The Seattle Seahawks had a tough draw in their first game of the season, as Mike Macdonald had to find a way to beat a division rival in the San Francisco 49ers right out of the gate. Even with their injuries, San Francisco is an opponent that is not meant to be taken lightly.
Despite picking off Brock Purdy twice in this game and keeping this offense mostly in check, Macdonald's team melted in a pressure situation, letting someone the 49ers seemingly pulled from parts unknown make huge plays that changed the outcome of this game.
Jake Tonges, who has yo-yoed off and on the practice squad in the last few years and has never caught a pass in the NFL before this game, caught three big passes in this one, punctuated by a game-winning touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone that put San Francisco up 17-13.
While Darnold was able to get the Seahawks deep into San Francisco territory after a great throw to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, his fumble on what turned out to be the final Seattle drive of the game sealed a loss in absolutely nightmarish fashion.
Seahawks lose nightmare game after backup 49ers tight end catches game-winner
Even though Macdonald managed to cut down on the penalties (just four for 30 yards), the same lack of executional skills in critical moments popped up once again. With two turnovers blunting any momentum that Seattle may have picked up in the course of this game, this one has to sting.
The fact that Darnold didn't even cross 100 yards passing until way late in the contest shows how Robert Saleh had his fellow Jets excommunicant seeing ghosts he hasn't seen since his time in Carolina. The confidence in the team's quarterback plan has to have taken a serious hit, especially when Darnold's game-sealing fumble wasn't even caused by contact.
The Seahawks have plenty of time to figure this out and regroup in time to make an earnest playoff push, but the fact that they let a very winnable game against a 49ers team that was leaning on players with zero NFL catches slide through their grasp has to sting.
Macdonald may have won 10 games in his first season in charge, and he shouldn't be in danger of losing his job after 2025, but he can't afford to let too many more repeats of this game happen before things start to get very spooky.