Seahawks confident they can fix defensive issues ahead of Giants game

In his eight years in the NFL, Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins says he’s learned one inconvertible truth of playing defense.

“At the end of the day, the ball is always going to find you in a bad way when you are not doing your job,’’ Jenkins said.

It was a truth sadly reinforced for the Seahawks time and again Monday night when a defense that had allowed just 43 points in its first three games combined gave up 42 points against the Lions. Detroit five times drove 70 yards or longer en route to scoring six touchdowns in a stretch of eight possessions.

But there wasn’t much time to wallow in the mire of what was the first defeat of the Mike Macdonald era. 

The Seahawks got home around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and quickly set their sights on fixing what ailed them in Detroit in time for Sunday’s 1:25 p.m. game against the New York Giants at Lumen Field.

What little time they did spend rehashing their crash-and-burn in the motor city, though, convinced them that not everything was bad.

Offensively, the Seahawks mostly moved the ball at will in gaining 516 yards, their most since a week four game at Detroit in 2022, and might have scored 40-plus of their own if not for an ill-timed DK Metcalf fumble and a controversial fourth-down offensive pass interference call on Tyler Lockett.

And defensively, while the numbers looked bad, the film showed — in the eyes of the Seahawks — that most of it was easily correctable.

“Everything that they did or we gave them was all self-inflicted,’’ Jenkins said. “And had we played a few things better it would have been just a way better game.’’

One oft-cited instance was a 70-yard Jared Goff TD pass to Jameson Williams in the third quarter when the Seahawks inadvertently left the middle of the field wide open when both safeties blitzed and only one, apparently, was supposed to.

“Absolutely,’’ Jenkins responded when asked if it’s as simple a fix as shoring up some fundamentals. “It’s as simple as that, actually. The explosive to 9 (Williams) was a blown coverage … just things that we don’t normally do on a daily basis, whether it be a practice or a game. So it’s just as simple as that.’’

It may also be as simple as becoming pretty much whole again on defense, with one notable exception.

The Seahawks played the Detroit game without five starters/significant contributors on the defensive front, then saw safety Julian Love depart at halftime with a thigh injury.

But all but one — defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (hamstring) — could return, a group that includes both of the team’s listed starting edge rushers (Boye Mafe/Uchenna Nwosu, the latter of whom could play for the first time since last Oct. 22), defensive lineman Leonard Williams and Love.

Macdonald and other players, though, resisted all week using that as an excuse.

Instead, in dealing with the aftermath of his first loss as an NFL head coach, Macdonald tried to keep everything as forward-looking as possible.

His postgame comments to media, and speech to the team, emphasized how the Seahawks never gave in to Detroit’s offensive onslaught, four times immediately responding to a Lions TD with one of their own.

“I told them after the game, that’s the mentality and the spirit that we want on our football team, that we’re going to need over the long haul,’’ Macdonald said. “Again, we’re four weeks in here. This is going to be a long season. We’re going to face more adversity at some point. If we have that mentality, that gives us a chance to push through in those times. So, definitely something to be proud of, a silver lining coming out of the game.”

Love said he was impressed how Macdonald handled the defeat.

“He was good,’’ he said. “It’s weird because it’s a short week also, so we kind of just really attacked it right away. Then just had to move forward to New York. But it was constructive. Things that needed to be corrected, everyone kind of owned up. Accountability was pretty high in the room, and I thought it was pretty good.”

And players, Love said, responded the right way.

“I think we came in and said what it was,’’ he said. “It’s a defining moment. First time losing with a new staff. Everybody’s trying to figure out each other, and you don’t really know until you face adversity, so it was good to see it. Everybody was kind of committed to just doubling down and just continuing to work and just working out the process. Results are going to vary. It’s such coach-speak. But it’s really just about getting in, solving problems and continuing.”

It doesn’t hurt that the Giants are a reeling team, standing at 1-3 and appearing rudderless in the third year under coach Brian Daboll, and now without leading receiver Malik Nabers (concussion) and leading rusher Devin Singletary doubtful (groin). 

That could leave quarterback Daniel Jones — whose $160 million contract with every week looks increasingly like bad money spent — forced to shoulder even more of the offensive load.

Certainly, the Seahawks are hoping they can make relatively quick and easy work of the Giants, knowing they face another short and pivotal week with the 49ers coming to Seattle on Thursday.

Not that Macdonald wanted to address any questions going down that road this week.

“Really just not even thinking about next week,’’ he said. “We’re in our little silo here. There’s not a lot of noise. It’s pretty great. It’s pretty insulated here and we’re thinking about Sunday against the Giants. There’s no big-picture thought behind it. Other people might be, but you know me, I’m just kind of straight ahead. No fare-dodging.”