Let’s drop the notion that the Seahawks’ defense is fixed — it may not even be improved. An uptick in performance was expected with the hiring of Mike Macdonald, the defensive mastermind who thrived as a coordinator with Michigan and the Ravens.
Seattle, which ranked 30th in total defense last season and hasn’t cracked the top 20 since 2019, needed a coach of his caliber. His innovative schemes were supposed to revive a unit that once defined the franchise during its Super Bowl years.
Macdonald still might turn things around, as it’s only five games into the season. However, the last two losses remind us that this is a players’ league, and coaches aren’t a quick fix.
Seattle’s 29-20 loss to the Giants on Sunday was one of the more glaring defeats in recent memory. The Seahawks (3-2) were seven-point favorites, not just because they had won three of their last four, but because the Giants (2-3) were depleted. They were missing star receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary. Even with those two, New York’s offense had been underwhelming, ranking in the bottom third of the league.
But on Sunday, the Giants not only secured a nine-point win but exposed Seattle’s lingering defensive problems from the final years of the Pete Carroll era.
The Giants racked up 420 yards, including 175 rushing, and dominated possession with over 37 minutes of control. While the Seahawks forced a few three-and-outs and produced a 102-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Rayshawn Jenkins, the defensive lapses were evident. As linebacker Jerome Baker, who forced the fumble, put it: “Even if you look at that drive, they drove the whole field. So, yeah, we were happy we got the turnover and the points, but we also didn’t stop them.”
Indeed, they didn’t. Just like they couldn’t stop the Lions, who completed all 19 of their passes and averaged 7.8 yards per play in a 42-29 win the previous Monday. Nor could they fully stop the Patriots, who rushed for 185 yards in an overtime loss in Week 2, only failing because of a missed field goal.
Seattle’s two best defensive performances this season came against the Broncos and Dolphins. Was it due to defensive dominance, or the fact that Denver started a shaky Bo Nix at quarterback, and Miami was without Tua Tagovailoa?
After the Giants loss, Macdonald didn’t dive too deep into the defensive struggles, stating, “We got outplayed and out-executed today. I thought we made some good adjustments as the game went on, but when we created third downs in the first half, we didn’t get off the field.”
Macdonald may have made a silent statement in the fourth quarter, with Seattle down seven and facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 35-yard line. His decision to go for it resulted in Geno Smith getting sacked, followed by a Giants field goal. Whether this was analytics or an acknowledgment of the defense’s inability to stop the Giants, it might have been a turning point in the game.
Last Monday, Seattle could have blamed their defensive woes on missing key players up front against Detroit. But they were healthier against a banged-up Giants team, and the problems persisted.
The reality is that there’s still a lot of work to be done defensively. Coaches matter in the NFL, but they aren’t a cure-all. If the Seahawks want to end this losing streak, they’ll need to figure out how to stop opposing offenses.
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