Stacy Rost: Which Seahawks concerns are real, and which aren’t

There’s a lot to dislike from the Seattle Seahawks’ 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. But when that loss ends a dominant 12-game win streak, it also means the team has earned a stepback approach to those critiques.

After turnover-filled loss, Seahawks focusing on ‘process’

So, what’s the big-picture concern right now when it comes to the Seahawks? And what Week 3 issue doesn’t deserve the panic button?

Real concern: Run game weapons

George Holani and Emanuel Wilson have their strengths and have had moments this year. Wilson finished with over 90 yards last week against the Cardinals, and Holani had a nice day as a pass catcher Sunday, hauling in five receptions for 48 yards. But neither has the track record or explosiveness of Kenneth Walker III, who the Seahawks attempted to replace with rookie first-round draft pick Jadarian Price.

Price is explosive, but through three games he’s doing something Walker didn’t, and not in a good way: the rookie halfback has fumbled twice in his last two games and lost both. For comparison, Walker fumbled twice between 2024 and 2025 and lost none. That wouldn’t be as concerning, were it not for the three fumbles Price had at Notre Dame last year, where ball security was one of the few knocks on his otherwise solid resume. Meanwhile, the most experienced running back on Seattle’s roster, Zach Charbonnet, remains on the PUP list and hasn’t yet returned to practice. Yikes!

Running back depth was a concern heading into the season, so it shouldn’t be a shock that it’s the first issue listed here. But this team isn’t trying to iron out their warts all season; they’re looking to repeat as Super Bowl champs, and they’ll need more convincing returns from the run game to do it.

Worth mentioning: the Seahawks also had run game concerns through the first half of last season, ranking in the bottom third of the league in rushing yards per game through November. But that was with Walker and a healthy Charbonnet. Can this team get those results with a few new faces and a new offensive coordinator?

Head coach Mike Macdonald expressed confidence after the game.

“I think it’s as a team, if we turn the ball over, it’s not good business,” Macdonald said when asked about Price’s ball security. “He’s going to be fine. He’s going to figure it out, he’ll be fine.”

Not a concern: D-line play

The Seahawks’ defense allowed 26 points to the Commanders (excluding Sam Darnold’s pick-six), which is significantly above their per-game average from last season (16.9). They had just two sacks of Washington backup Marcus Mariota and struggled to bring consistent pressure all day. Seahawks fans are surely replaying – with pain – Mariota’s final scramble on third-and-8 to ice the game.

But this group has been too consistent over the past year to deserve the panic button right now. The defense still hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher (31 games and counting) and hadn’t surrendered a play over 20 yards entering Sunday. They bent, and eventually they broke, but that was after a 12-game win streak that saw them overtake the Houston Texans as the top scoring defense in football.

Real concern (but a smaller one): Defensive back depth

The Seahawks returned 10 Super Bowl starters on defense this year, and that sounds great until you consider that Nick Emmanwori still isn’t fully healthy and Julian Love is sidelined by a calf injury.

Macdonald’s teams have done an excellent job of overcoming injuries, but every group has a breaking point, and Seattle’s defensive back room is getting close to theirs. That’s especially true of the safety group, which already lost rookie second-round pick Bud Clark for the year.

Not a huge concern: Sam Darnold

Which brings us to Darnold. We learned last year that Darnold (15 interceptions in 2025) didn’t have to be perfect in the regular season for this team to win it all. That’s not excusing Darnold’s two interceptions on Sunday; rather, it’s highlighting the need to balance those strengths and weaknesses. Darnold turned the ball over at times last year because he was willing to take shots. Sure, a few of those were horrible decisions (mostly straight into the arms of Rams defenders) but Jaxon Smith-Njigba doesn’t get over 1,700 yards with a quarterback who tucks it and runs every time he’s feeling pressure.

The Seahawks also survived those turnovers because the defense was fifth in interceptions and sixth in total takeaways. And because Walker didn’t have a fumbling problem. What you can’t have is what Seattle did in Week 3: a quarterback who gives the ball away, a running back who gives the ball away, and a defense that can’t get it back. One of those things needs to change, it just feels unlikely to be Darnold.

More Seattle Seahawks coverage

• Brock Huard: Seahawks’ loss to Commanders ‘is going to sting’
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• Instant Reaction: Seahawks’ record win streak ends with loss to Commanders

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