Mike Macdonald was clear that he did not want the 2026 Seahawks squad to live in the past. There would be no talk of defending their Super Bowl championship, and the notion of “running it back” was replaced with the notion of “running it forward.” The idea was that every season and every team are independent entities. Seattle would not inherit their championship pedigree from the previous season. They would need to earn it all over again. What Macdonald did want to carry forward was the “way of life” they built in terms of their process, their identity, their connection to one another. A cursory glance at the Seahawks 3-1 record after their latest win against the Chargers might leave the impression that the transition has gone well. Peek below the surface and you see a team that is neither crisp nor disciplined in any of the three phases that made them a complete team a year ago. Few individual players or coaches can clearly state their performance has stepped forward, and some key players have taken a step back so far. The sky is not falling, but the forecast is cloudy. Macdonald was right to not live in the past. He has still has work to do, however, to build a bridge that allows their way of life to run forward.
It is rare to be critical of a team that intercepts the first pass of the game and builds leads of 27-6 and 30-13. Seattle properly dominated a decimated, hapless, and winless, Chargers team for much of this game. They also allowed them to crawl back to the point where Justin Herbert had the ball with a chance to tie the game before Uchenna Nwosu forced a fumble on a sack to end it. There was joy. There was pain.
The foreshadowing of a funky game came early, when Sam Darnold followed the Herbert first-play interception with one of his own. No game, dating back to at least 1978 when ESPN play-by-play data stops, has started with back-to-back interceptions on the first two plays of the game.
Los Angeles turned Darnold’s mistake into an early 3-0 lead. A muffed Chargers punt return allowed the Seahawks to take a lead they never relinquished on a nifty screen to new starting running back, Emanuel Wilson. Then the teams traded seven straight punts.
It was about to be eight straight until a gorgeous 28-yard pass from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 3rd and 16, keyed a touchdown drive that was capped off by a tantalizing 28-yard touchdown run by Rashid Shaheed.
Rookie first round pick, Jardarian Price, was put on injured reserve prior to the game. That opened the door for Wilson to be the primary back until Zach Charbonnet is healthy enough to return. It also gave Brian Fleury more reason to experiment with Shaheed in the backfield. His speed and elusiveness was on full display on the touchdown run.
Fleury was in San Francisco when the 49ers leaned on receiver Deebo Samuel out of the backfield when there were injuries to running backs. Samuel is a very different body type than Shaheed, as he is built to take more punishment. The lessons learned there may still apply here. Shaheed offers the explosiveness that Seattle currently lacks with Price out. It could make sense to get him 3-5 carries per game.
Putting him in the backfield also opens up more receiver snaps for Tory Horton Jr., who scored a touchdown later in the game. That continues a torrid touchdown start to his career.
Fleury is still learning his players and adjusting to injuries. More Horton and more Shaheed feel like lesson he may be learning. He seemed to come into this game with that thought as Seattle played more 11 personnel (3 WRs) than in any game so far this season.
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The Seahawks are not yet firing on all cylinders on offense. Darnold has looked less sure of his reads and less in command of his checkdowns. The offensive line has struggled in short yardage and to create a consistent push in the run game. And yet, the offense has scored 30+ points in three straight games for the first time since 2020. They are also outperforming the Klint Kubiak offense in its first four games from last season, at least in terms of points.
| By game | 2025 | 2026 |
| Week 1 | vs SF 13 Final 13-17 L | vs NE 13 Final 13-10 W |
| Week 2 | at PIT 24 Final 31-17 W | at ARI 31 Final 31-7 W |
| Week 3 | vs NO 37 Final 44-13 W | at WAS 31 Final 31-33 L |
| Week 4 | at ARI 23 Final 23-20 W | vs LAC 30 Final 30-23 W |
| Totals | 2025 | 2026 |
| Offensive points | 97 | 105 |
| Per game | 24.3 | 26.3 |
| 30-point games | 1 | 3 |
| Offensive touchdowns | 10 | 13 |
| Field goals made | 9 | 5 |
| Yards per play | 5.8 | 5.9 |
Few who have watched this offense this season would feel confident about how it is operating. They have yet to face a great defense, and have not found a reliable rhythm to their plays. Defenses appear to be keying on taking away the bootleg, which is a strength of Darnold’s and a foundational element of any Shanahan/Kubiak under center offense.
