12s might need to hold their breath when Mike Macdonald faces Rams and 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks have struggled to beat the Rams and Niners in recent years. What can Mike Macdonald do differently to solve Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan's offenses? For the past three years, the Seahawks' record against the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers is (4-8).

Two of the Seahawks' wins against the Rams came in 2022 when their QB Matt Stafford missed both games due to injury. Last year, the Seahawks went (0-4) against the Rams and Niners signaling the need for a new approach to beating them.

The Seahawks have also not won the NFC West division since 2020. Struggling to defeat their division rivals has played a role in that. Specifically, in the last two years, Seattle has been unable to defeat the Niners. The Seahawks' inability to defeat the 49ers represents the gap between these two teams as serious contenders. Though San Francisco has not won the Super Bowl in each of the last two years, they were in the Super Bowl this past year and made the NFC Title game in 2022.

Mike Macdonald's defenses have had mixed success against the Rams and 49ers

The Rams look to be more beatable considering there is not as big of a talent gap between the Seahawks and the Rams. Seattle led LA 13-7 at halftime of the season opener last year before injuries to two of their starting tackles in the second half helped LA shut down the Seahawks' offense. The Rams would win the game 30-13.

When these teams played again in LA, the game was much closer and the Seahawks controlled the game for much of the contest. Still, the Rams were able to eke out a 17-16 come-from-behind win after trailing 16-7 entering the fourth quarter.

Last year, Mike Macdonald as the Ravens defensive coordinator helped the Ravens beat both the Rams and the Niners. Macdonald did a better job of scheming against Kyle Shanahan's offense than Sean McVay's as the Ravens held the 49ers to 19 points and intercepted Brock Purdy four times, even as Christian McCaffery rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown. Overall, Macdonald had a successful game plan to make Purdy uncomfortable and the Ravens beat the Niners 33-19.

Against the Rams, Macdonald's defense was not quite as effective at stopping Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay's offense. Matthew Stafford threw for 294 yards, going 23 for 41 on pass attempts, and had three touchdown passes. Kyren Williams the Rams running back, ran for 114 yards on 25 carries.

Macdonald's defense did not seem to have an answer for Cooper Kupp (who had eight receptions for 115 yards) and Puka Nacua (he caught five passes for 84 yards). Though the Ravens would win 37-31 in OT.

How effective Mike Macdonald is against the Rams and the 49ers will come down to how well he can make adjustments and game plans for each of these teams. Seeing both the Rams and Niners twice a year should also help Macdonald develop different strategies and schemes to stop Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan's offenses.

What Macdonald was able to do against Shanahan and the Niners last year should give Seahawks' fans hope. How effectively Mike Macdonald is at stopping both these teams' offenses will be critical to the Seahawks' ability to take back the NFC West.

More Seahawks news and analysis: