Seahawks Midseason Grades: Evaluating the first half of 2024

With the Seattle Seahawks in the midst of their bye week, it’s an ideal time to reflect on the first half of the season.

Check-In: At 4-5 heading into bye, Seahawks have plenty of work to do

It’s been an up-and-down beginning to the Mike Macdonald era, with the Seahawks racing to a 3-0 start before dropping five of their past six games. They sit in last place in the NFC West at 4-5, but are only one game out of first place in the wide-open division.

How have the Seahawks fared over their first nine games under Macdonald? Seattle Sports reporters Zac Hereth and Cameron Van Til gave their midseason grades below.

Overall

Zac Hereth: This team is pretty close to what many expected. Eight to nine wins was where a lot of experts had this team, and they’re on track for that. They won all but one of the games it felt like they should have won. They lost the games where they were underdogs. And they’re 1-1 in the games that felt like toss-ups. The disastrous ending against the Giants really looms large, because the feeling of this team drastically shifts if it’s 5-4 and tied for first in the division as it hits the bye week. Grade: C-

Cameron Van Til: The reality is there were always going to be some bumps in the road with a 37-year-old first-time head coach, a first-time NFL offensive coordinator and brand-new schemes on both sides of the ball. As Zac said, the one major disappointment was the loss to a 2-7 Giants team that’s tied for the worst record in the league. That loss could ultimately end up being the difference between making or missing the playoffs. But ultimately, it takes time to build a true championship-contending team. Pete Carroll went 7-9 each of his first two seasons before Seattle took off. And even during his time as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, Macdonald needed half a season before the Ravens’ defense hit its stride. Grade: C-

Seattle Seahawks offense

Hereth: This is a tricky one because the offensive line is the only position group that has consistently played poorly, but its effects are far-reaching on other groups and have completely derailed the unit at times. Despite all the troubles the offensive line has caused, the Seahawks are still ninth in yards per game and 14th in points per game. There is enough talent at the skill positions for this group to be better, but that’s probably not happening with this O-line. The lack of a run game is frustrating, but it’s hard to commit to the run when your offensive linemen aren’t getting any push at the line of scrimmage and are oftentimes getting pushed back themselves. Volume has a lot to do it with it, but you can’t discredit the fact that this is the league’s top passing offense in terms of yardage. Grade: B-

Van Til: The O-line struggles have once again crippled the entire offense, preventing the Seahawks from fully taking advantage of a quality quarterback and elite skill-position talent. Geno Smith has been under frequent duress. There’s been little room for the ground game to get untracked. And there’s been a maddening mess of penalties, sacks, bad snaps, turnovers and other miscues. Add it all up, and that’s why Seattle has faced a historically bad 8.9-yard average distance to go on third downs. That simply isn’t an effective recipe for success. Despite all that, the Seahawks have still managed to rank around league-average in scoring. But even that’s a bit misleading, as their erratic play has resulted in far too many slow starts. They have averaged just 7.2 first-half points in their five losses, which has tilted games out of whack and left them scrambling to climb out of big holes. The offense was supposed to be the strength of this team, and it simply hasn’t been anywhere near good enough. Grade: D

Seattle Seahawks defense

Hereth: There was quite a bit of hope that Macdonald would turn this defense around quickly, but the overall results look pretty similar to the ones we’ve seen the past two seasons. Seattle still can’t stop the run, although it did take a step in the right direction in its final game before the bye week. And the inconsistencies in the secondary have been troublesome, especially the continued lapses by cornerback Riq Woolen. If the results were the same, this grade would be lower if the Seahawks hadn’t faced so many injuries. It’s been a disappointing first half on the defensive side, but I also feel this group is the most likely to take a big step forward before the season ends. Grade: C-

Van Til: The defense is a bit tougher to evaluate, due to the slew of injuries and roller coaster of ups and downs. After a great start against an underwhelming slate of opposing quarterbacks, the unit struggled mightily as the injuries piled up and competition improved. The defense then got healthier and rebounded with strong performances against the Falcons and Rams, but that was sandwiched around a horrific showing against the Bills. The run defense has once again been at the center of the issues, with Seattle ranking 27th in rushing yards allowed per game. But keeping with the up-and-down theme of this season, the Seahawks had their best performance against the run on Sunday, limiting the Rams to just 2.8 yards per carry. I’m treating this as a wait-and-see type of grade, especially considering that there invariably were going to be growing pains as the unit learns and adjusts to Macdonald’s cutting-edge defensive scheme. Grade: C-

Special teams

Hereth: The special teams unit has been an interesting one. There have been some highs. Laviska Shenault Jr. has one of three kickoff return touchdowns in the NFL this season, the Seahawks are one of four teams averaging over 30 yards on kickoff returns, they’ve blocked a punt, and punter Michael Dickson has been his usually reliable self. But there have been some definite lows. Kicker Jason Myers missed a critical extra point last week, which eventually allowed the game to go to overtime where Seattle lost. There was a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown to lose against the Giants. Punt returner Dee Williams has struggled, with Seattle tied for the fourth-fewest yards per punt return. It somewhat evens out, but the mistakes have proven more costly than the positives have beneficial. Grade: D+

Van Til: Special teams is also tricky to grade due to all the extreme highs and lows. Shenault returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the 49ers, Cody White came up with a blocked punt against the Rams, the Seahawks rank fourth in the NFL in kick return coverage and Dickson has once again been a weapon in flipping field position. But the mistakes have simply been too costly. The Seahawks allowed a potential game-tying field goal to be blocked by the Giants, which cost them a shot at forcing overtime. Myers missed a crucial extra point early on against the Rams, which proved massive in overtime loss. And there have been some shaky moments in the return game, with Shanult losing a fumble on a kick return and Williams muffing both a punt and a kick. As Zac said, the negatives have far outweighed the positives. Grade: C-

Coaching

Hereth: Growing pains are to be expected from a staff with first-year coaches at head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, and the Seahawks have certainly experienced those this season. However, the decision-making process has been sound, even if it hasn’t always paid off. Macdonald and his staff have shown a good grasp for situations and have also made some decisions based more on feel than what the numbers say. To me, that’s how that should be approached. Grade: C

Van Til: I also like Macdonald’s approach to in-game decision-making. He seems to strike a good balance between weighing the analytics of certain situations, while also factoring in variables beyond the numbers. There undoubtedly have been some growing pains, as were expected for a coaching staff that includes a first-time head coach and first-time NFL coordinators on both sides of the ball. But from a big-picture perspective, I think the Seahawks have a bright future with Macdonald at the helm. His defensive expertise is well-documented, but perhaps even more important, he appears to have a smart, thoughtful and holistic approach to the game that should bode well for the franchise long-term. Grade: B

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