Seahawks’ coaches have impressed ESPN’s Saturday with run game

The Seattle Seahawks’ offense is starting to look to similar to when it won its first Super Bowl in some ways.

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The 2013 Seahawks offense was led by a strong run game headlined by bruising running back Marshawn Lynch and the scrambling abilities of quarterback Russell Wilson. That group finished fourth in the NFL in rushing.

This year’s Seahawks don’t have a wrecking ball the caliber of Lynch or a quarterback with the running prowess of Wilson, but they’ve become a team that’s rode a dominant run game down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.

The Seahawks enter Sunday’s NFC Championship showdown against the Rams averaging 172.3 yards on the ground and 5.2 yards per carry over their past four games. They’ve rushed for at least 163 yards in each contest, including 171 yards when they beat the Rams in overtime in Week 16. They’ve also had three 100-yard rushers during that stretch, which is the first time that’s happened since fourth-year running back Kenneth Walker III reached the century mark in the final three games of his rookie year in 2022.

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Seattle’s run game this year. Before the late-season surge, they were 22nd in the league averaging 113 yards per game and 28th averaging 3.9 yards per carry.

The fact that the Seahawks never gave up on their run game is something ESPN analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Jeff Saturday gives offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and head coach Mike Macdonald major credit for.

“My favorite part about Kubiak and Macdonald and what they were able to do: even when they weren’t efficient in the run game, because they weren’t all year, they called it, they never got away from it just becoming this one-dimensional team,” Saturday told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday. “Now their defense obviously gives them the ability to do that, but I just love the fact that they stuck with it, and really they’ve become extremely efficient over the past month or so.

“You saw what it looks like. It’s hard, man, to figure out where you fit and kind of how it is, but you’ve seen that thing come to life. Obviously, the (Zach) Charbonnet injury is massive, but even Walker, like the explosive plays he’s been able to have and you’re watching like the sides of the line of scrimmage get washed down, that’s what you wanted to see.”

Seattle’s offensive formula of late reminds Saturday of what helped the Philadelphia Eagles win it all last season.

“I’m not comparing the two, but that’s really what opened it up for Philly last year was explosive plays in the run game, and that allowed everything else to kind of filter from there,” he said. “(It’s) no different for the Seahawks. They’re allowing that offense to stay true to who they are. Tip of the cap to Kubiak. That’s hard to do. Most offensive coordinators (are) going to fall in love with the pass game and the good-looking quarterback. … The grunt work has paid off in Seattle and it’s one of the reasons why they’re a fun team for me to watch.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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