Mike Macdonald’s first season in Seattle did more than quiet the doubts that came with hiring a young head coach who had never run a team before. It also gave the Seahawks something Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have not been able to solve: a defense that keeps getting the better of one of the league’s sharpest offensive minds.
The Seahawks went 10 games deep in Macdonald’s debut season, then followed that with a Super Bowl win in year two. In Seattle, he has won 70.6 percent of his regular-season games and is unbeaten in three playoff games.
That alone would be enough to make the hire look like a smart one. But the way his defense has handled San Francisco has made the matchup stand out even more.
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes, who also made clear she’s a Seahawks fan, said on NFL Live that Shanahan has run into a problem he still hasn’t fixed.
"Kyle Shanahan seems to have the ability to solve anything, but there’s one thing he has not quite solved, and that’s Mike Macdonald," Kimes said on NFL Live. “They have a real problem with this Seahawks defense when we think about them not just winning the division potentially, but advancing beyond that.
Last season, when this offense, regardless of who was playing quarterback, played teams that were not Seattle, they had 0.1 EPA per play, which was fifth league-wide. Against Seattle, they were minus-0.118, which would have ranked 32nd.”
That split tells the story. Against everyone else, San Francisco’s offense looked like one of the league’s best. Against Seattle, it was a different operation entirely.
The Seahawks went 2-1 against the 49ers last season and took the last two meetings, including the regular-season finale and the NFC Divisional Round. Over those two games, they held Shanahan’s offense to nine points and 407 total yards. Eight straight quarters without allowing a playoff team to reach the end zone is a serious statement, especially against a coach with Shanahan’s reputation.
Even Shanahan had to give Seattle credit after the fact, and the tape from those games has almost certainly been studied over and over in San Francisco. That doesn’t mean the 49ers won’t keep trying to find an answer. It just means the Seahawks have been the ones dictating terms so far.
And there’s reason to think Seattle can keep doing it. Macdonald’s defense is young, versatile, and loaded with enough pieces to mix and match from week to week. That kind of flexibility gives offenses a lot to think about, and it helps explain why the Seahawks look built to stay among the league’s top defensive units for a while.
For the 49ers, the timing matters. This group is aging, brittle, and trying to get over the top after years of coming up short. If this core is going to wrest back control of the rivalry, the clock may be working against them.
In Other News...
3 Seahawks Rookies Suddenly Carrying Serious Pressure Into Camp
The Seahawks rookie class is landing in camp with a chance to matter right away, and that is not just the usual summer optimism talking. With key departures and injuries creating openings across the roster, running back Jadarian Price, safety Bud Clark and cornerback Julian Neal are all walking into situations where the team may need them sooner rather than later.
Prices path is the most obvious one to watch, with a real opportunity to push for a major role in the backfield, while Clark and Neal are being counted on to add depth in a secondary that has already taken hits this offseason. For Seattle, the pressure on this class is baked in before the first practice fully gets rolling, and camp will start to show which of these rookies can turn opportunity into something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]
George Holani Could Change Seattle's Backfield Plans Faster Than Expected
Seattles backfield looked like it would be rebuilt around Jadarian Price after Kenneth Walker III was allowed to walk in free agency, but the early shape of the depth chart is still unsettled. Zach Charbonnet is working back from surgery and is expected to miss the start of the season, which has created an opening for the next men up to establish themselves before the games count.
George Holani has put himself in that conversation, and ESPNs Brady Henderson reports he has caught the coaching staffs attention as the competition with Emanuel Wilson unfolds. Holanis opportunity is bigger than it first appeared, and for a Seahawks team trying to sort out who belongs behind Price, the answer may come sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]