SEATTLE -- After Sam Darnold threw four interceptions in the Seahawks' loss to the division-rival Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago, Ernest Jones IV did what leaders do. Seattle's middle linebacker made it clear that the locker room had Darnold's back, offering such an ardent defense that his postgame comments became almost as big of a story as the quarterback's performance.
Jones picked up Darnold and the Seahawks' offense in a different way Sunday.
With Seattle up 3-0 late in the second quarter, the Minnesota Vikings faced fourth-and-1 from the Seahawks' 4. The Vikings took over in the red zone after forcing and recovering a Darnold fumble on their fourth sack of the first half. That's when Jones and outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence teamed up for a play that sent the Lumen Field crowd into a frenzy.
Lawrence closed on Max Brosmer and got the rookie quarterback in his grasp, forcing a desperation throw that Jones intercepted and returned 85 yards for a touchdown.
"I saw DeMarcus holding him, getting ready to bring him to the ground," Jones said, "and when you catch these interceptions, everything kind of slows down. So I'm thinking, 'There's no way he's about to throw this.' He let it go and then I catch it, and I'm like, 'There's nobody in front of me.'"
The Seahawks (9-3) would force four more turnovers during a dominant defensive effort that carried them to a 26-0 win, and Jones was at the center of it all. He followed up the first touchdown of his five-year NFL career with another interception of Brosmer in the fourth quarter, helping preserve Seattle's first shutout in a decade. He led the team with 12 tackles in his return from a knee injury that sidelined him for two of the previous three weeks.
With five interceptions in 10 games and his typically strong play against the run, Jones is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. He's doing it with a heavy heart, having lost his father to cancer in late July at age 53.
"It's been tough," Jones said. "The release that I get is being around these guys and playing football."
After receiving a game ball from coach Mike Macdonald, Jones told the team about how he had recently recommitted to his faith as he works through his grief.
"The guy has been through a lot," Macdonald said. "... That's really the reason you have a team, is that you can be there for your brother when they need you. I know we're in a business and there's transactions and stuff, but at the end of the day, these are the relationships you're going to have for a long time hopefully, and it's really great to see that the rest of the guys are there to support him.
"And he's playing great football ... He's battled through some health things throughout the year as well. Some of the plays he's making in the run game, too, is just really tremendous, really great plays that allows us to really call some defenses that you normally wouldn't call in those situations."
That was the primary reason the Seahawks acquired Jones last October, when their middle linebacker at the time, Tyrel Dodson, was struggling to fit the run. Jones' arrival via a trade with the Tennessee Titans sparked Seattle's defensive turnaround. His impact on the field and his leadership off of it made it all but certain that the Seahawks would re-sign him at season's end, which they did with a three-year, $28.5 million deal.
"E.J. is special," Lawrence said of Jones, Seattle's defensive signal-caller. "To have a Mike linebacker that is a great communicator but also that loves to run and hit -- clearly, he makes interceptions now, too. He's all-around, and I'm glad to have him."
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Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, Jones' teammate with the Rams for three seasons, said what the linebacker did as a rookie in 2021 was "one of the most impressive things I've ever seen." It wasn't just the grasp he showed of Los Angeles' defense and the way he played after becoming a starter in the second half of their run to a Super Bowl title. It was also the way he carried himself and commanded a room despite turning 22 midway through the season.
"He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around," Kupp said. "To be able to go through all the adversity ... the traumas, but continue to just hold fast and hold strong and overcome and be the same Ernest regardless of the circumstances that have been imposed on him, regardless of the things happening in his life, just being able to hold his bearing and be there for the guys over and over and over again, it's an impressive thing."
Married with a young child, Jones is so mature that Macdonald could hardly believe he was only 24 when he arrived in Seattle. Players were similarly incredulous when Jones turned 26 last month.
"It was his birthday recently and it got put up in the team meeting," Darnold said. "Every time there's a birthday, Coach asks, 'How old are you?' and the guy has to say their age. When Ernest said 26, everyone kind of looked around like, 'Are you serious? That's it?' So he is wise beyond his years just with how he speaks and just with the way that he plays football as well ... He's a great leader for us and someone we can all depend on."
Darnold completed 14 of 26 passes for only 128 yards as Seattle struggled to handle a barrage of pressure from Minnesota's blitz-happy defense. His QBR of 18.3 was by far his lowest in any game this season.
But Jones and the defense were again there to pick their quarterback up.
"I love Ern and he knows everyone on this team has got his back," Kupp said. "But it's just awesome to see him out there making plays and doing what he's doing."