Emerald City Sports Spotlight ~ with Peter D

Why a Top 10 Defense Will Be the Seahawks’ Saving Grace

By Peter Duncan-Bey – The Facts Newspaper Sportswriter

Let’s be honest: the first half of the Seahawks’ 2024 season was hard to watch defensively. New head coach Mike Macdonald brought over a brilliant résumé and a reputation for building top-tier defenses, but through the first eight weeks, his system looked more confusing than commanding.

Seattle’s defense was giving up 357.6 yards per game — bottom-half-of-the-league stuff — and allowing 23.8 points per contest, forcing the offense into shootouts just to stay competitive. The pass rush barely made a whisper, logging only 2.3 sacks per game, and the run defense? Soft. First-down carries routinely went for 5.3 yards, putting opposing offenses on cruise control. The team’s seventeen takeaways through the season’s first half were respectable, but they were not game-changing.

Then came the second half. And with it, the Macdonald effect.

Over the final nine games, the Seahawks turned a corner — or more accurately, turned into the defense fans were promised. Seattle allowed just fourteen points per game, cut opponents’ yardage to 299.8 per game, and dropped the third-down conversion rate to a stingy 35%. They limited teams to 84.3 rushing yards per game at 3.9 yards per carry, and quarterbacks faced a much less forgiving secondary, averaging just 202.4 passing yards and a muted 85.5 QB rating. Suddenly, Macdonald's scheme was not just being installed — it was being executed.

So, what changed?

The defense started to play fast. Players communicated more clearly, trusted their assignments, and flew to the football. Veterans like Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed anchored the line with grown-man strength and leadership, while rising stars like Devon Witherspoon and Coby Bryant took huge steps forward. The growth was not just noticeable — it was dramatic.

But this trend should not surprise anyone who's studied Macdonald’s history.

Back in 2021, when Macdonald returned to Michigan to coordinate their defense, the Wolverines climbed to eighth in scoring defense nationally and allowed just 330.9 total yards per game. That group, fueled by a revived identity and tactical pressure, helped Michigan win the Big Ten and punch a ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Then he went back to the pros — and turned Baltimore into a defensive monster.

In 2022, the Ravens ranked third in points allowed (18.5), third against the run (92.1 YPG), and third in red zone defense (46.4%). But 2023 was the masterpiece:

• First in points allowed (16.5)

• First in sacks (60)

• First in takeaways (31)

That is the holy trinity: don’t let them score, pressure the quarterback, and steal possessions. And now, as Seattle’s second-half surge showed, that formula is beginning to take shape in the Pacific Northwest.

No, the Seahawks didn’t lead the league in sacks or turnovers last year. But the framework is there. And if Macdonald’s past is any predictor, year two is when things explode. Ask Michigan. Ask Baltimore.

For a team looking to reclaim its identity, a Top 10 defense is not just a luxury — it is a necessity. The NFC is loaded with offensive firepower, and Seattle is not likely to outscore everyone in a shootout. But if this defense continues trending upward — as the stats and the system suggest it will — it won’t have to.

The Seahawks won six of their final eight games behind defense. That’s not a blip. That’s a blueprint. And in 2025, it might just be their saving grace.

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