side" defense in 2025, Love and Williams helped Seattle to 14-3 and led the defense to be the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense, only allowing just 17.2 points per game, and a league best total of 292 points over the course of the season.

Their conversation after their 13-3 win over the 49ers was a bit different than the one that they had after that Ravens game.

"I think one of the only guys on the team that really knows the journey I've been on is Julian," Williams said. "And we both embraced each other after the game and just talked about our path. And I've just been so thankful to be here and so thankful for this season and just the way everything's been playing out. It's just really incredible to be having this type of season towards the end of my career."

Seattle has known since Week 16 that they'd be playing in the postseason and last week cemented their place atop of the NFC with a first-round bye and homefield advantage. This is a stark difference for Williams who said the lead up to the 2022 playoffs with the Giants almost felt like, "how did we get here."

"It did feel different," he said. "It was my first time in the playoffs, so it was obviously a bigger game. We were excited to be there, but at the same time, even that playoff time feels different than this playoff time. I think when I made it before, we were almost kind of like, 'How did we get here?' Type of situation. Whereas now it's like we look at each other like, 'Yeah, we were meant to be here. This was our destiny. This is what's supposed to happen. We worked hard for this,' things like that. So even [through] both of my playoff experiences, I've already felt different."

And although this is going to be a new experience for a lot of the players on the team, including rookies, Love said players like himself, and Williams will appreciate this playoff run a little bit more because of everything they've seen and experienced since being in the league.

Love said, "It was like training camp where me and [Leonard Williams] are talking to a young Nick (Emmanwori). I'm like, 'We understand you're a rookie but there is urgency here. A lot of these guys, I guess myself included, it's like you go years in a career just trying to grind to make a playoff spot. Now we got a shot to do something special. You're going to be a part of it, but we need you to be a part of it this year. There is no weaning process'. And so that's just what it is. We embraced and just said, man, thank goodness we got here. John (Schneider) walked by and he just shouts out, 'You're welcome, guys.' I know me and (Leo), obviously we're close and it's special to be in this moment."