The Seattle Seahawks’ offense has been good enough to move the ball and still not good enough where it matters most. That gap is where Klint Kubiak’s absence is starting to sting.
Since Mike Macdonald took over in Seattle, he still hasn’t had the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons. The first look at Ryan Grubb was rough.
Kubiak steadied things last year. Then he left after the season, taking the job as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Seattle turned to Brian Fleury, a respected coach from the San Francisco 49ers’ system who had never been an offensive coordinator or play caller before.
Five games into 2026, the results have been uneven, and the biggest issue is impossible to miss on third down. Seattle has converted just 29.8 percent of the time, second-worst in the league and well below the NFL average of 39 percent. On fourth down, the Seahawks are at 33.3 percent, also far under the league average of 52 percent.
That’s a sharp step back from what Seattle did under Kubiak. Last season, the Seahawks converted 39.8 percent of third downs, which ranked 16th in the NFL, and 58.3 percent of fourth downs, good for 14th. Kubiak’s Raiders have been more efficient this season, converting 39.4 percent on third down and 50 percent on fourth down.
Seattle’s problem isn’t just empty possessions. It’s the way those stops have changed games.
The offense has put points on the board, but it has also struggled to finish drives and protect leads. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Seahawks were ahead by 21 points before LA clawed back to within a touchdown by the end.
Turnovers have played their part too. Sam Darnold led the NFL in turnovers last season, and this year he is still giving the ball away too often, with five turnovers in three games and one drive of another. The running backs have added to the damage, with four fumbles already after not fumbling last season.
Some of that can be cleaned up. The third-down issues feel like a deeper concern.
It’s still too soon to make a firm call on Fleury as an offensive coordinator, but Seattle is still waiting for the kind of answers Kubiak provided a year ago. If that doesn’t change, and if the Seahawks keep living near the bottom of the league on money downs, it could be the thing that costs them in a crowded NFC West.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Tough Christian Haynes Decision After Latest Loss
After the loss to the 49ers, the Seahawks are again staring at the kind of midseason roster question that can reshape a stretch run. Turnovers helped sink them, and with the trade deadline approaching, Seattle is weighing whether to make a move that could help at running back while also affecting a part of the roster that has quietly stabilized.
Christian Haynes has been one of the better recent stories on the offensive line, which is exactly why his name has surfaced as a possible trade candidate. Moving him could give Seattle a chance to address another need, but it would also create a hole up front unless the return is strong enough to justify it, leaving the Seahawks with a decision that is as much about protecting what they have as it is about adding something new. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Have Real Hope For A Backfield Boost
The Seahawks may finally be closing in on a much-needed boost in the backfield, with Zach Charbonnet now trending toward a possible season debut in Week 7. The second-year running back has been sidelined since tearing his ACL late last season, and Seattle has gone the first six games without him as it has tried to sort through its rushing workload.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that Charbonnet has a legitimate chance to get back on the field next week, which would give the Seahawks another physical option at a position that has felt thin at times. Even before he was hurt, Charbonnet looked like a player Seattle wanted to feature, so his return would carry real weight for a team trying to stabilize its ground game heading into the heart of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Have A Josh Jobe Problem They Can't Ignore
Josh Jobe entered this stretch with a real opportunity to settle into a larger role after signing a three-year deal with Seattle, but the latest outing against San Francisco did not help his case. He was targeted often enough to become a focal point, and the damage in receptions and yards was hard to miss for a Seahawks secondary still trying to find its best mix.
The cornerback room already looks different after the offseason shuffle and the addition of Trevon Diggs, which only raises the pressure on Jobe to hold his spot. If Seattle decides the competition needs another jolt, more changes are possible, and the next few decisions around the position will say plenty about how much faith the team really has in Jobe's long-term fit. [Read more 🡒]