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 last season.

The play topping the list should come as no surprise. It may go down as the signature play of Earl’s career, and one of the most instinctually excellent plays ever made in the game. It needs no further introduction, as it known simply as “The Chop.”

ET Top 5—No. 1: The Chop

Entering their Week 17 divisional showdown in Seattle, the Seahawks had a lot on the line, as they had yet to clinch the NFC West title or home-field advantage for the playoffs. On the other side, the surprising St. Louis Rams still had plenty to play for as they aimed for a season sweep of Seattle that would’ve sent the defending champs tumbling from the No. 1 seed in the NFC into a Wild Card slot.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the game was still hanging in the balance. That is, until Earl Thomas III made his best play of the season.

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After a tops-turvy 3-3 start to the season, the Hawks rolled into their regular season finale having won eight of their previous nine game, including five straight, which allowed them to move from the outside of the playoff picture to the top of the conference.

However, thanks to their rough start to the season, which hit its low point with a Week 6 loss to these same Rams in St. Louis, Seattle still needed to exact revenge over their division rivals with a Week 17 victory to finish 12-4 and have a chance to get into a three-way tie with Dallas and either Green Bay or Detroit that would allow the Seahawks to finish atop the conference.

But as a fierce NFC West Division rival, the Rams weren’t going to lay down and allow that to happen.

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The Rams jumped out to a 6-0 lead and held it there at halftime. However, Seattle rattled off 20 consecutive points, capped by a big play from the defense when linebacker Bruce Irvin picked off a Shaun Hill pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth. From there, the Hawks appeared to be in control, but St. Louis got rolling on the ensuing drive.

Hill drove the Rams all the way to the Seahawks’ six-yard line and on third and goal from that spot, the quarterback found running back Benny Cunningham to his left for a screen pass that left Cunningham with a clear path to the end zone. Seattle corner Byron Maxwell closed in, forcing Cunningham toward the corner pylon, but the diminutive St. Louis running back was still in position to score until Earl closed in and changed the game.

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Cunningham reached out his arm, but just inches before the ball crossed the goal line, ET III flew in and threw a precise chop into Cunningham’s forearm, knocking the ball loose. The ball bounced harmlessly out of the side of the end zone, resulting in a Rams turnover and a touchback that gave the Seahawks offense possession at their own 20.

With one incredible chop, Earl had effectively iced the game for Seattle.

“That was a colossal play,” said fellow Legion of Boom member Richard Sherman. “It just shows who he is as a person, as a player, his effort, his unwavering commitment, his unwavering effort every play to the last inch, till there’s only an inch left.”

The Seahawks offense couldn’t take much time off the clock on the ensuing drive, but ET and the L.O.B. held steady for the rest of the way, and the Rams never threatened to score again, as the Hawks cruised to a 20-6 victory, and sealed up the top seed in the conference.

They used that No. 1 spot to advance to the NFC Championship game, where they were challenged mightily by the Packers. Fortunately, they had the full support and volume of the 12s behind them, and they put together one of the most incredible comebacks in NFL history at CenturyLink Field. At any other venue, that comeback might not have been possible.

But thanks to Earl’s game-changing chop, the Seahawks were at home through the playoffs—and they used that advantage to march right back to the Super Bowl.