National Football League

Seahawks' Mike Macdonald after first loss: ‘We're not the team we want to be yet’

Updated Oct. 1, 2024 12:50 p.m. ET

As one of just three undefeated teams remaining as they headed into a Monday Night Football contest against the Detroit Lions, the Seattle Seahawks were considered a surprise success story in the NFL.

However, Seattle's three wins had come against a Denver Broncos team led by a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, the rebuilding New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins without injured Pro Bowl QB Tua Tagovailoa.

So, Seattle faced its stiffest test yet this season on the road against Detroit. And the grade for Mike Macdonald's Seahawks remains incomplete after a 42-29 Lions rout — Detroit's first win after losing its previous five meetings with Seattle.

Playing without several defensive starters up front, Seattle couldn't hold up against Detroit's smash-mouth running game, as Detroit rumbled to 116 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Seattle played without Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II and linebacker Jerome Baker up front. And the Seahawks lost safety Julian Love to a thigh injury in the first half.

"It's obvious we're not the team we want to be yet, and we shouldn't be where we want to be," Macdonald said after the game. "We have time to grow as a football team. We have a short week, so we have to have a sense of urgency about it. And we need to take the next step.

"But it just wasn't good enough, especially on the defensive side of the ball today."

Seattle's secondary also proved leaky, giving up a long touchdown to Jameson Williams, along with allowing a trick play near the goal line to quarterback Jared Goff on a throwback pass from receiver Amon Ra St. Brown.

The Seahawks allowed Goff to complete 18-of-18 passes for 292 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. That's right, Goff didn't miss, the most pass attempts and the most yards in NFL history without an incompletion. He finished with a 155.8 passer rating.

The Seahawks did manage to sack Goff three times but failed to force a turnover for a third straight game and allowed nine plays of 17-plus yards. The Seahawks also gave up 219 receiving yards after the catch.

According to Next Gen Stats, entering Monday's contest the Seahawks had allowed a league-low 40 yards on missed tackles in the NFL. Seattle's 91.7% tackle efficiency was also tops in the league through three weeks.

But that all changed against the Lions.

"The game plan was good coming into the game," Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. "We've got to execute it better and understand how they're attacking us. We knew they wanted to run the ball, and obviously they were successful in that tonight.

"So, we've just got to do our job, and everyone has to hold up their end of the bargain. That's it."

While the defense struggled, the play of the offense was one of the few bright spots for Seattle. Kenneth Walker returned from an oblique injury and played well, finishing with 80 rushing yards and three scores.

Walker's big game included an acrobatic catch and run for 10 yards where he somehow managed to flip out of the grasp of Detroit linebacker Alex Anzalone as he tried to wrestle him to the ground.

Quarterback Geno Smith had another good performance, throwing for a career high 395 yards and a touchdown. DK Metcalf totaled seven catches for 104 yards on 12 targets, but also had a critical fumble fighting for extra yards in the first quarter that led to an early Detroit score. Jaxon Smith-Njigba added eight catches for 51 yards.

The Seahawks trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter but kept grinding, including a safety on a sack by Dre'Mont Jones to give the offense the ball back late. McDonald says those kinds of plays and effort are the foundation for his team.

"We're just not going to give up, no matter the situation," Macdonald said. "That's going to be us."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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