With their 38-37 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, the Seattle Seahawks move to 12-3 on the season and now sit alone atop the NFC West. A victory of this magnitude means many things for Seattle, including becoming the first team in NFL history to come away with a win after trailing by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter . It also means that the electric Jaxon Smith-Njigba has claimed yet another franchise record for himself, cementing his status as the first wide receiver in Seahawks history to surpass
100 receptions in a season.
All of that is wonderful, but it is also worth discussing what Thursday’s win means for head coach Mike Macdonald. Without further ado, let’s dive into what Seattle’s latest victory signifies for the team’s second-year coach.
The Seahawks are 3-1 on Thursday Night Football under Mike Macdonald
Since Macdonald took over the reins from Pete Carroll a year ago, Seattle has played on Thursday Night Football four times. With their win over the division rival Rams in Week 16, the Seahawks are now 3-1 on TNF under Coach Macdonald, having previously secured triumphs over the Bears and Cardinals.
This latest win was Seattle’s highest-scoring Thursday night game since the start of last season, as both teams combined for 75 points over 66:47 of game time. The next-highest point total came from Macdonald’s only loss on TNF, a 36-24 defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 of the 2024 season.
Last year’s Niners loss notwithstanding, appearing on Amazon Prime Video has not seemed to affect the Seahawks very much in the Mike Macdonald era. By contrast, Seattle went 0-3 on Prime Video in the last two seasons of Pete Carroll’s tenure, losing once in 2022 and twice in 2023.
Every win counts, and winning in primetime feels even sweeter.
Seattle is now 7-1 when scoring at least 30 points this season
Last year, 30 points seemed like a pipedream, with Macdonald’s unit getting there just three times in 17 games under offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. This season is an entirely different story, however.
The Seahawks have been able to score points aplenty this year, ranking third in the league in scoring with 29.5 points per game (443 in total). In fact, they’ve been able to score 30 points in a half a whopping four times this year; only seven other teams have managed to do that once.
Seattle has scored 30 points eight times this year, going 7-1 in such games. Thursday’s victory was the third time the team has done so against teams that currently sport a winning record, losing only to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in Week 5. Needless to say, the Seahawks are winning the games they should be winning, feasting on the squads near the bottom of the league when given the chances to do so.
Through 15 games, Sam Darnold has thrown for 24 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. Ten of those 24 TDs have been caught by JSN, with AJ Barner and Tory Horton each tallying five touchdown receptions on the season. Zach Charbonnet leads the team with nine rushing scores, and Kenneth Walker III sits in second place with five. All in all, Charbonnet and Walker account for all but two of Seattle’s touchdowns on the ground so far this year.
If Macdonald’s crew ends up in the top five in scoring, it would be the franchise’s first top-five finish in this category since 2015. Much of the credit for this turnaround is owed to offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whose offense has already surpassed last year’s total (375) with two games left to play.
Macdonald is the fourth Seahawks head coach to win 12 games in a season
Prior to Macdonald’s arrival, only three Seahawks head coaches had ever won 10 games in a season, let alone 12: Chuck Knox, Mike Holmgren, and Pete Carroll. It should not be a surprise to anyone that these three were the only coaches in franchise history to get the team to the playoffs, as no one else has posted a positive career win percentage in Seattle over at least one full season.
Carroll’s three 12-win seasons are the most by any Seahawks coach, accomplishing the feat in 2013, 2014, and 2020. Knox and Holmgren each attained the mark once, doing so in 1984 and 2005, respectively.
At 38 years of age, Macdonald is by far the youngest coach to win 12 games in a season with Seattle, joining Knox as one of just two Seahawks coaches to reach 12 wins in a season in year two. With two games remaining, Macdonald has the opportunity to tie or exceed the franchise record of 13 wins in one year.
Macdonald has come a long way since being the Ravens’ defensive coordinator just two years ago.
Seattle could win the NFC West for the first time in five years
The NFC West division has largely been dominated by the 49ers and Rams in recent years, who have combined to win each of the last four division titles. Los Angeles won Super Bowl LVI in the 2021 season, with future Seahawk Cooper Kupp being named Super Bowl MVP.
That being said, the tides are already beginning to turn in Seattle’s favor. Thursday’s victory gave the Seahawks sole possession of first place, one game ahead of the Rams and 1.5 ahead of San Francisco. This is a significantly brighter outlook compared to the last few seasons, which have routinely seen Seattle hovering around nine or 10 wins.
By winning their final two games of the year, the Seahawks can clinch the NFC West division outright. If this were to happen, it would be Seattle’s first division championship since 2020 and 12th overall.
If the Seahawks win the NFC West, Macdonald would be the third coach in franchise history to claim the division title within his first two seasons, following Mike Holmgren in 1999 and Pete Carroll in 2010.
2025 has been a monumental year for football in Seattle, and Mike Macdonald has a lot to do with it. In just his second season, the Seahawks have evolved from narrowly missing the playoffs with 10 wins to being the second NFC team to clinch a playoff berth.
This is a special team, and one that can win against both good opponents and bad ones. Players like JSN are making it happen on the field, but a lot of credit for the team’s success is owed to Coach Macdonald. Being in contention for the conference’s top playoff seed in your second year as head coach is quite the accomplishment.
In just two years, Macdonald has made quite the name for himself as Seattle’s head coach, and it will be exciting to see where things go from here. On to the final stretch we go!
