(Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Mike Sando’s Pick Six from November 18, 2024.)

3. A tumultuous bye week for the Seattle Seahawks produced a signature win for new coach Mike Macdonald against the San Francisco 49ers. Did it also hint at a new vision of playing style, as Macdonald himself claims?

The Seahawks cut their starting middle linebacker and processed the retirement of their starting center during their recently completed bye week. They then defeated the San Francisco 49ers for the first time since 2021 after six straight losses (by an average of two touchdowns) in the series. The 20-17 win included an 11-play, 80-yard drive to the winning touchdown in the final 2:38, with Geno Smith rushing for 29 of the final 37 yards.

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This was a signature win for first-year Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald in an up-and-down first season. His defense tackled better at the linebacker level, a huge point of emphasis highlighted by the surprise release of Tyrel Dodson. His defense also held 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to 5.7 yards per attempt, the second-lowest mark for Purdy in 37 career starts. This was the first time since 2019 that Seattle held the 49ers under 20 points.

There was also a subtle shift away from the shotgun formation, including on running back rushing plays. Did this reflect Macdonald exerting some influence on an offense that, through formation and play calling, was perhaps too focused on the pass?

The table above shows the shift after filtering out the last two minutes of the halves, when teams are often in passing mode or running down the clock.

The pivot to more run-friendly formations Sunday didn’t lead first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to the running game, however. The Seahawks’ success rate of 58 percent on early downs outside the final two minutes of the half on Sunday mirrored the success rate during the four successful games prior to Week 10. Kenneth Walker III finished the San Francisco game with just 14 carries, also although Seattle never trailed by more than four points.

As a defensive-minded coach who emerged under John Harbaugh in Baltimore and spent two years with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, would Macdonald want more carries for his featured back?

The table above shows the Seahawks’ offensive tendencies on early downs among all their offensive coordinators since 2010. Seattle ranks second on the Cook Index this season, with only Cincinnati passing more often on early downs in the first 28 minutes of games, before the clock and score difference exert more influence. That will be an area to keep an eye on as Seattle finds its feet under its new coach.

(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)