Why didn’t Mike Macdonald go for 4th and 1 late? It’s how he’s built Seahawks
Almost all day, the Seahawks had been getting what they often get when they play the 49ers.
Bullied.
Yet San Francisco malfunctioned enough in scoring zones in the NFL opening game at Lumen Field that the Seahawks — outgained 350-150, whose offense had the ball for only 15 of the game’s first 50 minutes — found themselves in a 10-10 game midway through the fourth quarter Sunday.
Then Seattle’s running offense with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet (67 total yards rushing) ignited for the first time all day. The Seahawks drove into the red zone. On third and 7, quarterback Sam Darnold threw outside to Cooper Kupp. The Yakima native’s second catch in his Seattle debut gained 6 yards.
Fourth and 1 at the San Francisco 19, 3:28 remaining in a tie game.
Coach Mike Macdonald pondered going for the first down.
“We did,” Macdonald said later.
“I just felt like, let’s go take a lead and let’s go play ball.”
In the mind of the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, “let’s play ball” means “let’s play defense.”
So Macdonald had Jason Myers kick a short field goal. Seattle led only 13-10, instead of trying for 17-10.
This is how Macdonald and general manager John Schneider built these Seahawks. Win with the strength of the team. That’s their defense.
New quarterback Sam Darnold is to complement a new emphasis on running the ball that is to control field position — and put the defense in better positions to win more.
The problem Sunday with that approach was Seattle’s defense had been getting run over.
San Francisco’s offense had controlled the ball, the clock, Macdonald’s unit and the game. As usual. Christian McCaffrey ran right at the Seahawks. George Kittle caught passes right through them. A Niners team that had won six of the previous seven meetings of division rivals, the team Seattle must beat to win the NFC West, was dominating.
They just weren’t scoring. Kicker Jake Moody clanged a short field goal off the upright. Seattle Pro Bowl safety Julian Love blocked a second field goal. The 49ers drove into Seahawks territory four times yet had just three points to show for it.
But after Macdonald decided to kick, you know what happened next. Riq Woolen stopped on a long pass by Brock Purdy past him to Ricky Pearsall for a 40-yard gain.
“That was a good play by them,” is all Macdonald said about that.
Purdy scrambled on third down from the 4-yard line then threw over Woolen for a touchdown to the third-string tight end.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold lost a fumble late in the red zone because All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa pushed right tackle Abe Lucas into the QB, causing a fateful fumble with 36 seconds left.
The 49ers beat the Seahawks, yet again, 17-13. Those four points Macdonald decided against trying for — three points instead of seven — ultimately were the difference.
Love said in the end his Seattle defense didn’t get tired physically so much as mentally by the Niners rushing 36 times for 119 yards Sunday.
“Yeah, it’s a big (challenge) as they are getting their flow, running the ball. It’s us getting down, getting set, getting the call and just communicating efficiently,” Love said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s, like, a gassing. It’s just a mental stamina thing.”
The Seahawks sacked Purdy just once in 36 drop backs to pass. That was on a perfectly time safety blitz by Love up the middle over the center. They hit Purdy eight times.
They allowed seven conversions in San Francisco’s 14 third downs.
They did not look like the Seahawks defense that was among the league’s best the final two months of the 2024 season.
“It’s frustrating,” Love said. “Obviously, they got the better of us today. But we feel very confident on who we have in the building. We feel very confident in the team. So, it sucks, to lose a division game early on, especially against these guys.
“I can’t sugarcoat it. It sucks. You’re waiting all off season to play these guys and to take it to them. For them to come out on top is a tough pill to swallow.”
Sixteen games remain. The next is next weekend at Aaron Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers, who won late at the New York Jets Sunday behind Rodgers’ four touchdown passes.
After one game, Macdonald wasn’t about to view his approach of winning with his defense as flawed.
“I mean, our guys played really, really hard,” the head coach said. “I mean, there are plenty of things that we need to clean up operationally, get the calls in and out, substitution patterns.
“We will look at our (pass) rush. Third down we were good enough. ...
“Very disappointed about the outcome, but got to look at the process, as well,” Macdonald said. “I think our guys played incredibly hard, played all 60 minutes. Gave ourselves a chance to win at the end.
“I think we have a really good football team, and we’re not there yet. So let’s go work, figure out things we can do better, and move forward. Which we will. We’re a good team now. We’re only going to get better. So the guys will respond. And let’s go have a great week and go to Pittsburgh.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 6:26 PM.
