Mike Macdonald sends clear message after Seahawks' loss to Buccaneers

Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should go down as an instant NFL classic. Not only was it arguably the greatest uniform matchup the league has ever seen, it also saw a level of quarterback play from both sides that's never happened before.

Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold became the only QBs in NFL history to throw for 325+ yards and complete 80% or more of their passes in the same game.

As entertaining as it was to watch, you can bet both Todd Bowles and Mike Madonald were not happy that it turned into a shootout, with neither defense proving capable of stopping the other QB. In Macdonald's Monday appearance on Seattle Sports radio he made it clear that he expects more from his defense, especially when it comes to tackling.

"We should be a great tackling team."#Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald details his frustrations with the team's tackling performance and how he will work to make it an edge for Seattle.

Full Mike Macdonald show w/@BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk: https://t.co/lI4ro0tHaL pic.twitter.com/df0EC6wwpu
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) October 6, 2025

The tackling was pretty sloppy against the Buccaneers, especially when they were trying to bring down Rachaad White in short yardage situations.

However, the much bigger problem was that the Seahawks simply were unable to get any consistent pressure on Baker Mayfield in the pocket. It didn't help that Derick Hall went down early, but Seattle's greatest strength this season has been the pass rush, and it just wasn't there for almost the entire game.

Macdonald can probably help his defense out by calling more blitzes - which he did eventually start doing against Tampa - albeit a little too late. He may not have much of a choice this coming week against Jacksonville, as so many different defensive starters are either expected not to play or will not be playing at 100%.

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