RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks entered their bye in Week 8 with a 5-2 record, a top-10 defense and an offense that has been much better through the air than on the ground. They returned from the break in a two-way tie for first place in the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams, after the injury-ravaged San Francisco 49ers lost and fell to 5-3.
Coach Mike Macdonald likes where his team is at — even as Seattle’s run game has left plenty to be desired.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to really attack this second half of the season, and we know we can improve,” he said Monday as the Seahawks began preparations to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
“Numbers support that, tape supports that. The great thing is, I don’t think we have to reinvent ourselves. I think we’re a team with an identity. We know who we are. We just have to go be that team every day, and when we do that, we give ourselves a really good chance to win.”
Macdonald was speaking with the perspective of having experienced the other end of that spectrum. In his first season in Seattle, the Seahawks didn’t seem to know what they wanted to be on offense, much less how to get there. They had a first-year coordinator in Ryan Grubb whose pass-happy approach was fundamentally at odds with their defensive-minded head coach, a poor fit that led to the playcaller’s firing in January.
With Klint Kubiak, the Seahawks have alignment between coach and coordinator as well as something else they didn’t have with Grubb — a proven system known for running the ball. Their commitment to the run game has been there, but the results have not.
With Sam Darnold (seventh in QBR at 72.9) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (NFL-high 819 receiving yards) powering a potent passing game, the Seahawks’ offense is eighth in scoring at 25.6 points per game despite their ineffective run game. Getting it going was an area of focus as Macdonald and his staff self-scouted over the bye.
“I think we’re on the right track,” Macdonald said. “We have a probably a better understanding of what we do well and what we don’t do as well, how we build things, who’s out there, that sort of thing. But I think we don’t need wholesale changes. We need to keep attacking it. There’s detail involved. There’s operation involved. Game plan, scheme, kind of all of the above is room for improvement, and I think we saw last game, we took a stride. We’ve just got to keep moving in that direction.”
Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for 115 of the Seahawks’ 118 rushing yards in their win over the Houston Texans on Monday night, marking the third time in the past four games that Seattle reached triple digits.
That it took 29 attempts by their running backs against Houston was equally telling.
Through eight weeks, no team has a higher designed rush rate than the Seahawks at 47.9%. But only one team has a lower yards-per-carry average than their 3.7. That better illustrates their struggles on the ground than their No. 21 ranking in rushing yards per game at just over 106, a number that speaks as much to the volume of attempts as it does to effectiveness.
Against Houston, Walker (four) and Charbonnet (two) combined for six rushes that either lost yardage or went for no gain, continuing a trend of attempts that never get off the ground. That brings the Seahawks’ total of such plays by running backs to 47, which is six more than any other team even though Seattle has had its bye.
Seattle’s struggles in the run game can at least partially be attributed to how much defenses have geared up to stop it. According to ESPN Research, the Seahawks have faced eight-man boxes on the highest percentage of rushing plays (38.1%) and overall plays (26%) in the NFL.
Outside zone is the bread and butter of Kubiak’s run game, and as Macdonald has noted, those plays should still work against loaded boxes because the threat of the bootleg tends to hold the backside defender. Outside zone runs account for nearly 43% of the Seahawks’ rushing plays this season, per ESPN Research. They’re averaging only 3.7 yards per carry on such runs, including only 2.5 yards against boxes with at least eight defenders.
Despite the Seahawks’ inability to mount a consistent run game, defenses are still honoring it. That much is clear based on box counts and how effective Seattle’s play-action passing game has been, as Darnold ranks seventh in Raw QBR (78.2) on such plays.
“Regardless of how the run game’s going, they’ve still got to respect it,” Charbonnet said.
Walker has been the more productive of Seattle’s two running backs in what has been a fairly even split of the work. He’s averaging 4.5 yards per attempt to Charbonnet’s 2.8, though Charbonnet has a five-to-three advantage in rushing touchdowns.
Four of Charbonnet’s five scores came from either one or two yards out, which speaks to how effective Seattle has been in goal-to-go situations. With one running back and two tight ends on the field — or 12 personnel, a Kubiak favorite — the Seahawks are averaging 5.3 yards per carry, fifth-most in the league.
The Seahawks have been in 12 personnel on just under 30% of their offensive plays, per ESPN Research, making it their second-most preferred grouping. They would have been playing more with a fullback if not for the ankle sprain that landed Robbie Ouzts on injured reserve. The 274-pound rookie returned to practice Monday and appears to be on track to play against Washington.
“I’m excited to have him back,” Charbonnet said. “I know everyone on offense is too. He provides that physical nature, able to open it up.”
The Seahawks also designated second-year guard Christian Haynes for a return to practice off IR on Wednesday, though it doesn’t sound like he’s going to threaten Anthony Bradford for playing time on the right side anytime soon. Bradford’s inconsistency — and, to a lesser extent, that of center Jalen Sundell — has been a factor in Seattle’s struggles in the run game, but when asked whether they considered any shuffling up front over the bye, Macdonald hesitated and said they did not.
That leaves Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline (4 p.m. ET) as perhaps the next-likeliest option for the Seahawks to improve their offensive line. John Schneider’s history of 11 pre-deadline trades in 15 seasons as Seattle’s general manager offers some hope that they can find an upgrade, but with demand far outweighing supply at that position, it might be easier said than done.
“We’re always active,” Macdonald said. “You know how John rolls. We’re in everything. We’re constantly trying to do what’s best for us. Sometimes that’s through acquisition.”
Kubiak doesn’t sound eager to make a change up front, noting the youth along Seattle’s line and how they’re gelling. The most experienced players among the starting five are fourth-year tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. Bradford is in Year 3, while Sundell is a second-year player and left guard Grey Zabel is a rookie.
“I just see a starting five coming together and getting on the same page,” Kubiak said. “I see our running backs being detailed, and I just see a group that’s improving weekly.”
