Why Seahawks remain confident they can fix their run defense

Early in the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout loss to the Bills this past Sunday, Buffalo running back James Cook burst through a lane up the middle and bulldozed into the end zone to put an exclamation point on a 31-10 beatdown.

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As Cook powered through two defenders at the goal line, he dislodged one of their helmets and sent it bouncing into the end zone along with him.

It was an apt metaphor for a porous Seattle run defense that continues to get gashed week after week.

The Seahawks surrendered 164 rushing yards to Buffalo, marking the fourth straight game and the fifth time this season that they have surrendered at least 155 yards on the ground. Seattle gave up 185 rushing yards to New England in Week 2 and then 175 to the Giants, 228 to San Francisco and 155 to Atlanta before the Bills ran seemingly at will on Sunday.

But as the struggles continue, the Seahawks remain confident in their ability to fix them.

“It’s just (about) doing the little things right all the time – not periodically, (but) consistently,” Seattle veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “Doing the right things, doing the little things. That’s really it.

“When you break it down, when you watch the film, there’s nothing (the opponent) is doing. We’re just beating ourselves. … Just not doing the little things as far as setting a better edge or peeking or holding a block out longer (and) making it cleaner for the linebackers. Just little things like that.”

The run defense woes are nothing new. Under former longtime head coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks ranked 31st in rushing yards allowed per game in 2023 (138.4) and 30th in 2022 (150.2).

The hope was that first-year head coach Mike Macdonald’s reputation as a cutting-edge defensive mind would help shore up those problems, but those fixes have yet to take hold.

Seattle’s run defense is once again near the bottom of the league, ranking 28th in yards allowed per carry (4.9) and 29th in rushing yards allowed per game (148.4).

But veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams doesn’t think it’s a product of adjusting to Macdonald’s new scheme or a lack of talent.

“I think the majority of it is discipline, to be honest,” Williams said. “There are only so many defensive schemes you could run. (It’s) a copycat league. At the end of the day, everyone kind of runs the same run plays. Everyone runs the same run defenses. You see teams with less talent sometimes stop the run versus teams with great talent. So to me, it’s all about discipline.”

‘We’re going to get there’

As Williams explained, part of that discipline is trust.

Williams said that as the struggles have continued to mount, there’s been a temptation for players to take on more responsibility than just their individual roles. That likely was exacerbated by the slew of injuries Seattle faced in its defensive front, primarily between Weeks 3 and 6.

“There’s a lot of competitors on this team,” Williams said. “There are guys who feel like they want to put it on their shoulders, which is respectable. Everyone’s a competitor. They want to feel like they can be the guy to make the play.

“But I think in times like that, we end up trying to do other people’s jobs, and that kind of affects the rest of the defense.”

Williams then gave an example.

“If my gap is the B-gap and I feel like the (offense) is zoning to the right but trying to cut back every time, instead of me just staying in my B-gap, … now I’m going to try to play the B-gap and the A-gap instead of just dominating the B-gap,” Williams said. “I’m now trying to do two things at once.

“I think sometimes things like that start to happen once you have the stress of things happening over and over. I think it’s just more about us getting back to the basics (and) trusting our teammate that they’re going to do their job.”

There are reasons to be optimistic about Seattle’s ability to turn things around.

The Seahawks are mostly back to full health up front, with rookie first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, Williams and outside linebacker Boye Mafe each back after missing a combined six games. They traded Jerome Baker to Tennessee last week in an inside linebacker swap for Ernest Jones IV, who was graded by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best inside linebacker in the league last season. And theoretically, they should benefit from increased familiarity with Macdonald’s scheme as the season goes on.

Seattle’s next test is against the NFC West rival Rams on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field. Los Angeles has run the ball well against the Seahawks in recent years, averaging 134.1 rushing yards per game in its past 15 matchups with Seattle since offensive guru Sean McVay took over as the Rams’ head coach in 2017.

“The guys are steadfast in wanting to improve, and we’re figuring out what we do best too,” Macdonald said. “… We’re going to get it figured out. At some point, it’s going to start to click. It’s kind of like a puzzle and it all fits together. And look, if I was a fan out there, I’d want to see progress too. Just like as the head coach, we want to see us grow and become a dominant defense and we’re going to get there.

“It’s a process right now and you got to be married to the process. You can’t skip steps because you want better results. You have to keep going through it. That’s what we’re doing.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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• Is Seattle Seahawks’ run defense or rushing attack a quicker fix?
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