The Seattle Seahawks have been stingy everywhere except where it matters most.
Through eight games, Seattle’s 2026 defense is giving up a league-low 4.17 yards per play, a number that actually tops last year’s unit on a per-play basis. The Seahawks allowed 4.6 yards per play in 2025, which ranked second in the NFL. By that measure, this defense has been even sharper.
But the red zone has turned into a problem area, and a big one.
The Seahawks are allowing touchdowns on 83.3% of opponent red-zone trips, the worst mark in the league. That means 15 touchdowns on 18 trips inside the 20. A year ago, Seattle was fifth in that category at 50%.
Monday night in the 34-17 loss to the Bears was the latest and clearest example. Chicago scored touchdowns on all four of its red-zone possessions. Caleb Williams opened the game with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III, and D’Andre Swift finished the night with three rushing scores from 1, 5 and 5 yards.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike Macdonald didn’t try to soften it when he spoke with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
“It’s unacceptable,” Macdonald told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable.
I don’t know what else you want me to say. Like, we’ve been running the same goal-line, red-zone series of defenses here.
Nobody just reinvents red-zone defense. It’s in the red zone, (so) you can only do X amount of things.
There’s limited space and you have to have an identity about who you’re going to be.
“And our identity here has always been don’t let them run it in. They’ve got to throw the ball in the end zone.
We have fallen short way too many times on that front, so it’s unacceptable. … Teams are going to keep running on us until we stop them, so we’ve got to figure it out.”
The trend has been especially damaging in Seattle’s four losses, where opponents have scored touchdowns on 11 of 12 red-zone chances.
Macdonald pointed to the basics that have gone missing.
“Not being lined up correctly, not doing your job, not playing the correct gap, getting moved off the ball, not getting to the football - I mean, I’m not saying this is happening every down, but like those are things that are non-negotiable,” Macdonald said. “So if those things are happening, then that’s unacceptable.”
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