The Seattle Seahawks woke up Tuesday morning thanking the Buffalo Bills for beating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime, thanks to a barely blocked field-goal attempt, for two reasons. One, it dropped the Rams to 2-3 on the season. Second, because Seattle also lost in Week 5.
The Seahawks hosted Brock Purdy—who had never won in Seattle before this weekend—on Sunday in what would end in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers 32-29. It was, in a word, messy for the Seahawks, who could have won, and maybe should have won, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba's dropped pass can't be blamed.
Everything that happened before that drop was the collective culprit, and turnovers were painfully present again. Seattle committed four turnovers against San Francisco, and it cost them significantly. The thing is, this has been a trend for the Seahawks this season. In fact, it's been a trend for a lot longer, and Mike Macdonald is right in the middle of it, and not for good.
The Seattle Seahawks' defense has covered up a major flaw in Mike Macdonald's tenure
If you haven't been paying attention, the Seahawks are turning the football over at an alarming rate. It almost seems impossible to believe, given the quality of the Seahawks, elite coaching, and suffocating defense. Yet, through five games, they've committed nine total turnovers.
From afar, it doesn't quite fit with who Macdonald is, or has been, as a head coach since taking over in Seattle three years ago. Seattle boasts one of, if not the best, defensive groups in the league going back to last season, and Macdonald has received much of the credit for it, and rightfully so.
It's because of his elite defense, however, that a major flaw in Macdonald's Seahawks tenure has been covered up, or, at the very least, overlooked: turnovers. To be clear, Macdonald is a top head coach in the NFL today; he's one of the best, and that's inarguable. That said, under his watch, Seattle is incredibly undisciplined on offense.
Now, nine out of 10 fingers would point to Sam Darnold in this case, and it would be hard to argue with those nine fingers. In this season alone, Darnold has five interceptions in four games. Last season, he committed 20 total turnovers during the regular season (14 interceptions and six fumbles lost).
Darnold has been a turnover machine since landing in Seattle. Still, thanks to a phenomenal defense and a Super Bowl championship, Darnold's biggest flaw hasn't cost the Seahawks anything yet. That's where Macdonald comes in, because it's his job to fix it.
Against the 49ers, the Seahawks fumbled twice, and Darnold threw two more interceptions, marking the 20th time under Macdonald that the Seahawks turned the football over two-plus times in a single game. Only the Cleveland Browns have done that more since 2024. Put another way, about half of every game in Macdonald's Seahawks era has been a multi-giveaway day for Seattle.
The amazing thing, though, is that no one is talking about how many times the Seahawks turn the ball over under Macdonald. Why? Seattle's defense takes all of the attention, or the lion's share, anyway. Macdonald's defense is so great that it normally covers up the Seahawks' offensive blunders.
When you peek behind the curtain, though, the facts remain: Seattle has ranked top 10 in fumbles in each of Macdonald’s seasons, and his quarterback has thrown 19 interceptions since Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Today, the Seahawks are 3-2, but they could and maybe should be undefeated. Macdonald's team won't have the same level of success they had last year if they keep committing this many turnovers. Right now, the Seahawks are not playing complementary football, which is hurting them.
For the time being, Seattle's defense is covering up a major blemish on their head coach's resume. The question is: how long can they do that?
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