Sometimes, because of Mike Macdonald’s immediate success, we forget he is a young coach — just in his third year.
It was so easy to think he had figured it all out when he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2025. But the bumps are coming high and hard this season. And that’s on Macdonald. It’s also going to be on him to make the changes needed to get over the humps and avoid wasting this season.
Continue reading Will young coach be willing to make tough decisions to save season?
Ben Johnson’s Bears are Super Bowl contenders, and the Seahawks are contending with a lot of problems as they sit at .500 after a 34-17 embarrassment Monday night.
It was the worst loss since a 30-13 defeat in Green Bay late in Mike Macdonald’s first season in Seattle. It also was the third loss in a four-game stretch against strong playoff contenders; the Hawks lost to the 49ers and Broncos before dominating the Chiefs in a Sunday night game.
At this point, the Hawks (4-4) are not a playoff team. And, unless they overhaul their offense and fix some of their key Achilles on defense, they will remain not a playoff team.
Continue reading Total team fail, but Fleury needs to fix offense for Darnold
The Seahawks’ offense took a step back to take a step forward last Sunday vs. Kansas City, and then it took an even bigger step Tuesday when John Schneider added All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson.
It’s all very promising as the Hawks get ready to host the Bears in a very important NFC matchup on Monday night.
Yes, it will take a minute for Nelson to adjust to Seattle’s playbook – and for Grey Zabel to get used to playing on the right side. But Mike Macdonald, Brian Fleury and Sam Darnold are not concerned – they feel like they have fixed the biggest problems on offense.
Continue reading As line shuffles, have Fleury and Darnold already fixed offense?
When Sam Darnold makes two major mistakes, it’s 50-50 whether the Seahawks will overcome them. But if he limits himself to just one, the Hawks win. Always.
Behind a dominant Dark Side performance, another JSN classic and a much-improved game from Darnold and the offense, Seattle clamped down on Kenneth Walker III and Patrick Mahomes on Sunday night – handing the Chiefs their first 2026 loss, 20-3.
It was a reminder that the Seahawks are fully capable of dominating any team in the NFL and are still a force to be reckoned with as long as they do not give the ball away.
Mike Macdonald said, “We’re still a championship-caliber team, and that’s what we’re chasing.”
Continue reading Darnold & Co. do their part as Dark Side smothers Chiefs
The Seahawks, sitting at 3-3 after having given away three games with offensive turnovers, are in danger of falling under .500 for the first time since the middle of Mike Macdonald’s first season — over 30 games ago.
The danger is real, with Kenneth Walker III and the undefeated Chiefs in town for a Sunday night showdown that could become a beatdown if the Seahawks do not come prepared on offense for once.
A win over Kansas City is exactly what the Hawks need. They need to win with a good offensive performance, to show they are done bumbling along and turning the ball over. They need to win to give Sam Darnold confidence and prove that Macdonald’s faith in him is justified. They need to win to show they can beat one of the best teams in the NFL.
Continue reading The details the offense needs to fix to avoid dropping under .500
Mike Macdonald is not going to bench Sam Darnold, and now we have to hope he is not sending his Seahawks down the same path as the 2002-03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a Super Bowl champion with an elite defense that faded the next season (and beyond) due to a dysfunctional offense.
Macdonald thinks Darnold’s poor play is a symptom and not the problem – even though the quarterback has been a major factor in all three losses with six interceptions (seven in his four games total).
Macdonald thinks Darnold is still the best choice at QB.
“We have a lot of faith in Sam,” Macdonald said. “Sam has played great football for us. He’s done a lot of great things this year. He’s obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. There are things on our end that can help him play better football, and he’s part of the solution rather than the opposite.”
We have seen nothing to indicate that is true, which is why we think Darnold would benefit from sitting and watching Drew Lock play.
Continue reading Are Hawks about to become 2003 Bucs?
We’ve been big Sam Darnold fans ever since he came to Seattle. But he clearly has lost his edge, his poise, his focus, his accuracy.
He has thrown seven interceptions in four full games, including two in each of Seattle’s three losses. That includes the 17-14 overtime disaster in Denver on Thursday.
Darnold is not the only thing wrong with the offense, but he is the biggest. When he costs the Seahawks wins and ruins great defensive performances, when it does not seem like he is going to correct it, it is time to make a change.
Mike Macdonald is a winner – a no-nonsense coach who fixes problems. This is a big problem that is not likely to fix itself, and the solution is to bench Darnold and let Drew Lock – who was very competent in his two games to start the season — lead the offense.
Continue reading Time to bench Darnold
The 49ers have cruised through the first month of the season as the perceived best team in the NFL. But that status is about to be put to the test in an early NFC West battle royale between the Niners and the Seahawks in Seattle.
The last time the teams met, Seattle destroyed San Francisco 41-6 in the 2025 divisional playoffs. Of course, this is a new season, and the 49ers have cruised to a 4-0 start behind an average score of about 31-16 – sweeping the Rams, Dolphins, Cardinals and Broncos.
Brock Purdy has not been sacked and has thrown 11 TD passes vs. one pick – yielding a passer rating of 126.2 that leads all regular NFL starters (Seahawks backup Drew Lock actually has the top rating at 127.3 off his two games in place of Sam Darnold).
In the last two meetings last season – the season finale and the divisional playoff – Seattle sacked Purdy five times, picked off two passes and forced a fumble while holding the 49ers to a total of nine points.
How did the Hawks do it — and can they repeat that against a hot 49ers offense?
Continue reading Will Hawks bring 49ers down to Earth again?
The Seahawks are 3-1, but they are not very happy about how they have gotten there. That’s because they have not played very clean games the past two weeks.
Mike Macdonald was subdued after the Seahawks had to hold on for a narrow, penalty-filled 30-23 win over the Chargers on Sunday. It’s probably because he knows the 49ers are 4-0 and firing on all cylinders as they come to Seattle this week, while his team has played pretty sloppy football.
After a bad loss at Washington in Week 3, the Hawks came out with a vengeance against the Chargers – at least on defense. But that side played a little too aggressively at times, allowing the Chargers to rally from 21 points down to make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
It didn’t help that referee Scott Novak’s overzealous crew assessed a ridiculous 30 penalties to the Hawks and Chargers – a bunch of them completely uncalled for.
Continue reading Plenty to fix as undefeated 49ers come to Seattle
The Seahawks turned the ball over three times vs. Washington, couldn’t run the ball, lost the field position battle and failed to take away the ball or make key stops on defense – and they still lost by just two points.
That tells you how good the Seahawks are. They know it – and figure to prove it emphatically at home against the 0-3 Chargers this week.
The Seahawks’ first loss in 13 games – 33-31 at Washington in a 10 a.m. game – exposed a few weaknesses and/or concerns. But it also showed they are such a dominant team that it takes THAT many things to go wrong for them to BARELY lose.
Continue reading Bad loss exposed negatives, but don’t forget the positives
