Seahawks special teams deliver statement performance that could shift the season

The Seattle Seahawks’ special teams have been an area of concern since Jay Harbaugh took over as the coordinator last year. But, head coach Mike Macdonald put trust in Harbaugh to get things back on track in 2025 after seeing positive effort and growth last season.

Of course, the concerns largely settle on return blocking and kick coverage. Showing great effort is one thing, but executing the assignments and finding game-changing plays is another. 

Sure enough, three weeks into the season, Harbaugh’s unit played a huge role in Seattle’s blowout win over the New Orleans Saints.

Seahawks special teams showcase turns into a momentum avalanche

The shining example was Tory Horton’s 95-yard punt return touchdown, the first of his young and promising career. While the rookie displayed excellent ball carrier vision required to make such a play, his blockers set up a lane down the center of the field, and was completely set free on his path to the endzone by a devastating block from Mike Morris on the punter.

The Saints' next drive ended with a blocked punt by D’Anthony Bell that gave the Seahawks’ offense excellent field position to put another touchdown on the board courtesy of Kenneth Walker III. Bell showed excellent technique himself by coming in at a perfect angle to either block the kick or avoid the punter and a potential penalty.

Early in the second quarter, Dareke Young had a 60-yard kickoff return, which again led to another Seahawks scoring drive on a short field with Horton finishing that drive off with his second touchdown.

At that point in the ball game, Seattle had 28 points and had only run 11 offensive plays.

NFL fans know well enough that a good special teams unit is one that doesn’t create issues and cleanly handles the changing of possession. Great special teams units turn games on their head, and that’s exactly what Seattle got in Week 3.

While this is certainly a great day at the office for Harbaugh’s group, carrying the consistency through the rest of the season is something Seahawks fans will be keeping tabs on. After all, the Saints are now 0-3 for a reason - they’re young and lack promising talent across the board, which breeds special teams mistakes like no other. 

But if this is a sign of a stark turnaround, then Seattle has an edge to carry into every matchup going forward.