Field Gulls
With their 38-37 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, the Seattle Seahawks move to 12-3 on the season and now sit alone atop the NFC West. A victory of this magnitude means many things for Seattle, including becoming the first team in NFL history to come away with a win after trailing by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter. It also means that the electric Jaxon Smith-Njigba has claimed yet another franchise record for himself, cementing his status as the first wide receiver in Seahawks history to surpass 100 receptions in a season.
All of that is wonderful, but it is also worth discussing what Thursday’s win means for head coach Mike Macdonald. Without further ado, let’s dive into what Seattle’s latest victory signifies for the team’s second-year coach.
Since Macdonald took over the reins from Pete Carroll a year ago, Seattle has played on Thursday Night Football four times. With their win over the division rival Rams in Week 16, the Seahawks are now 3-1 on TNF under Coach Macdonald, having previously secured triumphs over the Bears and Cardinals.
This latest win was Seattle’s highest-scoring Thursday night game since the start of last season, as both teams combined for 75 points over 66:47 of game time. The next-highest point total came from Macdonald’s only loss on TNF, a 36-24 defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 of the 2024 season.
Last year’s Niners loss notwithstanding, appearing on Amazon Prime Video has not seemed to affect the Seahawks very much in the Mike Macdonald era. By contrast, Seattle went 0-3 on Prime Video in the last two seasons of Pete Carroll’s tenure, losing once in 2022 and twice in 2023.
Every win counts, and winning in primetime feels even sweeter.
Last year, 30 points seemed like a pipedream, with Macdonald’s unit getting there just three times in 17 games under offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. This season is an entirely different story, however.
The Seahawks have been able to score points aplenty this year, ranking third in the league in scoring with 29.5 points per game (443 in total). In fact, they’ve been able to score 30 points in a half a whopping four times this year; only seven other teams have managed to do that once.
Seattle has scored 30 points eight times this year, going 7-1 in such games. Thursday’s victory was the third time the team has done so against teams that currently sport a winning record, losing only to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in Week 5. Needless to say, the Seahawks are winning the games they should be winning, feasting on the squads near the bottom of the league when given the chances to do so.
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