It almost a writer’s obligation to make reference to the bomb cyclone and resulting power outage in the Seattle area when talking about this Seahawks game, so let’s get it all out of our system in the opening paragraph. Reports that Puget Sound Energy has reached out to the Seahawks defense about providing much-needed electricity to the region cannot be confirmed at this time. Kyler Murray and the formerly division-leading Arizona Cardinals had never experienced a bomb cyclone before they were repeatedly hit by eleven of them on Sunday. The Seahawks were subjected to cold showers all week, but it was James Connor and the Cardinals heralded offense that took one Sunday afternoon. Mike Macdonald and his defense methodically removed each part of the Cardinals offense that had supplied power during their recent four-game winning streak. The offensive line was torn to shreds. The rugged running back and running game were made docile. The whirlwind quarterback was barely a blip on the radar. This Seahawks group went through a stormy first nine weeks of the season. Now, they are the storm.
The lows for Macdonald’s defense this season have been excruciatingly low. Offenses were salivating at the idea of facing this team. How bad was it? Daniel Jones and the Giants put up 420 yards including 175 yards on the ground for one of only two wins they have had on the year. You could really pick any game between the Lions scoring at will, the 49ers putting up nearly 500 yards and 228 yards on the ground, or the Bills piling on 450 yards and 164 yards rushing. It was the type of football that causes fans to hang up their jerseys for the season and avert their eyes.
Expecting improvement against three of the most efficient offenses in football, all division opponents, was like expecting a wet tissue to have the tensile strength to tow a tractor trailer. Yet, improve they did. Improvement does not really capture what has happened the last three games. That would be like calling a car an improvement over a horse. They have been a completely different entity.
Devon Witherspoon gave a lot of credit to his head coach.
“He’s been dialing up those calls,” Witherspoon said after the 16-6 win over Arizona. “A lot of them have been on point. He said they were going to run this in this situation in this area of the field, and that’s exactly what they did. As far as the game plan, everything has been on point.”
It has been a long time since it felt like the Seahawks had a scheme and coaching advantage on defense. Macdonald was brought in with a reputation as maybe the brightest mind on that side of the ball in the game. John Schneider going that direction when everyone else in the NFL is touting offensive coaches and his division includes two of the best offensive minds out there was gutsy. The only way it could be the right choice would be for Macdonald to put together a defense that could quiet these great NFC West offenses. It would be reasonable to expect that to take a couple of years when he inherited one of the worst defenses in the league. He managed to do it this year.
Too early to celebrate? Cool your jets? It is true that this has only been three games. Offenses may adjust to what Macdonald has his team doing and find new weak spots. There will probably be more bumps along the road the rest of the way. But consider this series of accomplishments, and note how long it has been since each occured.
Macdonald and this defense have done things the last three weeks that have not happened around here since Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan joined the fray. This is why you hired him.
Fans could feel the difference. There was energy back in Lumen Field. Every seat was not full, but the fans who were there were louder than they have been all season. My ears were ringing when I got home for the first time this year. Seahawks fans love defense. They love hitting. They love effort. They got all of that in this game. You could feel the love affair between fans and team rekindling just a bit.
Leonard Williams may not play for the Giants any longer, but he was a giant all day in this one. It was arguably the most dominant individual defensive performance by a Seahawks player since Jadeveon Clowney took over the game in San Francisco years ago.
Arizona came into the game with one of the top-ranked offensive lines in the league. They had been pass blocking well and their run blocking had been elite. Williams was knocking them around like they had been replaced by inflatable dummies.
What a pleasure it was to watch this team play run defense. Chicks may dig the long ball, but I will take the short run every time. Finally, the Seahawks look like the bullies. It was not just the plays that they made that stood out, it was how desperate the Cardinals were to try and block them. Arizona had four holding calls. Seattle drew three against San Francisco. The Rams had four.
This defensive line was built to be the foundation of this defense, and to some extent, the team. They have played well most of the year but it was hard to feel their contributions due to the poor play at the second level.
Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight have been keys to unlocking a dominant and physical front. Macdonald has also adjusted the alignments up front and narrowed his play calling to aspects he felt the team was ready to perform well.
The better play upfront has allowed this talented young secondary to shine. Witherspoon was a difference maker for the third straight week. He paired with Coby Bryant on what may have been the game-winning play.
Everyone in the stadium groaned when they realized Macdonald had called a timeout after Witherspoon had broken up a pass on 4th down and the play had to be repeated. The coach must have realized he had a pick-six play he meant to call. Witherspoon showed off his athleticism and competitive fire on the next play when he forced Murray into an errant throw that settled into the hands of Bryant who returned it for a touchdown while Witherspoon cleared the path.
Arizona tight end Trey McBride ended the day with big receiving numbers (133 yards), but it felt very much like the Seahawks were funneling plays to him while taking away the big plays from receivers and Connor. This was mostly a de-clawed Cardinals offense. And they had been destroying opposing teams of late.
