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With the Seattle Seahawks' timely 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, head coach Mike Macdonald has his team atop the NFC West standings. Even though the division is stacked tight with only one game separating first-place Seattle from the last-place San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks are peaking at the right time.
Just three weeks ago, the ‘Hawks lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 26-20. Seattle equalized the game with just 51 seconds left on the clock but lost the game on a 39-yard touchdown reception to Demarcus Robinson. The early signs were there, though.
Seattle limited Los Angeles to just 68 rushing yards on 24 carries. In their last two games, the Seahawks defense has extinguished the 49ers and Cardinals running games. San Francisco was held to 131 rushing yards and Arizona was limited to 49 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Kyler Murray relied heavily on tight end Trey McBride, who accounted for 12 receptions for 133 yards. But the Seahawks managed to shut down the Cardinals' wide receivers, only giving up two catches for 54 yards to Michael Wilson and three catches for 47 yards to Marvin Harrison Jr.
On an errant Murray pass, Coby Bryant snatched a 69-yard interception return touchdown to seal the game at 13-3.
COBY BRYANT PICK-6 IN SEATTLE!
📺: #AZvsSEA on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/xVFRwEbk70— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
After the game, cornerback speedster Devon Witherspoon explained why Macdonald was “in his bag.”
“(The game against Arizona) got a little rocky. Coach Macdonald has been in his bag lately. He been on point with the calls so we just gotta go out there and execute. We believe in what we're doing and sticking to what we do best.”
Over Seattle's last three games against divisional opponents, Macdonald's defense has allowed just 13, 17 and 6 points in regulation against Los Angeles, San Francisco and Arizona, per Seahawks reporter Brian Nemhauser.
No questioning Seahawks' release of Tyrel Dodson
It may have been a head-scratcher at the time, but Macdonald's proactive decision to release Dodson is a call to the Seahawks' defense that they're accountable for their play. Dolphins' insider Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN reported Dodson was upset about being let go.
“Dolphins LB Tyrel Dodson said he’s “pissed off” about his release from the Seahawks, but added that he always is when he’s on the field. Said that he’s ready to ball wherever he’s needed — defense or special teams. Former Bills teammate Jordan Poyer is helping him get acclimated.”
New linebacker Ernest Jones IV has been on point since his arrival a month ago. He has 15, 9, 13 and 10 total tackles in his games since joining the Seahawks. Jones has led the team in tackles in each contest.
Not only is the defense's confidence piquing, Geno Smith's is feeling it as well. After last week's win against the 49ers, he discussed wanting to take down former teammate K.J. Wright, now a member of the 49ers coaching staff, while on the Richard Sherman Podcast.
“Somewhere in the third quarter I looked over to their bench and I saw K.J. [Wright] standing over there and I was like… ‘Man, we gotta beat these boys.’ I saw K.J. [and] it just kinda pissed me off a little bit. He’s a Seahawk, man, he shouldn’t have those colors on.”
“Our team was playing so well throughout the game, I just felt like we had to get it done. I was actually just smiling as I was running on the field for that last drive. I just knew it. I knew we were gonna win,” Smith said.
Mike Macdonald is coming into his own as the Seahawks' leader
After Seattle's win, Macdonald explained what kind of culture he's trying to build in Seattle.
“Credit goes to our coaches and our players and everyone in the building. In understanding what we're trying to build and when it's not that way, you have to hammer away. Just go to work and work on our processes. Try to figure out schematically what we're good at, put our guys in better situations. So it's everybody just working together all the time, staying together, trusting the process. Then you have games where you feel like you play pretty good and you helped your team win the game.
“But it's also about consistency. We've got three games in a row now. We've played pretty decent on defense. There's an expectation here and a standard throughout the course of Seahawks history that we're trying to live up to and build on.”
At the center of it all has been DT Leonard Williams, who missed most of Week 3 and all of Week 3 but has been on a tear since his return. Williams accrued 2.5 sacks in Week 12.
With those kinds of performances from the interior defensive line, pick-sixes from safeties and disruptive play across the field, the Seahawks are well on their way to taking the NFC West mantle away from the 49ers.
The Seahawks' schedule does them no favors as they close the season with four road games out of six remaining contests. Next week, they travel to New York to play the spiraling Jets on Sunday, December 1 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
