As Pete Carroll is fond of saying – and said again Monday morning – the Seahawks “are always competing.” But, every three years or so, you can count on John Schneider going for it even bigger than usual.

On Monday, Schneider pulled off his first deadline deal since 2020, acquiring Pro Bowl defensive lineman Leonard Williams from the New York Giants in a bid to further strengthen Seattle’s ascending defense. It’s a move that puts even more pressure on Geno Smith to play mistake-free football.

The Seahawks have been surprisingly good up front, led by Jarran Reed and Dre Jones. Williams, 29, gives them another very good player to help stuff the run and free up the outside pass rushers.

This is reminiscent of 2017, when the Seahawks still had a strong defense (the last year of the Legion of Boom) and added Sheldon Richardson before the season and then Duane Brown at the trade deadline.

This move cost Seattle a second-rounder in 2024 and a fifth in 2025 – a deal that was quite similar to the preseason trade for Richardson, a one-year rental that cost a second and WR Jermaine Kearse. This could be a half-year rental for a similar price (with Seattle reportedly paying the vet minimum as the Giants eat around $9 million of Williams’ remaining 2023 salary).

This is not the first time Schneider has added to a strength. In 2013, it was the blockbuster for bonus playmaker Percy Harvin. In 2017, it was Richardson (Brown was added at the deadline to fill a dire need at left tackle). In 2020, it was Jamal Adams upgrading over Bradley McDougald (traded in the deal for Adams) in the summer, with Carlos Dunlap (a needed pass rusher) coming at the deadline.

Schneider has had mixed success with these blockbuster deals. The 2013 team was primed to win the Super Bowl even without Harvin, who was dumped a year later at an extreme loss because he was a clubhouse cancer. The 2017 team missed the playoffs because most of the LOB got injured and Russell Wilson had a terrible December. Adams and Dunlap helped improve a weak defense in 2020, but the Hawks’ offense “flatlined” (as Wilson said) late in the season.

Another sign you know the Hawks were all in for 2017 and 2020: They fired their offensive coaches after both failed seasons. So keep that in mind if this season does not end well – someone (Smith?) likely will pay the price.

This big trade for Williams comes as the Seahawks (5-2) sit in first place in the NFC West, a game up on the suddenly slumping 49ers (5-3) after the Hawks pulled off a 24-20 comeback win over Cleveland on Sunday.

The Seahawks have been growing on defense all season. They have been surprisingly stout against the run from the start (although they have given up 282 yards to Arizona and Cleveland the past two games), and their secondary has gotten healthy over the past few weeks. They are tied for third in the NFL in low yards per carry (3.6) and, after allowing 300-yard passers in each of their first three games, they had gone three straight games with no passer over 200 yards until Cleveland backup P.J. Walker hit a few screen passes that lifted him to 230.

The Seahawks definitely missed out-for-the-season Uchenna Nwosu in the win over the Browns, but Williams should help against both the run and pass by keeping linebackers free to make their plays on schedule.

Smith and the offense have really struggled over the past three weeks, turning the ball over six times and averaging just 19 points (after averaging 28 in the first four games).

Smith and Shane Waldron were on fire in the first quarter against the Browns, scoring 17 points on the first three drives with a great mix of plays. But then Smith started to struggle, throwing a lot of bad balls and not being able to move against Cleveland’s great defense. He and DK Metcalf had major trouble hooking up all game (5 for 14), and Geno threw two more interceptions, giving him five in the past three games.

“Take away two plays, three plays, and we’re talking about a really good game,” he said. “But obviously you can’t eliminate those; those things happened. Again, that’s something that I have been trying to be better at, not having those mistakes because those can hurt us.”

Smith still managed to lead a late rally after Adams used his silver throwback helmet to deflect a pass to Julian Love for a huge interception, and Seattle survived a slugfest against the league’s No. 1 defense.

The Seahawks will face another rough-and-tumble opponent this week as they go against Baltimore’s No. 2 -ranked defense. Then Seattle’s offense will get a little bit of a break against Washington (29^th defense) and the Rams (18^th) before four big-time games against NFC contenders San Francisco (on Thanksgiving and two weeks later), Dallas and Philadelphia. The Cowboys’ defense is ranked third and the Niners and Eagles are both in the top 10.

The Seahawks should be no worse than 7-3 as they enter that four-game gantlet. And then they finish with winnable games against Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Arizona. Three wins in that final seven should get them in the playoffs.

But, if they fancy themselves Super Bowl contenders – and the Williams move was definitely made with that thought – they will need to win the West and perhaps the NFC’s top seed. To get it, Geno needs to play better than he has the past three weeks.

“Our team is such a scrappy team. We find ways to win no matter what,” Smith said. “I feel like if I can play up to my capabilities, play up to my standard, who knows where we can be? Because we’re one of the best teams in football if we play right.”