Why the Seahawks’ sacks, run D at Jaguars? DeMarcus Lawrence was back playing

His teammates call DeMarcus Lawrence a “crash-out.”

Using that term to describe a 34-year-old veteran who has earned more than $134 million in his 11-year NFL career makes fellow Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams laugh.

“Because if you watch him on tape, he’s throwing his body around like he’s a year-one type of guy,” Williams said Thursday.

“Like, he doesn’t have any remorse for his body.”

The latest film session that made the Seahawks defense laugh at, and appreciate, Lawrence was this week of Seattle’s 20-12 win at Jacksonville last weekend.

The Seahawks had a season-high seven sacks of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. DeMarcus Lawrence was the primary reason why.

Lawrence returned in Jacksonville after missing a game and a half with a quadriceps strain he got chasing Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray on a scramble play in the first half of the Seahawks’ win at the Cardinals Sept. 25.

With Lawrence out, Seattle’s defense did not have even a hit let alone a sack of Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield until 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter in the Seahawks’ 38-35 home loss to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had 4 1/2 sacks by the front-four linemen.

With Lawrence back, the Seahawks set a season-high in sacks, and had 17 hits on the quarterback in Jacksonville. Lawrence and tackle Byron Murphy had two sacks each. Williams shared one with outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who’s also back, from offseason knee surgery.

When he wasn’t sacking the Jaguars quarterback, Lawrence was “crashing out,” Williams’ term, on Jacksonville’s offensive linemen. Lawrence often took out two Jaguars with powerful slants into them toward the center of the formation. That left no Jags to block Murphy, Nwosu, Williams and other Seahawks who got in on Trevor Lawrence.

DeMarcus Lawrence did the same thing on running plays, often plowing blockers into Jacksonville’s running backs. The Jaguars entered the game with a top-five rushing offense in the NFL. The ended it with just 59 yards, about 60 yards below their rushing average, on 19 carries.

“’D-Law’ played a tremendous game,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “He had two sacks. (Plus) to be able to play the run the way we played the run, he’s one of the guys leading the charge there. Just the mentality, too.

“The guy is just an absolute beast.”

It’s who he is. It’s who he was for most of his 11 seasons before this for the Dallas Cowboys. Seattle signed him this spring to a three-year contract worth up to $42 million.

On one of Lawrence’s sacks in Jacksonville last weekend, his linemate Williams did what Lawrence usually does. Williams bowled over two Jaguars offensive linemen. That freed Lawrence unblocked for the sack.

“Thank you,” Lawrence told Williams as they walked back to the huddle.

“You’re welcome,” Williams said.

“You know, a lot of times we joke about me helping him make a sack on that one play,” Williams said Thursday, “but a lot of times he’s helping the rest of the defense make plays as well from him. Just like crashing into guys and shortening edges and picking guys, offensive linemen, off of other people.

“I know that I can trust him to have the edge. I don’t have to do anything outside of my frame to help towards the outside, because I know he’s going to hold it down.

“So by trusting the guys around me...that’s what allows us to do our individual job so well.”

Before he got hurt, Lawrence was a large (6 feet 3, 254 pounds) reason the Seahawks were among the league leaders in pressure rate while blitzing at one of the NFL’s lowest rates. The front four was getting almost all the pressure on QBs.

And the throttling of Travis Etienne and the Jaguars’ running game last weekend pushed the Seahawks (4-2) to second in the league in rushing defense (79.0 yards allowed per game) entering their test against the Houston Texans (2-3) Monday night at Lumen Field.

Lawrence and the defensive line’s pressure is coming in handy for a Seahawks defense that has been missing injured starters Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Riq Woolen. All have made the Pro Bowl in previous seasons. Witherspoon, Love and Woolen were back to practice Thursday, a positive sign they all may return to play the Texans.

Lawrence says the defensive linemen take it on themselves to carry the defense with all the team’s injuries at cornerback and safety.

“Oh, yeah, most definitely. We feel like we are (among the) top three best fronts in the league, you know what I mean?” Lawrence said.

“When our team is down and we know that they need help, we are the ones that need to come through for the whole team.

“Yes, we do put it on our back to make sure we go out there, set the tempo, make the plays that need to be played — and finish the game.”