How good can Mike Macdonald be?
Good enough to trick a 41-year-old, three-time NFL MVP into a game-losing mistake.
The Seahawks’ rookie head coach, four years younger than the New York Jets’ star quarterback, made history for Leonard Williams Sunday.
And that made the Seahawks’ cold afternoon in the Meadowlands go from disastrous to divine.
Earlier this season, Macdonald dialed back his multiplicity and disguising within Seattle’s defense. That was because his Seahawks were struggling with mere basics, let alone his tricks. The team was in last place beneath the NFC West, giving up acres of yards and bushels of points.
Now, with the season in its stretch run, the defensive whiz is showing off the schemes that made team chair Jody Allen, vice chair Bert Kolde and general manager John Schneider hire the 37-year-old away from the Baltimore Ravens last winter as the NFL’s youngest head man.
And — presto! — the Seahawks (7-5) are in first place. They’ve won three straight games heading into a showdown rematch with the division-rival Arizona Cardinals (6-6) next weekend in the desert.
“We talk about December football, and this is when you want to be playing your best ball,” Macdonald said after Seattle’s largely inexplicable rally 26-21 past the bad New York Jets.
“I wouldn’t say this is our best game. But we won, and that’s all that matters.
“So it’s about stacking those wins. And you got to play a certain brand of ball to win in December.”
That brand is becoming more Macdonald’s style of confusing, disguising and moving defense.
Mike Macdonald’s tricks with Leonard Williams
Midway through the second quarter Sunday the lowly Jets (3-9) had just recovered a fumble on a kickoff return by Seattle’s Laviska Shenault. They had the ball inside the Seahawks 10-yard line. New York already led 21-7. It was 9 yards from seizing a three-score lead, and maybe the game.
On second down, Rodgers was not pressured. He had wide receiver Garret Wilson free behind cornerback Josh Jobe for a touchdown on the right side of the end zone. But Rodgers (21 for 39, 185 yards) overthrew Wilson by 2 yards incomplete.
On third down, Macdonald had Williams move from defensive end to nose tackle, over Jets center Joe Tippmann. At the snap, Williams charged one step into the line. Rodgers read Williams pass rushing, so the 20-year veteran who’s seen it all read Williams was out of the coverage plan, as usual.
Except he wasn’t.
Macdonald’s play call this time had Williams dropping into coverage after his feigned charge. Rodgers did not expect a 6-foot-5, 310-pound nose tackle to be in the way of his throw over the middle to Wilson breaking on an in route.
That’s how Macdonald fooled Rodgers on this game’s pivotal play.
“That’s pretty much what that drop’s meant to be,” Williams said after Seattle’s comeback win he sparked. “Our technique is to ‘rush to touch.’ So I rush the guard. As soon as I get hands on him (the quarterback) thinks I’m coming. Then at the last second I pop out.
“And the ball just happened to be in arm’s reach.”
Like a volleyballer, Williams tapped the unsuspecting Rodgers’ throw from where a linebacker normally covers, straight up in the air, to himself. Williams caught the rebound at the Seahawks 8-yard line. And he took off running the other way.
Took off like he never ran before.
“He ran like hell,” speedy Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen said, in admiration.
Williams got across the field to the Seattle sideline. His teammates were there cheering him on, as no Jet showed up to slow him down. When the defensive end they call “Big Cat” got to midfield, he needed a friend.
“I didn’t expect to get that far,” Williams said, smiling.
“I thought I was running fast. ...But all my teammates were hyping me out, telling me I was movin’ on the sideline.
“I looked up to my left and right, and once I crossed the 50 I was actually looking to pitch it to somebody. But I saw ‘Spoon’ (cornerback Devon Witherspoon) and my whole defense, the cavalry, pretty much running down the field. They were all almost more excited for me to get that touchdown than myself.
“It was awesome.”
Williams kept running — all the way to the opposite end zone. NFL NextGen Stats said he ran 17.84 mph, the fastest by a defensive lineman as a ball carrier in more than five years.
