The Seattle Seahawks used to own Lumen Field. Teams would come in, face one of the best defenses in NFL history, and lose. Not so much lately. Heading into Week 3, new head coach Mike Macdonald had a 3-7 record at home since taking over for Pete Carroll.
No matter how good a roster might be, if a team can't win its home games, then that team is not going to be successful. Thankfully, Seattle has been a lot better on the road, but their level of success on the road versus at Lumen Field is not sustainable.
Linebacker Ernest Jones IV knows it, too. Jones was acquired from the Tennessee Titans in a trade midway through last season, and he made an immediate impact, especially on run defense. He has carried that into 2025 after signing a three-year extension with the Seahawks this offseason.
Ernest Jones IV speaks truth to wisdom after the Seattle Seahawks' Week 3 victory
Jones learned quickly just how loud 12s can be, and how much they can influence a game. Still, if the play on the field is underwhelming, there is nothing fans can really do. Jones understands that the team needs to lift up the fans as much as things are working the opposite way.
Speaking with the media after Seattle's destruction of the New Orleans Saints 44-13, Jones delivered the harsh truth. Seahawks fans are great, and the team playing well at Lumen only makes them better.
Jones said, "When you have a crowd, and you have fans that show up like the 12s do, you gotta go win games at home, and you gotta put emphasis on when you do get a home game, you go out there and you ball out and you feed them chaos."
Of course, not every team that visits Seattle is going to be as bad as the Saints were. The Seahawks dominated in all phases of the game, especially on special teams. Seattle, in fact, could have won by a wider margin, but the Seattle offense was fairly ineffective in the second half.
In other words, Jones and the defense are probably going to have to keep feeding 12s chaos in future games. While Sam Darnold appears to have been a wise choice to sign in free agency, the Seattle Seahawks are built to win with great defense.
So far, so good. But winning at home needs to continue. The next matchup at Lumen Field won't be easy, though. Seattle hosts the currently 3-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.