Macdonald: Seahawks’ red-zone defense has been ‘unacceptable’

On a per-play basis, the Seattle Seahawks’ 2026 defense has been even better than its 2025 version.

Macdonald: Offensive struggles a ‘Seahawk problem to solve’

Seattle has allowed a league-low 4.17 yards per play this season, which is the seventh-best mark by any NFL defense through the first eight games of a season since 2000, according to Stathead. Last year, the Seahawks ranked second with 4.6 yards allowed per play.

But in one key area, Seattle’s defense has experienced a major regression.

The Seahawks have allowed a league-worst 83.3% red-zone touchdown rate this season, surrendering TDs on 15 of their opponents’ 18 trips to the red zone. Last year, Seattle’s defense ranked fifth with a 50% red-zone TD rate.

The issue was particularly glaring on Monday night, when the Seahawks allowed TDs on all four Chicago red-zone trips in a 34-17 loss to the Bears. Chicago capped its opening drive with a 1-yard TD pass from Caleb Williams to Luther Burden III, and running back D’Andre Swift rushed for scores of 1, 5 and 5 yards in the second half.

“It’s unacceptable,” head coach Mike Macdonald told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable. I don’t know what else you want me to say. Like, we’ve been running the same goal-line, red-zone series of defenses here. Nobody just reinvents red-zone defense. It’s in the red zone, (so) you can only do X amount of things. There’s limited space and you have to have an identity about who you’re going to be.

“And our identity here has always been don’t let them run it in. They’ve got to throw the ball in the end zone. We have fallen short way too many times on that front, so it’s unacceptable. … Teams are going to keep running on us until we stop them, so we’ve got to figure it out.”

In the Seahawks’ four losses, they have allowed 11 touchdowns on their opponents’ 12 red-zone trips.

“Not being lined up correctly, not doing your job, not playing the correct gap, getting moved off the ball, not getting to the football – I mean, I’m not saying this is happening every down, but like those are things that are non-negotiable,” Macdonald said. “So if those things are happening, then that’s unacceptable.”

Mike Macdonald joins Brock and Salk on the day after Seahawks games at 9:30 a.m. for The Mike Macdonald Show. Listen to the full conversation at this link or watch the video at the top of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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