Seattle, WA
How Seattle Seahawks can fix historically bad third-down situations
The Seattle Seahawks are on a historic pace, and not in good way.
Seahawks Injuries: Metcalf and Lucas to return, 2 starters out vs. 49ers
After the Seahawks’ most recent game Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams, ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak shared a stat that illustrated some of the struggles plaguing the team’s offense. According to Elias Stats and ESPN Stats & Info, the unit is facing an average distance to gain of 8.9 yards on third-down attempts, which would be the worst mark in the NFL since at least 1980.
Those long third-down situations have certainly showed up on the stat sheet. Seattle’s 35.2% third-down conversion rate ranks 24th in the NFL.
During Thursday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, Seahawks radio network analysts and former NFL players Dave Wyman and Ray Roberts discussed what the team can do to help put itself in better situations on third downs.
“They do have a pretty efficient passing game,” Wyman said. “I mean, they throw the heck out football, but I’ve always kind of felt like people kind of clinch up on third down. … Maybe if you have a four-down mentality it would help or something, and then also it’s always about what you’re doing on first and second (down).”
The long third-down distances could be attributed to the lack of run plays being called on offense, especially on early downs. The Seahawks have run the ball more frequently in their past three games, but they still rank 30th in the league in percentage of runs plays called, per TeamRankings.com.
“When (former head coach) Pete (Carroll) was here, the complaint was (it’s) run, run, pass, but with the makeup of the team now, you start the game most of the time throwing the football,” Roberts said. “So imagine now it’s first-and-10 and there’s an incompletion. Now you’re at second-and-10, so you’re probably gonna pick up another maybe four or five yards on the tight end pass or something, hopefully, or you try to run, so you end up on these really long third downs.”
However, the run game hasn’t been very effective behind a struggling offensive line. The Seahawks are 22nd in the league 4.1 yards per carry and have averaged just 3.2 yardsover the past three games.
“When the running game is struggling … you got to lean on the tight ends a little more and some of the underneath throws,” Roberts said. “… If you can get that first-down completion to a tight end over the middle and you get those first four yards or five yards and (on) second down maybe you do it again or you run the ball for two or three yards, now (you’ve gained) eight yards, maybe seven yards.
“Now your at third-and-medium-to-short range where you have a playbook that’s wide open and you have a greater chance to convert to third down. That’s the kind of that’s how I looked at it when I heard (the stat).”
Listen the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Despite some overcast skies, thousands of Seattleites showed up in rainbow colors and bright smiles to celebrate the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday.The march kicked off at 11 a.m. along Fourth Avenue in downtown, and wrapped up around 3:00 p.m. near Seattle Center.Seattle Pride traces its roots to 1974 and has grown into one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations, drawing hundreds of thousands of people each year. (KOMO)
Here are three more coyote sightings reported to us in the past few days:
SATURDAY MORNING: Dwight emailed us this report:
At 9:53 this morning I saw a coyote walking down Brace Point Drive towards the Josslin building. He saw me and quickly changed direction and headed up California Drive. He looked healthy and happy, not starved and miserable .
THURSDAY EVENING: These next two came in almost simultaneously just after 8:30 pm Thursday via texts – this one, from 38th SW and SW Raymond:
This one, from 37th SW and SW Juneau:
You can browse our past sighting reports here.
The Seattle Seahawks are the defending champions following a fantastic run in 2025 which resulted in the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Despite this, they’re not the favorites to win their division in 2026.
Instead, the Los Angeles Rams are the hot team, thanks in large part to the addition of Myles Garrett. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year does give them a huge boost, but the Seahawks know they can still win their division once again.
Here we dive into three reasons to believe that will be the case for Mike Macdonald and his team.
3. Passing attack will be improved
With Klint Kubiak leaving to take the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Fleury is set to take over as the offensive coordinator in Seattle. Fleury spent the past seven years with the San Francisco 49ers and was most recently their run game coordinator and tight ends coach.
He’s expected to feature a run-heavy offense once again, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks aerial attack won’t be a problem for opposing teams. With Sam Darnold entering his second season with the team, he’s going to have far more comfort with his teammates. As Seahawks On SI’s Russell Baxter wrote, he’s also unsatisfied with his performance in the Super Bowl and wants to improve in 2026.
His motivation, along with the presence of Jaxson Smith-Njigba is enough for the offense to be as dangerous as they were last year. Rashid Shaheed having a full offseason with the team is a reason to believe they can be even better.
2. The run game will be a strength once again
Losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency was a blow, but the Seahawks made sure to enter the new season with just as much firepower in the ground game. Even with Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL, the Seahawks have a strong unit.
Led by rookie Jadarian Price, Seattle also has Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. There might not be many proven options, but as Seahawks On SI’s Michael Hanich writes, the coaching staff trusts this unit.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury had success leading the rushing attack in San Francisco last year and his defensive background has him favoring a more violent and punishing rushing attack. That will allow the Seahawks to wear teams down with the ground game, even without Walker.
1. Mike Macdonald continues to build the defense to fit his vision
During his first season as head coach, Mike Macdonald led Seattle to the 11th best scoring defense, which was a massive jump from 25th the prior year. They shot up the leaderboard again in 2025, finishing with the No. 1 scoring defense, which is what led the way during their title run.
Macdonald made those improvements by building the defense to his preference. They have trusted veterans on the defensive line and have built a strong nickel defense with defensive back Nick Emmanwori as one of his key pieces.
This offseason, he added another versatile defensive back in Bud Clark, a speedy pass-rusher in Dante Fowler Jr., and a big-bodied cornerback in Julian Neal. Macdonald also allowed Boye Mafe to leave while putting Derick Hall in position to take on a larger load. All these moves have given them a defense that Macdonald can turn into an even better one than we saw last year.
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