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Over the course of the offseason, as Earl Thomas III recovers from surgery to repair a torn labrum, we’ll be counting down the top five plays made by No. 29 from this past season.

First on the list was, surprisingly enough, Earl’s only interception of the season—but it couldn’t have come at a better time for a struggling Seahawks team.

ET Top 5—No. 5: One Giant Pick

Elite defensive backs like Earl Thomas have the power to change the course of a game in one single play—and that’s exactly what ET III did for the Seattle Seahawks against the New York Giants in Week 10.

The Giants had a leg up on the Hawks for most of their midseason battle, and New York took a 17-14 advantage into halftime.

A Steven Hauschka field goal knotted the score in the third, but late in the quarter, on the arm of two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, the Giants were driving to take back the lead. Manning had just linked up with Odell Beckham Jr. for a first-down reception to move New York to Seattle’s 39-yard-line, and the Pro Bowl QB looked right back at his star rookie on the next play.

“[Beckham Jr.] is a great player,” Earl said afterward. “They tried to move him in the slot, the Z receiver, and the X receiver just to get him open. He did a great job making big plays for them.”

Beckham was in a one-on-one bout with Richard Sherman, and Seattle’s All-Pro cornerback had the inside positioning, forcing Beckham to play defense and tip the ball away.

However, Sherman wasn’t the only Seahawk in the right place at the right time.

ET had just rushed in from Area 29 to help out his Legion of Boom partner when Beckham batted the ball into the air. And a few yards deep in the endzone Earl plucked the Manning pass out of the air for his first and only interception of the 2014 season, and immediately took off in the other direction.

With the Seattle front-seven serving as his lead blockers, Earl weaved through the chaos and nearly took the ball all the way back past the original line of scrimmage, before he was tackled at the Seattle 42.

“It’s great to be a part of [the game’s turning point],” ET III said of his big play. “Credit to Sherm and even the D-Line, getting the quarterback off his spot and making him scramble to our left. We always practice that. When you run, good things always happen. You never know what could happen so you never give up on the play. That’s our whole defense. We always do that.”

While ET couldn’t make it back to pay dirt, the pick and the return set up a swift touchdown drive by the Seattle offense. Several big runs by Christine Michael, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch put the Hawks on the three-yard line, where Beast Mode finished the deal with a three-yard burst up the middle.

From Earl’s interception on, the Giants never scored. The Seahawks ended the game with 21 unanswered points, securing a 38-17 rout at CenturyLink Field, their third consecutive win after a troubling 3-3 start to the season.

“I learned a valuable lesson today,” Earl said after the win. “You don’t think about anything and just have fun and play the game at its purest form and encourage guys. You just bring that energy. You enjoy watching Marshawn run and enjoy Russell going through his adverse situations, but still overcoming. When the ball comes your way and you’re not thinking and just having fun, you just make the plays like you’re in Pop Warner.”

The Hawks also learned a lesson as a team through their win over the Giants.

They came out the following week with an inspired performance, though they ultimately fell to one of the NFL’s hottest teams at the time, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the league’s most hostile venues.

But after that defeat, Seattle ended the regular season with six straight wins, allowing 6.5 points per game in that span. ET and the Seattle D carried them to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and eventually brought the Seahawks all the way back to the Super Bowl.

As it was happening against New York, Earl could feel Seattle’s resurgence growing in size and strength. The Week 10 interception of Manning, Earl’s 16th career INT, ended up being his lone pick of the season, because teams stayed away from Area 29 as much as possible in his fifth NFL campaign. But ET III found other ways to elevate his game and enliven his teammates throughout the year, making impact plays in all facets as the heartbeat of the Seahawks defense.

“That’s the great thing about this season,” No. 29 said. “That’s the great challenge about this season. Through all the adversity early, you’ve been on this team for five years and your role expands and you have the ability to bring guys with you and show them the way and elevate their game, mentally-wise, physically-wise and technique-wise. That’s what I love about this game. Every week we just get more powerful. Guys are binding together. We love each other and keep attacking.”