“Obviously we’re disappointed, but it’s very clear to me that we have a great team.” – Mike Macdonald after the Seahawks lost to the Rams, 21-19

Imagine if Sam Darnold had played a normal football game – one without four interceptions and a 1-for-4 red zone performance. The Seahawks could have blown out the Rams. That is clearly what Mike Macdonald was thinking after the Hawks fell short, 21-19, on Sunday.

Darnold’s poor performance aside, Macdonald seemed quite satisfied with how his team played. It was a big litmus test for his defense, and that unit’s dominance clearly validated to him that the Seahawks are in fact a Super Bowl contender.

“Obviously we’re disappointed, but it’s very clear to me that we have a great team,” Macdonald said. “We’re going to learn to win games like that, and we’re going to learn from weeks like this. We’re young. You’ve got a young head coach — I’m learning how to prepare our team from week to week. So we’re all learning, we’re all growing. I actually think that’s a competitive advantage for us as we start to grow.”