Leonard Williams on how Seahawks learned to win at home again

Since Mike Macdonald was hired before the 2024 season, the Seattle Seahawks are 15-2 on the road in two seasons, which is one of the best marks to start a career by any coach.

They also went 6-2 at home in 2025, en route to securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC. But the wins at home weren't always coming so easily.

The Seahawks were 3-6 at home in 2024, and that was a major reason they ended up missing the playoffs with a 10-7 overall record. It was a major flaw in an otherwise strong first season under Macdonald.

“We were doing a great job of winning on the road, and from last year and the beginning of this year, that’s something we wanted to work on, is winning at home,” Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams said on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

The Seahawks went 4-8 at Lumen Field in their first 12 games there under Mike Macdonald.

Since then: 5-0.

Here was Leonard Williams on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs, and how Seattle’s defense had gotten better at communicating amid the noise: pic.twitter.com/GnrVOEdiO5
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) January 7, 2026

Williams said the defense took it upon itself to transform the team's performances at home. That required some adjustments in how the unit communicates when the home crowd is roaring.

“That was a challenge for us on defense: How do we communicate, how do we dial in when the crowd is so noisy,” Williams added. “And we’ve learned to communicate non-verbally and things like that, and been winning at home. I think, luckily, we’ve addressed it early on.”

With those adjustments, the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Seattle. The Seahawks can play two home games with the 12s behind them before having to travel again for the championship.

That's a privilege the Seahawks aren't taking for granted.

“I’m so excited. I love playing in Lumen Field,” Williams said. “Even from [the] outside perspective, it’s one of the best stadiums to play in. And being part of this organization and now actually playing in the stadium as a home team, it’s even more electric. Bringing the playoffs games here is going to be incredible.”

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