When he crossed the goal line he had his first-ever touchdown, at any level of football. And he turned the Seahawks’ three-score abyss into a 21-13 game with one, historic play.
Checkmate.
“Biggest play of the game,” Macdonald said.
It was the longest interception return for a touchdown by a defensive lineman in NFL history, according to NFL research.
The Jets never scored or came close to scoring again. The Seahawks scored the game’s final 19 points for the win.
When Williams got to the goal line, teammate Coby Bryant jumped on his back to celebrate.
Williams was in no condition to do that.
“I mean, I literally just laid down,” Williams said. “Coby came and jumped on me, and was really excited for me. And as soon as he jumped on me I was like, ‘Man, just lay down!’
“I was, like, exhausted.”
Macdonald and the Seahawks were, like, elated.
“Man, he was movin’!” Pro Bowl safety Julian Love said. “We threw some great blocks, but I don’t think anyone would have caught him anyways.
“That’s the ‘Big Cat,’ man. He’s playing at such a high level.
“And, yeah, that was a nuts play.”
Not surprisingly, Macdonald wasn’t about to divulge his tactics when asked by The News Tribune after the win about fooling Rodgers into the game-turning interception that keeps Seattle in the NFC West lead.
“How often does a nose (tackle) drop? Macdonald said, with a look of why did you ask that?
He diffused the query with dry humor.
“We just tell everybody, ‘Hey, you owe us two drops a game. So, you can rush the rest of the time.’”
Leonard Williams’ ‘All-Pro’ level
Oh, Williams also blocked a Jets extra point.
Williams became the first with multiple sacks, an interception-return touchdown and a blocked kick in a game since 1982. His coach was still five years from being born then.
The previous week, Williams dominated Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in Seattle’s 16-6 home win.
Macdonald is using Williams at end. That’s where he was when he sacked Rodgers with 4 1/2 minutes left then again on the next-to-last play of the game, effectively ending it.
Macdonald is moving Williams to tackle, off the shoulders of guards. He has him at nose tackle.
Williams rushes the passer. He sets the edge or the inside on runs. He, decisively, drops into pass coverage. Williams said during spring offseason practices Macdonald was having him playing six different positions.
He’s excelling in all of them.
The Seahawks are getting all of their $64.5 million worth on their defensive lineman they made their top priority to re-sign in March. That was after Schneider traded with the Giants for Williams in the middle of the 2023 season.
Those decisions are paying off handsomely with five games left before a possible return to the playoffs following a one-year absence.
Williams’ seven sacks lead the Seahawks. He said after the win Sunday he thinks he’s playing better than the season he had a career-high 11 1/2 sacks, in 2020 with the Giants.
“Even that season I don’t think was as dominant as what I’m doing right now,” Williams said. “Just because I don’t think, necessarily, the stats say always the full picture. And right now, being older, more mature, understanding my strengths and understanding the offense more just allows me to play fast. And I feel like I’ve got grown-man strength now.
“I feel like even when I’m not making the play I’m more dominant on the field.”
Williams joked last week he should have won the NFC defensive player of the week award that teammate Coby Bryant won instead.
He may win that award this week. Or month.
“I would just have a hard time thinking that anybody’s playing better than him right now,” Macdonald said.
“I mean do we want to like, just officially — I don’t know how this works, but if we can nominate Leonard Williams for player of the week,” the rookie coach said. “He’s just playing at an all-time elite level.
“You know, to have a pick six, I think they told me he was going about 17-and-a-half miles an hour, which was pretty fast for a man that size. So he’s playing out of his mind right now.”
Laken Tomlinson looked around another loud Seahawks locker room postgame to see if Williams was behind him.
“I’ve known Leo a long time,” Seattle’s 32-year-old left guard said. “And he is continuing to show why he is an All-Pro player.”
And the Seahawks are five games from a division title. The next big test is at the Cardinals.
“This is all you can ask for, is a chance to take it home down the stretch,” Macdonald said. “So, we’re right in it. And off to Arizona we go.”
