Now, the plus side of Thursday games: Seahawks’ mini-bye, self-reflecting
Yes, the front end of it was suboptimal.
But now the Seahawks are on the far better backside of playing two games in five days because of a Thursday game. They now get a “mini bye,” 10 days between games. And it’s coming off a win.
Seattle, 3-1, is on a three-game winning streak after beating Arizona on the final play 23-20 Thursday night. The Seahawks next play Oct. 5. That is against Tampa Bay (3-0) at Lumen Field. Coach Mike Macdonald gave his players this weekend off, Friday through Sunday. They will be back on the field Monday to begin practice for the Buccaneers game. Then they will have their normal game-week day off Tuesday, mandated by the league’s collective bargaining agreement. That’s four of five days off.
Quarterback and avid golfer Sam Darnold knew what he was going to do this weekend.
“I’m going to enjoy this three-day break or whatever we have and watch some Ryder Cup,” Darnold said. “So I’m excited for that.
“It’s going to be a good time to be able to just put my feet up, relax a little bit and get ready to roll next week.”
How is Macdonald spending this bonus off weekend?
Self-scouting.
The Seahawks coaches are doing what usually comes in the team’s one, true bye week off each season. Seattle’s comes Oct. 21 through 26 this year.
This weekend Macdonald, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, defensive coordinator Aden Durde, position coaches and analysts are evaluating the team’s tendencies and situational performances through four games.
“We have this miniature bye here,” Macdonald said Friday, hours after the team’s early-morning return from the desert. “(We’re) taking a look at what we’re doing and how we can improve.”
Seahawks offense through 4 games
Macdonald and his coaches spent the offseason and preseason emphasizing starting games faster than they did last season, when they won 10 games but missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. So far, so better. Through four games this season Seattle has easily outscored foes 69-30.
It’s finishing games the Seahawks now are focusing on. The fourth quarter is the only period when they’ve been outscored in the young season. They were on their way to a 20-6, or more, win at Arizona until the Cardinals scored 14 points in the final 5:50, before Jason Myers’ final-play field goal saved Seattle.
“We had opportunities to put the game away throughout the second half,” Macdonald said. “There are a lot of learning experiences that we’re going to be able to take from this game so we can improve.
“The good news is we figured out a way to win the game, which after week one (a 17-13 home loss to San Francisco) we felt like we had an opportunity to win that game and we didn’t figure it out.
“I feel like our team’s growing.”
The biggest area to improve on the remade offense is the running game. It’s their new basis for 2025. But so far, it’s been their same, old struggle.
Seattle is the definition of middling in rushing offense so far this season, 16th in the 32-team NFL. The Seahawks are averaging 110.8 yards per game. Last season they were 28th rushing (95.7 yards per game).
That’s not why Macdonald hired Klint Kubiak to be his new offensive coordinator this past offseason.
“There’s opportunities for us as a football team to capitalize on, and that’s how we’re executing in those moments, how we’re calling it, and our philosophy,” Macdonald said Friday. “I don’t have the answers to that right now, but I know we’ll be looking at that and our run game.
“Where’s our run game? What are we doing well? How can we improve?”
When Macdonald, Kubiak and the offensive staff scout themselves they will see running to the left behind their best offensive linemen might be the way to go.
More often than they’ve been going.
In week two Sept. 15 at Pittsburgh the Seahawks romped to a 31-17 victory and Kenneth Walker’s eighth career 100-yard rushing day running being left tackle Charles Cross and left guard Grey Zabel, the team’s rookie first-round draft choice. Against the Steelers, 17 of Seattle’s of 29 rushes and 71 of their 117 yards rushing were to the left. Walker’s 19-yard touchdown run on third and goal that clinched the victory in the fourth quarter was to the left, behind Cross plowing a cornerback into the sideline.
Darnold was also 3 for 3 passing rolling out to the left side, opposite his throwing side. That included a key third-down conversion in the fourth quarter to tight end AJ Barner.
It appeared the Seahawks were going to lean left on offense this season, behind Cross and Zabel.
But that Pittsburgh game is the only one of their four they’ve run at least 50% of their rushing plays to the left side. The following week against winless New Orleans Seattle ran only eight of 33 total rushes to the left. They only gained 87 yards on the ground, total, in an otherwise sterling, 44-13 blowout win.
At Arizona Thursday, only 13 of Seattle’s 35 runs were to the left. Yet the offense rushed for a season-high 155 yards.
So is right right?
Darnold’s passing has been efficient. He has the league’s eighth-highest completion rate at 70%, with five touchdowns against two interceptions — plus his killer lost fumble in the red zone in the final seconds of that opening loss to the 49ers.
Darnold’s passer rating of 106.5 through four games is his highest of his career and more than 20 points above his rating for his eight-year career. Yes, Darnold the Seahawk has a higher passer rating than Darnold the Viking in 2024, when he led Minnesota to a 14-3 record with 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“He’s playing out of his mind right now,” Macdonald said.
But it hasn’t been an aerial circus. Darnold has the Seahawks 12th in the league in yards per game through the air (221.5), down from eighth to finish last season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is second in the league with 110.5 yards receiving per game. His 26 receptions are 11 more than Cooper Kupp for Seattle.
Barner caught his second touchdown pass of the season at Arizona. He’s halfway to his total for his entire rookie season last year.
He thinks he and the offense can be more.
“(We) have that confidence to know we’re a damn good offense, and just keep it going,” Barner said.
“In the red zone, I want the ball and I feel like I’m a mismatch down there.”
Mike Macdonald’s defense so far
The defense Macdonald remade in 2024 remains the team’s strength, as expected and designed. The Seahawks were second in the NFL allowing 15.7 points per game until Arizona’s two late touchdowns made a rout a game at the end Thursday. The Cardinals became the first team to score more than 17 points on Seattle this season.
But tackling, particularly in the secondary, has been an issue. Penalties have been, too — particularly the six called on cornerback Riq Woolen, second-most in the league.
The head coach and defensive play caller also didn’t like his Seahawks failing to get play calls processed and keep up with Arizona’s quicker offensive pace later in the game Thursday night.
“Right now, I feel like our pass defense is good, but there’s going to be room for growth there and how we marry it together,” Macdonald said.
“Their (the Cardinals’) philosophy, when they’re down multiple scores, they go into no-huddle mode earlier than most teams. We have to play that better. We have to call it better. I have to execute better.
“Again, that’s the feeling I had coming out of the game. I know it’s not for a lack of trying. Our guys are battling. They’re playing hard. I understand there’s some penalties involved; there’s a lot of yardage with a couple of those penalties, which we’ll look at and see how we can improve on that front.”
Special teams have had huge plays: the kickoff recovered in the end zone by George Holani for the game-breaking touchdown at Pittsburgh, Tory Horton’s team-record, 95-yard punt return TD against the Saints, blocked kicks and punts.
But Macdonald, always “chasing edges,” wants more consistency.
“The return game or return numbers (need improvement),” he said.
“There’s a lot of things that come to mind” to work on.
Leonard Williams is looking beyond the Xs and Os and numbers. The 11th-year veteran Pro Bowl defensive end sees a unique unity on these Seahawks that he thinks will propel them out of this mini bye and beyond.
“To me, a great start to the season. The record is great, but also, for me what stands out the most is the connection, the type of mindset, the play style we have as a team,” Williams said. “That stands out to me more than the record right now.
“So to me, the foundation is right. The growth of the team and the direction we’re heading is right and the record is obviously great to have. But, to me, that’s the big picture.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2025 at 8:50 AM.
