Having won three straight games, their last two by a combined 54-point margin, the Seahawks are 10-3 heading into the final four games of the season, putting them in great position not just to make the playoffs for the first time under Mike Macdonald, but to battle the Rams (10-3) and 49ers (9-4) for the NFC West crown as well as the NFC's top seed.

Before the Seahawks kick off a fourth quarter of the season that will determine their fate heading into the postseason, it's time to look back at some of the players, moments and trends that stood out over the past four games with our Seahawks 2025 Third Quarter Honors.

Important disclaimer: These are very unofficial honors selected by a writer who might not really know what he's talking about, so please take all of this with a grain of salt.

Offensive MVP: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October kept rolling through November, and is now the league's leading receiver by a pretty large margin with 1,428 yards through 13 games, a single-season franchise record.

Despite a quiet day in Seattle's shutout win over the Vikings, Smith-Njigba still put up 26 catches for 387 yards and four touchdowns over the past four games, giving him nine touchdowns this season.

Quarterback Sam Darnold, the first-quarter and midseason MVP, is coming off a great performance in last weekend's win, and given the position he plays, there's an argument to be made for him to take this honor again, but Smith-Njigba deserves some love too for a season that has him in the race for Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Defensive MVP: 12 as One

On one hand, Leonard Williams may well be truly the most valuable player on the defense; then again, Mike Macdonald did call Devon Witherspoon the sparkplug of the defense; then again, Byron Murphy II is wrecking stuff in the middle of the line on a regular basis; then again, Ernest Jones IV's leadership and playmaking ability in the middle of the defense help make it all go (and those two interceptions with an 85-yard pick-six were pretty nice); then again, DeMarcus Lawrence is a force on the edge and important veteran leader, and he helped make that aforementioned pick-six happen; then again, rookie Nick Emmanwori is making plays from all three levels of the defense while providing unprecedented versatility.

So yeah, it's pretty much impossible to pick one player, so we're giving the nod to one of Macdonald's favorite mantra's, which helps encapsulate what makes this defense so formidable. The beauty of Mike Macdonald's defense is that it allows so many players to shine while individuals focus more on team success than their own egos.

Special Teams MVP: K Jason Myers

Myers went 14 for 15 on field goal attempts over the last four games, including three makes from 50-plus yards, and his one miss was a rather high-degree-of-difficulty attempt, a 61-yarder as time expired in a loss to the Rams. Myers was also 10 for 10 on extra points, keeping him perfect on those this season.

Another big part of Myers' game this season has been the work he is doing on kickoffs with a variety of different kicks that challenge returners and set up the coverage team for success. Thanks in part to Myers' kickoffs, Seahawks opponents have a league-worst average field position after kickoffs at?? the 27.8-yard line.

Best Rookie, Offense: G Grey Zabel

Grey Zabel isn't just one of the best rookie guards in the league this season, he has been one of the league's top guards, period. In addition to providing a physical presence and attitude in the run game, the first-round pick has also been one of the league's best pass-blocking guards, allowing only one sack and 18 pressures on 371 pass-blocking snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Zabel's 4.9 pressure rate allowed ranks fifth among left guards, league-wide, and ninth among all guards, and second among rookie offensive linemen at any position.

Best Rookie, Defense: S Nick Emmanwori

Did you watch Sunday's game in Atlanta? That ought to cover it then.

But just in case you missed it, Emmanwori turned in a performance for the ages, recording an interception, a sack, another tackle for loss, six tackles and a blocked field goal. After seeing the beginning of his season sidelined by an ankle injury that kept him out of nearly four full games, Emmanwori has become an every-down player and a versatile playmaker in Seattle's defense, and is emerging as a legitimate Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.

"He's definitely special," safety Julian Love said. "He's capable of doing a lot of things. He's around the ball, he can blitz, he can cover, he can do all the things. This won't be the last time this happens. Nick's a special guy. We love him. He works hard."

Best Newcomers: QB Sam Darnold & OLB DeMarcus Lawrence

Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider had a fantastic offseason, both in terms of a draft class that included Zabel, Emmanwori and other rookies making big contributions, including Tory Horton, Robbie Ouzts and Elijah Arroyo, and also in free agency.

Most notably the Seahawks signed Sam Darnold, who managed to get even better than he was in his breakout 2024 season in Minnesota, and they also added two other veterans who have made big contributions, receiver Cooper Kupp and outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence.

