These are the Seattle Seahawks defensive rankings since Mike Macdonald was hired in 2024:
2nd in points allowed (18.6 points per game)
5th in sacks (97)
6th in passing yards allowed (198.5 per game)
2nd in interceptions (35)
5th in passer rating against (83.0)
6th in rushing yards allowed (104.4 per game)
t7th in takeaways (47)
3rd in yards per play allowed (4.88)
Now compare that defense to the one that Macdonald inherited, which in the previous two combined seasons from 2022-2023 saw the Seahawks rank 27th in points allowed (23.6), 19th in passing yards allowed, 18th in interceptions, 16th in opponent passer rating, 23rd in yards per play allowed, and 32nd in rushing yards allowed (144.3 per game).
A great defense STARTS with stopping the run and killer Mike has shaved 40 rushing yards per game off of Seattle’s average defensive performance.
Shortening that stretch by just a little bit, aka since the Seahawks’ bye week in Macdonald’s first season and discounting his first nine games as a head coach, Seattle’s defense gets even better.
Final 8 games of 2024:
6-2
18.3 points per game allowed
99.7 rushing yards per game allowed
2 rushing touchdowns allowed
The Seahawks had the sixth-worst rushing defense in Macdonald’s first nine games, but the seventh-best in the last nine. Seattle had the ninth-worst scoring defense in the first half of the season but was just six total points away from leading the league in the back eight.
Then the Seahawks did lead the NFL in scoring defense in 2025, allowing 17.2 points per game in the regular season and 15.3 points per game in the playoffs. Through two weeks in 2026, Seattle has allowed 8.5 points per game. (In June, I gave 5 reasons that the Seahawks defense was still trending up despite already being first.)
The Mike Macdonald method is like the Russian* nesting doll of defenses: Every time you think it can’t possibly get any better, there’s an even smaller yield inside.
*call it a “rushing nesting doll” if you will
6-2 and 14-3 and 3-0 and 2-0 makes the Seahawks 25-5 in their last 30 games.
Seattle has not only had to be the best, they’ve often had to beat the best, and their defense continues to be the best, allowing an NFL-low 3.8 yards per play so far this season. That includes an NFL-high four interceptions and a league-best 3.8 net yards per pass attempt.
This is all very premature for another Super Bowl parade, but even just staying in the conversation — as the Texans could attest to — is never easy.