PITTSBURGH – The Seahawks’ offense has a mission statement.
In explaining the firing of former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb in January, second-year Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said: “We want our offense to be a physical unit, dictate terms to the defense and play complementary football and get the ball to our playmakers frequently in space. Let our quarterback play fast.”
On Sunday, in a 31-17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks mirrored the mission statement.
It just took a little time.
The Seahawks sputtered through an unimpressive, frustrating first half, outgaining Pittsburgh 188 to 69 but trailing 14-7. After tallying an opening-drive touchdown for the first time in 23 games, they succumbed to sloppiness, as kicker Jason Myers banged a 36-yard field-goal attempt off the left upright and quarterback Sam Darnold coughed up a pair of picks.
A week ago, the New York Jets effectively pummeled Pittsburgh’s defense – recording 182 rushing yards, 4.7 yards per carry and three rushing scores.
On Sunday, the Seahawks managed 39 rushing yards, 3 yards per carry, seven points and two turnovers in a feeble first half.
For six consecutive quarters to start the season, this was not a physical unit. It did not dictate terms to any defense. It did not play complementary football or get the ball to playmakers (not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba) in space. It did not let Darnold, who totaled three turnovers and one touchdown in that span, play particularly fast – or efficient.
So, why were the Seahawks so confident to start the second half?
“It might not have felt that way, but our guys knew what the situation was,” Darnold said. “We knew we were going to be able to go out there and play really good football, and I felt like we did that.”
In the second half, Macdonald’s mission statement started to take hold. Running back Kenneth Walker III carried eight times for 79 yards in the second half alone, sealing the win with a 19-yard touchdown scamper on third-and-goal with 3:41 left. The 5-foot-9, 211-pounder crossed the century mark for the first time since the 2024 season opener, finishing with 105 rushing yards (8.1 YPC) and the cementing score.
Physical unit, check.
“I’m always confident in our guys, that we’ll be able to go third-and-19, no matter what, and we’ll be able to score,” Darnold said of Walker’s touchdown. “But I was pitching it and just telling him, ‘Stay in bounds here. We need the clock to run,’ getting ready to send the field goal unit on. Sure enough, he breaks a couple tackles and I knew he had a chance.
“But Ken’s got a chance every single play he touches the rock.”
More Seahawks received chances to touch the rock Sunday. After Smith-Njigba saw a whopping 56.5% of the targets in the Week 1 loss to San Francisco, six Seahawks caught passes in Pittsburgh. Smith-Njigba remained steady, recording a team-high eight catches (on 10 targets) for 103 yards. But wide receivers Cooper Kupp (seven catches, 90 yards) and Tory Horton (two catches for 32 yards and his first career TD) and tight ends AJ Barner (two catches, 26 yards, one TD) and Elijah Arroyo (two catches, 31 yards) also contributed.
Getting the ball to playmakers frequently in space, check.
“This offense is designed to get the ball to everybody,” Macdonald said. “I felt like it did that today.”
More specifically, Darnold did that, shaking off two turnovers to complete 9 of 14 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in the second half. That included a third-and-9 improvisation, in which Darnold spun left to avoid a blitz and flipped the ball to Barner for an improbable 19-yard gain. He followed that with a 43-yard rainbow to Smith-Njigba that set up Walker’s 19-yard score.
Let the quarterback play fast, check.
“He’s just a great leader,” Walker said of Darnold, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. “He kept his head on straight. He didn’t pout over an interception. He stayed positive and started throwing touchdowns.”
Added Darnold: “Our defense and our special teams, the way they played throughout that first half kept us in the game. It felt like we were finally able to play the style of ball that we wanted to in the second half.”
Complementary football, check.
But, with that said: Is it sustainable? The Seahawks picked on a Pittsburgh defense that has surrendered 63 total points in its first two games. The Steelers were without four defensive starters – cornerback Joey Porter Jr., safety DeShon Elliott, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.
The Seahawks defense, which excelled even without Devon Witherspoon, is good enough to do damage in the NFC West. It’s the offense that’ll ultimately determine their ceiling.
Because fans can’t count on a kickoff bouncing through an opponent’s hands for a game-turning touchdown every week. They can’t count on another diving end-zone interception from cornerback Derion Kendrick, on a ball that was fatefully batted into the air.
They need the Seahawks’ offense to match their mission statement.
They did so in the second half.
“Honestly, I’m most excited about where we’re going,” Macdonald said. “I’ve seen us execute throughout the offseason. I saw us be disappointed after last week, and I’ve seen us have resolve and bounce back and be determined about getting better and committed to this team.
“It’s easy to lose hope after you get that initial feedback that it might not be working. But our guys are trusting the process and they’re sticking to it.”