Darnold was on a historic rate of explosive passing through the first 10 games of last season. He was averaging 9.6 yards per pass after six weeks. He is at an acceptable 8.1 after two starts this season. The run game was highly inefficient and unproductive for most of last season. The hope was that the progress they made from Week 16 on would carry over into this season.
There are some signs that it has. They have averaged over 4 yards per carry in three of the four games so far, and rushed for over 130 yards twice. They did not eclipse 130+ rushing yards for a second time until Week 10 last season. But it has felt more middling than a true strength.The injury to Anthony Bradford may play some role in that given his strength as a run blocker.
If the Seahawks defense was playing to their standard, the offense would be under far less scrutiny. Fleury is new. Darnold missed two games. Their backfield has been in flux.
Some sloppy and undisciplined play from the defense has put more pressure on the offense to score. They have already allowed two teams to score 23+ points. Only three teams did that all of last season.
It largely tracks back to two problem areas: red zone defense and penalties.
Seattle has allowed teams to score touchdowns on 66.7% of the red zone trips so far. Just correcting that problem would go a long way toward righting the ship. Getting back to their 2025 red zone rate would have meant 1-2 fewer touchdowns this year, or eight fewer points allowed. That would drop their points allowed from 18.3 to 16.3.
Of course, there would be fewer red zone attempts if they would cut their penalties that are extending drives. It was a record-setting day against the Chargers, and not in a good way.
| All defensive penalties | 2025 | 2025 Wks 1-4 | 2026 Wks 1-4 |
| Accepted penalties | 38 | 11 | 12 |
| Per game | 2.24 | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Per 100 snaps | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
| Penalty yards per game | 20.4 | 28.5 | 44.8 |
| NFL rank, most per game | T-11th NFL avg 2.13 | T-9th NFL avg 2.38 |
| On 3rd down | 2025 | 2025 Wks 1-4 | 2026 Wks 1-4 |
| 3rd-down penalties | 11 29% of total | 2 18% of total | 6 50% of total |
| Per game | 0.65 | 0.50 | 1.50 |
| Gave the offense a 1st down | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| NFL rank, 1st downs by penalty | T-9th 0.59 a game | 2nd 1.50 a game |
The Seahawks defense is shooting themselves in the foot with personal foul penalties. Seven of the 12 penalties the defense has been flagged for have been of the personal foul variety. Six of their penalties have come on 3rd down, extending drives that should have ended.
This game was marred by some overactive and poor officiating, but a number of the calls were the right ones, and things Seattle can change.
Macdonald was as frustrated as he has ever been following a win. You can be certain this will be a topic of conversation and focus this week.
As frustrating as it was to watch the toothless Commanders and Chargers offenses put up points on this defense, the underlying metrics and indicators say this is still a defense to be feared.
They are 5th in points allowed, 2nd in epa/play, 2nd in success rate, 1st in yards per play, and 3rd in opponent explosive play rate allowed. The pass rush woke up in this game. They had their highest pressure and sack rate of the season. The coverage was sticky. Ernest Jones IV and Drake Thomas were excellent.
The penalty problem will be addressed. There is every reason to trust this coaching staff and this locker room to clean that up. The red zone defense is more perplexing.
Nick Emmanwori was back to being a playmaker all over the field. He also seemed to be nursing some injuries. Trevon Diggs got his first snaps, and the role they carved out for him in dime packages was intriguing. Ty Okada should be back this week. Byron Murphy II has had two straight beastly performances.
There is reason to be annoyed. There is little reason to lose faith.
Seattle now turns its attention to a 49ers team that comes in without a loss while lighting up the league on offense. It is a perfect test for where this team stands. San Francisco is easily the best opponent Seattle will have faced this year. There might not be a single performance by the Seahawks in their first four games that would be good enough to beat this 49ers team. They will need to play their best ball of the year. That is less about doing something they have yet to do, and more about ceasing to do some things that have stood in their way, like penalties and turnovers.
Macdonald has wanted to run it forward. This week will be a test of his ability to deliver on that promise. Betting against an angry Macdonald and Dark Side defense is usually a losing proposition. The undercard is over. It is time for the main event.
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