RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald was hired as a head coach largely because of his defensive mind, and his fingerprints have been all over that side of the ball during the Seattle Seahawks’ 3-0 start.
It’s early, but Macdonald’s Seahawks are playing some of the best defense in the NFL.
The Seahawks have the best defense in the league by EPA per play (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise). They’ve played three bottom-10 offenses, but considering their defensive struggles over the last few years, the Seahawks aren’t going to apologize for handling business against inferior opponents. Plus, they’ve been dominant in several areas that suggest a level of sustainability as the schedule toughens over the next few weeks, starting with a nationally televised Week 4 road game against the Detroit Lions (2-1).
“I think we showed we’re capable of everything, really,” safety Julian Love said after Seattle’s 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins. “Get after the quarterback, get after the ball. It’s just continuing to be cohesive and build on that each week.”
Getting after the quarterback has been their specialty. The Seahawks rank third in pressure rate despite blitzing only 19.2 percent of the time, the seventh-lowest rate in the league. Macdonald has consistently schemed ways to disrupt the quarterback with a four-man rush. Seattle ranks among the top five in sacks (11) and top 10 in sack rate (9.8 percent).
The pressure numbers are what stand out, though. Getting the quarterback on the ground can vary from week to week because of how much influence the passer has over whether he gets rid of the ball or scrambles beyond the line of scrimmage. Pressure tends to be a more stable statistic, as Macdonald noted Monday afternoon when assessing his defense’s pass rush numbers after generating six sacks against the Dolphins.
“Sack numbers are funky,” Macdonald said. “Yeah, they’re cool, and they get you paid, and that’s great. Then you get behind the sticks, and they’re drive killers and all that. But it’s really about affecting the quarterback, (that’s) really the name of the game. The sacks come as a population of affecting the QB. And it’s all 11 guys.”
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Outside linebacker Boye Mafe (21.0 percent) is the only Seahawk with a top-10 pressure rate, but Seattle has three players in the top 20 (Mafe, Leonard Williams and Derick Hall) and two more generating pressure at an above-average rate (Byron Murphy II and Dre’Mont Jones). Mafe and Hall each have three sacks in as many games.
Seattle’s defensive backs haven’t joined the party yet, outside of Devon Witherspoon generating two pressures on his 10 rushes and Riq Woolen missing out on a sack against the Patriots, but there’s reason to believe that Macdonald’s scheme will consistently flummox opposing protection plans and get players direct paths to the quarterback. On Sunday, inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson came unblocked up the middle and sacked Skylar Thompson, then gave a shout-out to Macdonald for scheming it up.
“He’s shown that formation since I got here,” Dodson said, adding that Macdonald’s instructions were: “You see this formation, you go.” Dodson trusted his coach, knew not to bite on the play-action fake and dropped Thompson on third-and-2 to force a punt. Seattle should continue to produce those sorts of plays even as the defense faces quarterbacks like Jared Goff, Brock Purdy and Josh Allen, who are very good at avoiding sacks.
Seattle’s ability to affect the quarterback ties into its ranking as the No. 1 defense in the league by EPA per dropback while also holding teams under 3.9 net yards per pass attempt. When the pressure comes, Seattle’s second- and third-level defenders have been sticky in coverage. Witherspoon, Woolen and cornerback Tre Brown have allowed only 140 total yards on 16 receptions (Woolen also has an interception).
Seattle is among the best teams in the league at limiting yardage (238 in three games) and first downs (11 total) by wide receivers. Ja’Lynn Polk’s 5-yard reception in Week 2 is the only time a receiver has gotten in the end zone against Seattle. The Seahawks rank in the top 10 in air yards per wide receiver target, which speaks to how few shots teams are taking against their coverage, and they’ve been among the best in the league at limiting yards after catch and explosive pass plays.
There are good receivers with quarterbacks capable of getting them the ball coming up on the schedule, which wasn’t the case Sunday when Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were playing with Thompson and Tim Boyle. Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown. Daniel Jones is developing a connection with rookie Malik Nabers. Purdy has Brandon Aiyuk. Matthew Stafford’s receivers might be healthy by Week 9.
Yes, tougher tests await. But so far, there’s no denying Macdonald has gotten the best out of the talented coverage unit he inherited through the first three games.
Covering tight ends has been a different story. Seattle has been among the worst in the league by first downs allowed and receiving yards. However, Seattle hasn’t allowed a touchdown reception by a tight end. Those tight end numbers aren’t any reason to panic, because few teams are equipped to lean on that position group to make their passing offense function at a high level, but that could be relevant this week if the Lions have All-Pro tight end Sam LaPorta, who is dealing with an ankle sprain.
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After Sunday’s game, Macdonald was asked a big-picture question about the balance between playing split-safety defense to limit explosive plays while also containing the run game. Macdonald gave a long-winded answer. The gist: “It’s not easy to do.”
The Seahawks are a two-high safety team, but Macdonald also uses a variety of coverages out of that pre-snap alignment. Safeties Love and Rayshawn Jenkins might start from depth, but on any snap, they can rotate down into a different zone coverage (like Cover 3) or play man coverage, which Seattle often does. That said, there’s a level of give and take required regardless of a team’s preferred coverage structure, and the difficulty of finding the perfect balance is represented in some of Seattle’s defensive numbers through three weeks.
The run defense has been average on attempts by running backs, based on metrics such as success rate, EPA per play and yards per carry (because of the limited sample size, that bad second half against the Patriots is hurting the overall numbers). But Seattle isn’t getting gashed on the ground; the defense just isn’t as strong there as it has been against opposing passing attacks. The 2023 Ravens were similar in that regard and still finished the year as the league’s top defense. Seattle’s defense is trending in the same direction.
The Seahawks are benefiting from the defensive linemen and outside linebackers being committed to Macdonald’s scheme. They’re not racking up tackles for loss or run stuffs (tackles for no gain) in part because they’re taking on double teams and setting up the second-level defenders to make plays. TruMedia tracks combined tackles for loss and runs stuffs; Witherspoon and Dodson have as many as Murphy (two). Nose tackle Jonathan Hankins leads the team with three.
Because the big boys have been willing to do the dirty work and the second-level guys have been rallying to the ball, Macdonald has a high-level pass defense that has also been competent against the run.
Murphy and Williams have been two of Seattle’s most important defenders in that regard. But both missed the second half Sunday due to injury. Murphy sustained a hamstring injury, and Williams hurt his ribs. Macdonald did not provide any injury updates Monday afternoon.
“We’ll see how long it goes,” he said when asked about Murphy and Williams.
With those two out, Seattle leaned more on Jones, Hankins and second-year interior lineman Mike Morris. All of them played well, said Macdonald, who highlighted Hankins’ effort in the middle of the action.
“Hank played a great game,” Macdonald said. “He was active in there. Did a great job, especially at the nose spot, when we had him in a zero (technique). That’s why we brought him here, to play games like that. We’re going to need another big game out of him this week.”
Another reason Macdonald was hired was because the team believed he could take a talented roster and find ways to get everyone involved and playing their best football. So far, he’s been as good as advertised. Players at every level of the defense have contributed to making this unit one of the best in the league.
“What’s really cool about really the whole thing about our defense right now is just different guys stepping up and making plays,” Macdonald said. “We’re not just relying on one guy. It’s team football out there. We tell you it’s an 11-man, team pass-rush mentality. It’s cool to see different guys step up in different moments throughout the last three games and have success.”