Lawrence, a four-time Pro-Bowler in his 11-year career in Dallas, said the move to the Seahawks has been "rejuvenating," and he's playing like it. In the last four games alone, he has two forced fumbles, two tackles for loss, a sack and the pressure that led to an Ernest Jones IV pick-six.

Darnold, meanwhile, has led one of the league's most explosive passing attacks all season long and is playing at a level that should see him earn Pro Bowl honors for the second straight season.

Best Play, Offense: Sam Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba's for a 63-yard TD in Tennessee.

The way Darnold and Smith-Njigba have been able to connect this season on deep balls has been a thing of beauty, and one of their best came in Nashville, when Darnold hit the league's top receiver with a deep ball that turned into a 63-yard touchdown. The play featured so many things that have made Seattle's passing game so impressive this season, from Klint Kubiak's ability to use motion to get Smith-Njiigba a favorable matchup on a safety, to the pass protection that gave Darnold time to throw, to Darnold's arm strength and accuracy, to Smith-Njigba's combination of speed, ball tracking ability and mastery of the nuances of the position that allowed him to get open and make the catch.

Best Play, Defense: Ernest Jones IV's 85-yard pick-six.

DeMarcus Lawrence helped make the play happen with his pressure on rookie Max Brosmer, then the Vikings rookie did his part by attempting an ill-advised underhand toss on his way to the ground, and then Ernest Jones IV did the rest, grabbing the errant throw and taking off for an 85-yard touchdown. Jones, who earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his play in that game, which included another interception, is up to a team-leading five interceptions, the most in team history for an inside linebacker.

Best Play, Special Teams: Rashid Shaheed's 100-yard kick return touchdown vs. the Falcons.

Not only are long kick returns just objectively fun and cool plays, Shaheed's first touchdown as a Seahawk was also big because it was the spark the Seahawks needed to break open a close game. Prior to that return, the Seahawks and Falcons were locked in a 6-6 tie; starting with that touchdown, the Seahawks outscored Atlanta 31-3 in the second half.

Unsung Hero: S Ty Okada

Losing a Pro-Bowl safety is a tough blow for any defense, and the Seahawks certainly missed Julian Love during the nine games he missed this season, but one of the many reasons why the Seahawks were able to continue to thrive on that side of the ball in Love's absence was the play of Ty Okada, a former undrafted free agent out of Montana State, who prior to this season had appeared in nine games with no starts. Since taking over for Love, Okada has six passes defensed, a spectacular leaping, toe-tapping interception, 53 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

"I just want to take a second, Ty Okada deserves a massive shoutout from everybody," Macdonald said after Sunday's win in Atlanta. "This guy has played incredible football for us, and all he does every day is just prepare his tail off, he's a phenomenal teammate, he plays so hard, he executes at a high level, everything matters to him, and we've played great defense since he had to take over for Julian. I know his production isn't as high, but man, this guy, I just love having him. I'm really happy for him, he's playing really, really well. So, shoutout to Ty."

Trend to continue: Overall defensive excellence.

The Seahawks have not allowed a touchdown in their last two games, and they have eight takeaways while allowing just nine points over that span. And there are just so many things to love about this Seahawks defense. There's depth, with players like Ty Okada, Tyrice Knight, Patrick O'Connell, Brandon Pili, D'Anthony Bell and others filling in for injured teammates throughout the season, there's the playmaking ability at all three levels, there's the togetherness and cohesiveness of this unit that helps make it all go, and of course, there's Mike Macdonald's diabolical scheme and play calling.

And with all of those things coming together, the Seahawks defense is elite at just about everything, from run defense to pass defense to pass rush to creating turnovers to, most importantly, limiting points.

The Seahawks rank second in points allowed, second in opponent yards-per-play average, sixth in total yards allowed, fifth in first downs allowed, fourth in rushing yards allowed and second in rushing yards per carry allowed, fourth in sacks, and are tied for fifth in takeaways. And they have done all of that despite playing one game, Sunday's win over the Falcons, with their entire starting defense healthy.

Trend to clean up: Turnovers on offense.

Seattle has been explosive on offense and rank second in the league in points scored, so obviously there's a lot to love about what Klint Kubiak's offense is doing. But if there's one thing to clean up heading into he final stretch of the season, it would be that unit's propensity for turning the ball over. The Seahawks have committed 23 turnovers this season, the second most in the NFL, and while they haven't been costly in a lot of games, their four turnovers against the Rams were a huge factor in that loss, and they had turnovers on potential game-winning drives in their other two losses. The play of Sam Darnold and the offensive have been huge net positives this season, but he and the offense can be even better if the turnovers decrease down the stretch.