The Seattle Seahawks don’t sound like a team in crisis after their first loss of the season. Coach Mike Macdonald said the fix is more about tightening a few things than ripping anything up, even after Seattle’s 33-31 defeat at Washington ended a 12-game winning streak.
That’s the backdrop for Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Chargers, who arrive at 0-3 and simply need to stop the bleeding.
“In our world, we try to remain as consistent as possible and think about the things that we can control within our process, that we can improve,” Macdonald said. “Obviously, the context after a loss is a little bit different than after a win, but we try to keep the mentality the same. It’s good exercise in practicing what we preach this week.”
For Seattle, the biggest issue from last weekend was the run game. The Seahawks managed only 44 rushing yards against the Commanders, and just 19 of those came in the second half. Rookie running back Jadarian Price also put the ball on the ground early and finished with 15 yards on five carries.
There could be reinforcements coming. Zach Charbonnet remains on the physically unable to perform list, but once he returns to practice, the Seahawks will have a 21-day window to activate him.
Macdonald said Charbonnet could practice Thursday. The back, coming off a torn ACL, ran for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
“He’s doing a great job and he’s in a great position mentally. It’s just about what’s the best time and how does that create the most opportunities to get them ready to play?” Macdonald said.
Still, Seattle isn’t talking about a reset in the ground game.
“Sometimes you just don’t get the run game off the ground in a certain game and you don’t hit the panic button, you just go back to work and try to find more solutions and just keep trying to solve problems and go try to make it better,” Macdonald said.
The Chargers are dealing with a different kind of urgency. After a 24-16 loss to Buffalo, they’re 0-3, and history is not exactly on their side. Only one team has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-4, and that was the 1992 San Diego Chargers.
Jim Harbaugh made it clear he wants more from Justin Herbert. Herbert has passed for 627 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions through three games, and he’s been sacked eight times.
“Be better. Be better,” Harbaugh said.
“And that drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike (McDaniel), the coordinator. I mean, it drives us all.”
Seattle’s quarterback situation has its own momentum after Sam Darnold returned from a glute injury and lit up Washington for 379 yards and four touchdowns on 31 completions in 45 attempts. He also threw two interceptions, including a pick-6 with 3:57 left, the sixth pick-6 of his career.
The Chargers’ secondary comes in with some confidence after rookie safety Genesis Smith picked off Josh Allen twice for the first interceptions of his career.
The matchup also features a pair of teams heading in very different directions on the stat sheet. The Seahawks’ defense has now gone 32 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, an NFL record. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has allowed at least 24 points in each of its first three games.
Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been relentless from the jump, becoming the first NFL player to open a season with at least eight catches, 120 receiving yards and a touchdown in each of his first three games. He has 405 receiving yards and six touchdowns overall, with two touchdowns in each of Seattle’s first three games.
The Chargers do have one bright spot on offense in rookie running back Omarion Hampton, who leads the team with 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Sunday’s game in Seattle gives the Seahawks a chance to bounce back at home, while the Chargers are trying to find anything that looks like a season starter.
In Other News...
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Andrew Catalon and Logan Ryan are on the call, and the timing is awkward for a fan base that will have to keep an eye on where the game lands before kickoff. The good news is that Seattle has several nationally televised games coming up, so this shouldnt be a season-long headache, but Week 4 could still leave plenty of viewers searching for an alternate plan. [Read more 🡒]
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Seahawks Backfield Suddenly Has A New Reason For Hope
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Seattles immediate plan still leans on Emanuel Wilson and George Holani at running back in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but the depth chart has already shifted again. Rookie Jadarian Price was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least four games, so the Seahawks are heading into the next stretch with one less option and at least some hope that Charbonnets comeback can eventually settle things down. [Read more 🡒]