RENTON – If the Mike Macdonald biography ever comes out, the ghost writer will likely earn his money. The Seahawks coach’s no-nonsense approach to the job usually includes no stories at his news conferences.
But Wednesday, when asked if the season has gone as expected or deviated from what he envisioned, he offered a yarn from early in his career.
He spoke of a high school coach named Xarvia Smith who took his staff on a retreat when Macdonald was an assistant at Cedar Shoals High. Smith asked the coaches to (anonymously) write down how many games out of 10 they thought they would win on a sheet of paper. When Smith looked at the sheets, he said “go ahead and let me know how many games you expect us to lose right now so we don’t have to play them.”
From that point on, Macdonald – who admits he didn’t write down “10” – has expected to win every game he’s coached.
This may not be a realist’s mentality, but it is a victor’s. And it’s fitting for the Seahawks (13-3) as they prepare to take on the 49ers (12-4) on Saturday with the NFC West title and a first-round playoff bye on the line.
It’s in the conversation for most important regular-season game in franchise history, and you know what? You should expect the Seahawks to win. They’ve earned that right.
This is a far cry from a guarantee. The 49ers have been on an offensive tear as of late and the Seahawks might not have either of their top two left tackles or their speediest receiver. The game also is in Santa Clara. But through 16 contests this season, Seattle has built up enough of a résumé to feed their fans confidence that they’ll pull this out.
Some examples?
The Seahawks have been better on the road than they have at home. This has been true the past two seasons, but their 7-1 record in away games this year stands out. They took down the 12-4 Jaguars in Jacksonville. They beat the division-leading Steelers and Panthers on East Coast time, as well. Even that 21-19 loss to the Rams in L.A. needed four interceptions from Sam Darnold for the victory to get away. The location Saturday will not be a disadvantage.
To that end, they are also 4-0 this year when coming off games three time zones away (5-0 if you include the Nashville game two time zones away.) And they are 2-0 in short weeks. Fatigue and preparation shouldn’t be a factor, either.
Additionally, their running game seems to have found its footing. In Sunday’s win over the Panthers, Seattle’s running backs amassed 161 yards on 33 carries. In their overtime win against the Rams 10 days earlier, Seattle finished with 171 yards on 25 carries – with Kenneth Walker III collecting 100 yards on 11 attempts. This was an area that had been lacking most of the year, but the ground attack could be the final piece to unlocking the total package.
Plus, their defense looks elite. The one real hiccup in the past three months came when the Seahawks gave up 581 yards to the Rams in that 38-37 win, but they are still second in the NFL points allowed per game (18.1).
They held Jacksonville to 12 points. They held the 11-win Texans to 19 and the Niners to 17 in the season-opening loss. There was a three-game stretch late in the season during which Seattle allowed 23 points total. The pieces are there on “D,” and they seem to be there on offense, too.
Darnold’s name is going to be repeated ad nauseam in the run-up to this game, as pundits question whether he’ll be able to perform in the clutch. It’s essentially a mirror image of his regular-season finale last year, when he had the chance to lead the Vikings to a division crown before playing one of the worst games of his career.
But as Macdonald said Wednesday, Sam always figures it out. The resiliency after turnovers has been noteworthy all season, and when you have the league’s No. 1 receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1,709 yards this season), it makes it easy to bounce back.
Make no mistake – this very well could be the two best teams in the NFL clashing Saturday. The Seahawks have won 10 of their past 11 and San Francisco each of its past six.
But the doubts about what the Seahawks are capable of have been incrementally pummeled out of existence. Winning the division and getting a bye is no longer a fantasy – it’s become the expectation.