Seahawks LB Drake Thomas fixed coach’s mistake on key play

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is widely regarded as the NFL’s brightest defensive play caller.

But even the best occasionally make a mistake.

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After the Seahawks’ 31-7 win on Sunday, Macdonald admitted that he called the wrong defensive front early in the second quarter, with the Arizona Cardinals facing second-and-1 from the Seattle 44-yard line.

Drake Thomas quickly fixed it.

Macdonald said Thomas corrected his mistake and got the Seahawks into the right front. It ended up being the perfect call, as the fourth-year linebacker then shot through a gap on the right side and tackled rookie running back Jeremiyah Love for a 3-yard loss.

“I screwed us up on that,” Macdonald said. “We were in the wrong front, and that’s the type of player Drake is – he makes things right in real time. That is some rare, rare stuff that he was able to do on that play.”

After Thomas’ tackle for loss, Jacoby Brissett’s ensuing third-and-4 pass fell incomplete and the Cardinals were forced to punt. Arizona never crossed midfield again until the game’s final moments.

“He made the front right, so I didn’t look like an idiot, and then played with anticipation, pulled the pin and made the play,” Macdonald said. “That was a tremendous play.”

Thomas, who went undrafted in 2023, has been a revelation since seizing one of Seattle’s two starting linebacker jobs from Tyrice Knight early last season.

Last year, Thomas totaled 3.5 sacks, eight passes defensed and 10 tackles for loss during the regular season. He was one of just three players in the NFL last season to reach all three of those marks, according to Stathead.

Thomas then came up with a sack in Seattle’s Week 1 win over the New England Patriots before delivering his key audible and tackle for loss on Sunday.

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