As Seahawks outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence ran towards the end zone for his second defensive touchdown of the first half, there was a feeling of déjà vu at Lumen Field.

Twice in the first half, middle linebacker Tyrice Knight got to Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett on a blitz up the middle, hitting him to knock the ball loose before he could throw, and twice Lawrence was in the perfect spot to scoop up the loose ball and return it for a touchdown. Both times, the play had to be reviewed to determine if it was indeed a fumble and not an incomplete pass, and both times, the call stood, giving the Seahawks a pair of defensive touchdowns on their way to an emphatic 44-22 win.

Lawrence, who had two touchdowns in his 11 seasons with Dallas prior to this year, became just the fourth player in NFL history to have two fumble return touchdowns in the same game. Knight, meanwhile, enjoyed the best game of his two-year career in his first game back in the starting lineup, filling in for an injured Ernest Jones IV.

"I couldn't believe the D-Law got the second," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "I was like, 'Holy crap. It's him again.' The way that he attacked the ball, T-Knight is just awesome. Haven't forced any fumbles this year on defense and got two today. It's awareness, just taking advantage of those opportunities. It was awesome."

Sunday's performance was particularly rewarding for Knight, who has faced some adversity this season, only to respond with back-to-back strong outings when opportunity arose due to Jones' knee injury.

Knight, who took over a starting job midway through his rookie season, came into this year as the presumed starter at weakside linebacker alongside Jones, but a knee injury, followed by what he called a "heart situation" caused him to miss a significant

portion of training camp and the preseason.

Despite the time he missed, Knight still opened the season as a starter, but after three games, Drake Thomas took over that role, with Knight's playing time decreasing to the point that he played only two defensive snaps in a Week 6 win over Jacksonville, and none the following week against Houston.

Jones' injury late the second half last week created an opportunity for Knight, and he was ready, recording a team-high 10 tackles in just over one half against the Commanders, then following it up with a huge performance against Arizona on Sunday, recording eight tackles, three tackles for loss and the two touchdown-causing sacks and forced fumbles.

"You've got to stay ready, how you prepare, and he's playing great football," Macdonald said not long after awarding Knight with a game ball in the locker room. "Obviously want Ernest back as soon as possible, but (Knight) is showing he can go in and play great ball and execute. Both of those were pressures we haven't ran before, and so to be able to go in and execute those things not getting all the reps was some high-powered stuff."

Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, a fellow 2024 draft pick and close friend of Knight's, has a locker close to Knight and the two spend a lot of time studying together and talking football, and the second-year corner was not at all surprised that his friend was ready for his moment on Sunday.

"I'm proud of T-Knight," said Pritchett, who had two passes defensed, including a diving, touchdown-saving pass breakup in the end zone. "So much adversity he's been going through. I'm proud of him, coming for Ernest and stepping in and making big plays. That's the standard. Just the way he prepares… He was just waiting on his moment, and shoot, he was ready for it."

Knight said his knee didn't feel fully healthy until the week following Seattle's Week 5 loss to the Buccaneers, and now that he's fully healthy, he's excited to show what he can do.

"It just feels good to be back healthy," he said. "That isn't an excuse for early in the season, but right now I just feel like me again, back moving how I move, just playing football better."

Knight injured his knee in early August, then while recovering from that, Macdonald revealed the linebacker was dealing with an undisclosed health concern, one he was quickly cleared from. Knight revealed Sunday that he had a "heart situation" that was quickly resolved, but said the knee injury lingered longer.

"I had a little heart situation that got resolved early in training camp," he said. "The knee was more than the heart at that time. I wasn't really about the heart, everything got situated with that, but the knee, it took some time for it to get back."

"I feel like I was out for that whole month of August. When I got back, everything just felt slow, it didn't feel like I was playing football. You can watch it, but you just can't move. It's such a different approach to it, but I started to get back in my groove."

Knight was fully in his groove on Sunday, and the result were two huge plays in a big NFC West win.

Then, of course, there was Lawrence, the player who capitalized on those two Knight forced fumbles, returning them 34 and 22 yards for touchdowns.

"First and foremost, all glory to God," Lawrence said. "You can't draw that up. 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, a four-time Pro-Bowler in his 11 seasons with the Cowboys, has been a huge addition for the Seahawks since signing in free agency, both in terms on his on-field production and his leadership. After splitting a sack with rookie Nick Emmanwori, he is now up to four this season to go along with seven tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits.

With his two touchdowns, the third and fourth of his NFL career, Lawrence joined a very rare group of players to score two fumble return touchdowns in a game. Previously it had been done only three times, and once in the Super Bowl era, with Lawrence joining Jeremy Chinn (2020), Fred Evans (1948) and Al Nesser (1920) on that list.

"I'm just thankful DeMarcus Lawrence is on my team, honestly," said receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. "I grew up watching him, on the Cowboys, so to have him, it's an honor. I still can't really believe that he's on my team. Just thankful for a lot of great players that we have."