The Seattle Seahawks haven’t found much traction when the yardage gets tight.
Through three weeks, Seattle is converting just 2 of 8 runs in 1-yard-to-go situations, an NFL-worst 25% rate according to Stathead. That’s a steep fall from last season, when the Seahawks finished fourth in the league at 82.9%, going 34 of 41 in those spots.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said the team is already digging into the problem.
“It’s something that we want to direct our attention to and kind of stress test our process,” Macdonald told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday. “We started that process a little bit last week, but I think we’ll put some more attention into it right now and have those conversations and go attack it and see where that process takes us.”
One obvious change is the disappearance of the “Barnyard” package. Last year, Seattle borrowed a page from the Philadelphia Eagles’ “tush push” and built its own short-yardage wrinkle around 6-foot-6, 251-pound tight end AJ Barner.
It worked. Barner picked up a first down on 9 of 10 carries, and every one of those attempts came on third-and-1 or fourth-and-1.
This season, the Seahawks have technically used the play only once, when Barner powered into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown late in Seattle’s Week 2 win over the Arizona Cardinals. They also tried it in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, but the result was wiped out by an offside penalty on right guard Anthony Bradford.
Macdonald wasn’t giving much away when asked Monday about why the play hasn’t shown up more.
“I probably don’t want to say the reason publicly, honestly, but (the play remains) an option,” Macdonald said. “It’s a viable option. … It’s definitely something that we’ll keep considering moving forward.”
The backfield looks different, too. Kenneth Walker III was perfect last year in these situations, going 8 for 8, while Zach Charbonnet converted 11 of 16. But Walker signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, and Charbonnet is still working back from February ACL surgery.
This year, Emanuel Wilson is 1 of 5 in 1-yard-to-go runs, George Holani is 0 of 2, and rookie first-round pick Jadarian Price has not been given a carry in those situations.
Seattle is also missing Anthony Bradford’s size and force at right guard. The 6-foot-4, 335-pound lineman has played only one game this season because of knee and hip injuries that sent him to injured reserve, and the earliest he can return is Week 7.
“I think you’re missing some of Bradford’s pure power,” former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said on Brock and Salk. “He is a powerhouse - a big man who’s greatest strength is being in those phone booths and moving men.”
Even with the ground game bogging down in close, Seattle has shown it can still find the end zone through the air in short-yardage moments. Drew Lock connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 45-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 against New England, and Sam Darnold found Smith-Njigba for a 1-yard score on second-and-goal Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
But the Seahawks also left points on the field in that loss, turning the ball over on downs after three straight incompletions from the 2-yard line. That sequence came back to bite them in a 33-31 defeat.
“We’ve gotta find a way to finish down there,” veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. “That’s too many plays being run inside the 5 without getting touchdowns, so certainly something that we need to find a way to get into the end zone.
“As an offense, it’s unacceptable. We’ve got to find a way to finish drives.”
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