They had faced four straight top ten scoring defenses and averaged 26 points per game, scoring 28 or more in three of them. Seattle held them to six points. Seeing them again in two weeks will make for a fascinating rematch. They did not appear to have many answers for what the Seahawks were throwing at them.
Murray was under pressure on 43.2% of his dropbacks, a season-high. He tends to wilt under pressure. Take away his run game as well, and he becomes a very ordinary quarterback.
Seattle needed him to be because their offense was dreadful for most of this game. Ryan Grubb and this group are scuffling. The offensive line struggled early, giving up 5 sacks in the first half (none in the second). They continued to try and establish the running game, but were having trouble even getting back to the line of scrimmage.
As unimpressive as it was, they were protecting the football and putting up enough points to win a defensive game. Until, that is, Geno Smith made an inexcusable mistake, which has become a weekly ritual. His third interception in the red zone and sixth interception in the last three games was the worst of them all.
Seattle had a 10 point lead. They were in the red zone. It was third down and you were in field goal range. An incomplete pass and a kick probably ends the game. Smith saw some open space and started to run. This, also, was a fine decision to make. He might come up short of the first down but it would help his kicker. But then he saw Tyler Lockett flash open in the end zone and decided to try and slip a ball into him, not seeing the defender lurking.
Let me be clear: throwing that football was a decision you can never make as a quarterback even if the result had been a touchdown. Smith has to find a way to change his risk tolerance in these crucial situations. Whether it is Grubb reminding him before the play or Smith reminding himself, there has to be a change to process here.
Smith might look at the almost identical play later in the game where he miraculously hit D.K. Metcalf on 3rd down to key the final 8 minute drive that sealed the game, and come to the conclusion that “shooters gotta shoot.” That would be the wrong conclusion. I did not love that decision either, even if the results were great. Even so, that was a less devastating moment to take that chance than the red zone where you are stealing points from your team if you make a mistake.
I thought this was who Smith was going to be when he took over as the Seahawks starter in 2022. That was why I was not that excited about him as a quarterback. He won me over with excellent decision making most of that season while leading the NFC in touchdown and throwing very few interceptions. He has that in him. He needs to get it back.
Grubb is not helping much. The offense very clearly is trying to transition into a more balanced unit that can run or pass. There were a few flashes of a functional run game, including a play where Kenneth Walker III nearly made a house call. The vast majority of plays, though, were ugly. Defenders were in the backfield almost every time.
That was not just on the offensive line. The tight ends were getting overpowered and missing blocks. Macdonald was clear this week when I asked him that he believes you must commit to the run game in order to get better at it, as opposed to waiting for some success before committing to it. Seattle has run on over 40% of their plays in each of the last three games after doing it only twice in the first eight. The focus is right. The idea is right. The execution has been very hard to watch.
They should stick with it, even if it costs them some games. The big picture for this team has to include a functional running game. You will not get it if you do not push through the growing pains. This defense will hopefully continue to buy the offense some time to find their way. The payoff would be massive if they can eventually find a running game.
Meanwhile, the passing game was not a whole lot better. It felt desperate and frantic. On first blush, it felt like the offensive line took a step back from the performance against San Francisco. Interestingly, the Cardinals only had a 29.7% pressure rate, which is one of the lower numbers of the season for the Seahawks. It felt far dicier than that.
As much as Jaxon Smith-Njigba has taken a step forward, Metcalf has been less of a dynamic aspect of the offense since his return. Tyler Lockett is almost invisible. Nothing is easy right now on that side of the ball.
Grubb has repeatedly turned to this tunnel screen as a change-of-pace. He had some good results from it in this game, but also nearly had a couple of turnovers as teams are starting to recognize the play. We need to see more check-down options, and more comfort with gains of 3-5 yards. It feels like everything is long-developing.
Seattle exits this game on top of the NFC West. They head to New York to play a reeling but dangerous Jets team before flying home and then turning around to play Arizona on the road again. Winning this game opens the door to a promising end to this season. Seattle dug itself a big enough hole that you could argue they need to win both of these next two games to feel good about their chances to sneak into the playoffs as a division winner.
Talking about the playoffs and division titles feels like a distraction. That was never what this season was about. It is a walkabout to find their new identity. The makeover on defense has resulted in a defense any Seahawks fan can be proud to cheer for. You want to see them on the field. You want to see the young players develop. You want to see what they look like when Uchenna Nwosu gets back. As frustrating as the offense has been recently, they are not as bad as the defense had been. Reinforcements are not an option the way they were with the defense. The injury to Anthony Bradford means 60% of the offensive line is new. Those three players gaining chemistry and finding their footing would be worth even a few more weeks of scuffling.
This team has climbed off the mat and are delivering punches again. Many of the best teams first have to experience adversity and embarrassment before finding their way to dominance. Six games remain for Seattle to learn about themselves and build on top of this foundation. Four of the six games are on the road. Three of the games are against teams with winning records in the NFC. Two of them are against division opponents. The array of possible endings to this season make it all captivating. A light switch has been turned on. Who knows what we will see.
