Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald discusses ‘Barn Yard’ decision against 49ers

On a night that was surprisingly light on frustrating moments for the Seahawks, it was probably the most frustrating moment.

0-0, 9:37 left in the first quarter, the first drive of the game. A beautiful drive at that. Seattle marched down the field from their own 30 yard line, getting first and goal at the one after a defensive penalty in the endzone. Three (or four) chances to get a single yard. You would think that the next part of the story writes itself.

Either an under center handoff to Zach Charbonnet, who has been a touchdown machine all season long, finding paydirt eleven times before Saturday’s game, or you pull out ‘The Barn Yard’ and let A.J. Barner push it across the goalline. Either way, it seems inevitable. Either playcall results in a touchdown, or a setup for a touchdown on the next play.

Instead, Darnold runs play action, drops back to pass, and takes a devastating sack to lose eleven yards. In the interest of fairness, the play worked, as Darnold had Charbonnet wide open in the flat and didn’t fire the pass for reasons unknown, but it was still a bizarre decision. Seattle would then run it with Charbonnet twice, go for it on fourth down, and turn it over to the 49ers.

In the aftermath of the sequence, virtually every Seattle fan went back to the first down call. Run the ball. It seems so simple. The Barn Yard play, where tight end A.J. Barner takes a direct snap from under center and shoves himself forward into the line, getting propelled forth by Charbonnet and Robbie Ouzts, has worked every time it’s been used straightforwardly this year.

It’s almost impossible to stop a man that big and strong from getting a yard, especially with two other big strong men pushing him. Obviously an offshoot of the Philadelphia Eagles’ ‘Tush Push’ play, this version is even more obvious since the Seahawks do not allow their regular quarterback to run it, but it has been every bit as unstoppable so far.

A Charbonnet handoff would have been fine as well, as his effectiveness near the goalline has been stellar this season, but A.J. Barner up the gut against a 49ers defensive line that is light on size and strength feels like a gimme. Even if it doesn’t work, you’re setting up for the same play on second down. And third. And fourth. It’s going to work eventually.

Mike knows they messed that one up. — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald speaks in a press conference. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Seahawks’ Head Coach Mike Macdonald was asked about the decision on Monday after the game, specifically concerning the possibility of using The Barn Yard, and he kept his answer pretty simple and honest.

“That's probably something we should have done in that situation,” Macdonald admitted, acknowledging that the absence of the sneak was a mistake. “I sign off on all play calls, and I thought we had a good play call there." Again, he does have a point, as the play they ran did generate an easy throw for a touchdown that Darnold didn’t take.

Still, even the act of throwing the ball seems overly complicated in this situation. The Barn Yard in particular seems called for, as it reduces the number of things that can go wrong down to an absolute minimum. Even a failed play will probably just result in no gain. The sack they ended up with completely altered the rest of the drive.

They got away with it on Saturday, as their defense was just too dominant to let a simple matter of a blown touchdown opportunity cost them the game. There has to be some concern that, if a similar situation comes up in a playoff game, they might not be able to get away with it. It’s hard to get through the postseason without winning at least one one-score game.

But beyond that, this is something the Seahawks need to take full advantage of right now, as the Barn Yard might be getting torn down this offseason. Based on recent events, I am fully expecting a Tush Push ban to be submitted to the league, as it was twice last offseason, and I also suspect this attempt will be more successful.

In May of 2025, there was a vote to ban the play, and it got 22 votes in favor, shy of the needed 24 by a slim margin. I think that margin will be made up the next time they vote on it, as the 2025 season has been filled with a lot of Tush Push related issues, like the NFL struggling to rule fairly on false starts on the play, and the plain lack of entertainment the play provides.

It’s not even that the play is unfair and unstoppable. I don’t believe it’s either. But the NFL is a business designed to entertain an audience, and watching the Tush Push just isn’t particularly fun to most viewers. Combine that with the copious amounts of video evidence that referees swallow their whistle on false starts when the play comes out, and I believe it’s done.

So Seattle only has a few games left to take advantage of this. They’re one of the few teams that is making the Tush Push work in their favor. Every time they don’t run it in a situation where it could have helped them keep a drive alive or punch in a touchdown might be the last situation they ever had to be able to even try to run it.

So hopefully, Macdonald’s frank assessment of the play call in that situation reflects that he learned something from the experience, and that we’ll see it come out whenever it’s needed in the playoffs. Until it stops working, or the NFL forces you to stop running it, keep at it, with no apologies.

Run it while you can, Josh. The League won't allow it much longer. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets low and starts his push up the middle to try and score a touchdown. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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