Seahawks’ rushing attack has ‘breakthrough’ in multiple ways

Dec 8, 2024, 7:46 PM | Updated: 7:58 pm

Zach Charbonnet of the Seattle Seahawks runs with the ball during a Dec. 8, 2024 game. (Mike Christy/Getty Images)

(Mike Christy/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

After their short-yardage struggles were amplified a week ago, head coach Mike Macdonald remained confident that the Seattle Seahawks were taking positive steps in the run game.

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It may have seemed hard to believe then, but the Seahawks proved they are figuring out their ground game in a key NFC West clash with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The rushing attack was the focal point as Seattle used a season-best performance on the ground to remain in first place with a 30-18 victory over the Cardinals. At the center of it all was running back Zach Charbonnet, whose own breakthrough day led the team’s best rushing performance since the final game of the 2022 season.

With starter Kenneth Walker III sidelined with ankle and calf injuries, Charbonnet was called upon as team’s lead back. The second-year pro responded with a career-high 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding 59 receiving yards for a near-200-yard performance.

“Zach did a great job,” Macdonald said. “We gave him a game ball, gave the offensive line a game ball. (He) just ran really physical and it’s tough to tackle that guy in the open field. He’s got speed and power.”

Charbonnet used his punishing running style to chip away at Arizona’s defense and help the Seahawks move the ball with consistency. His biggest play of the day came when he ripped off a 51-yard TD run late in the second quarter to put Seattle up 24-10. The UCLA product took a handoff up the middle, followed lead blocks from offensive linemen Abraham Lucas and Sataoa Laumea and found an open crease to his right for the long score.

"CHARBONNET GOING THE DISTANCE"@Seahawks continue to hit big plays pic.twitter.com/ahe7S0jssV

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 8, 2024

“Those are great blocks,” Charbonnet said. “I mean, obviously we saw (Cardinals safety) Buddha (Baker) coming on the opposite side, so I knew I was going to press inside fast, and obviously both those dudes pulling, they just made it easy for me and I was able to take it, read off them and take it out the back door. There was no one else left out there, so just credit to those guys.”

Charbonnet also converted on both of his third-and-short runs during the game, including a 1-yard TD on a jet sweep as offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb got creative in the red zone after last week’s debacle of five plays from the Jets’ 1-yard line that resulted in zero points.

A fine glass of Charbonnet! pic.twitter.com/E3jdlQUz13

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 8, 2024

The 100-yard game was the first in Charbonnet’s brief NFL career and helped the Seahawks churn out a season-high 176 yards on the ground. Seattle had 121 rushing yards by halftime, which was more than it has had 10 full games this season. Charbonnet accounted for 87 of the first-half rushing yards.

“It’s just everyone around me,” Charbonnet said. “The line, the receivers downfield blocking, tight ends went out there and balled out. They just made it easier for me. All I had to do was make a dude miss or two and was able to just work like that, so I gave all credits to those guys up front.”

Macdonald also had praise of the offensive line.

After facing a number injuries and struggles, the Seahawks had the rare chance to play with the same starting offensive line in consecutive weeks. Macdonald called their performance “probably their best their best game to date.”

“It’s great to go two games in a row with the same five guys,” he said. “… Anytime you have continuity and you can stack reps, that’s important. Now sometimes you’ve got to make necessary adjustments or guys go down (and) guys got to step up, which has happened throughout the season. But it’s been great to get two weeks in a row where the same five guys are out there and they can build off of these performances.”

However, Macdonald isn’t ready to say the run game has been fixed quite yet.

“By no stretch of the imagination have we made it, but it’s great to kind of get a breakthrough on productivity, on how we want to play,” he said. “I thought (offensive coordinator Ryan) Grubb called a great game and onward we go. … Hopefully this generates some more confidence for us in the things that we’ve been doing, in the inputs that we’re putting in.”