Seahawks getting the Shanahan stopper they needed in Mike Macdonald

There were a lot of reasons why the Seahawks decided to move off of Pete Carroll after over a decade as head coach. But I would place his inability to find solutions to slow down the offenses of division rivals at the top of the list. Of course, this refers to the Rams under Sean McVay, but in the final two years of Carroll’s tenure he also struggled against the 49ers with Shanahan.

It started out fairly well, with Shanahan’s offense and Carroll’s defense trading blows respectably. But in 2022, things started to turn in Shanahan’s favor. The Seahawks played the 49ers three times that season, and allowed a total of 89 points, forcing zero turnovers and giving up 540 rushing yards. Carroll suddenly had no answers.

The playoff game in particular was a one-sided humiliation, in the conversation for worst defensive performance the Seahawks had under Carroll. 500 yards, 41 points, 1 punt forced.

2023 wasn’t much better. Two games, 59 points, 904 yards, 342 of them rushing. How it happened was up for debate, but it was fairly clear that Carroll had lost the war, and could no longer keep up. Carroll would be let go at the end of the season, and the Seahawks needed someone who could counter what teams like the 49ers and Rams were doing.

Enter Mike Macdonald, who had just overseen two excellent seasons of defense in Baltimore. Seattle interviewed him and ultimately hired him as head coach. And I have to believe a notable factor in that decision was one of his games from 2023, against the San Francisco 49ers, where Macdonald showed that he might have the perfect counter to Shanahan.

Monday Night Football, December 25th, in San Francisco. A matchup between two Super Bowl contenders, with playoff positioning on the line on both sides. Baltimore would win that game 33-19, and the centerpiece of that victory was Macdonald’s defense. Despite allowing 429 yards, the Ravens defense forced five interceptions, including four from Brock Purdy.

The defense that did this to Brock Purdy? Sign me up! — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) is tackled by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (0). | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The game was viewed by many as a de-railing of Brock Purdy’s MVP campaign, which had significant momentum going into that week. Using simulated pressure and creative blitzes that didn’t compromise the integrity of his defense, Macdonald pulled Brock apart on national television, forcing a relief appearance from Sam Darnold (who posted a garbage time TD).

Macdonald had the answers. Maybe he had great players in Baltimore as well, but he understood how to stand up to the Shanahan-Purdy 49ers. So, with one of their goals no doubt to port that level of success from the Ravens to the Seahawks, Macdonald was hired. And two seasons in, it could not have worked any better that it has so far.

Understand that Kyle Shanahan wasn’t just good against the Pete Carroll Seahawks. He’s good against most defenses, which is why he’s one of the best coaches in football. Since becoming the head coach in San Francisco, he’s had finishes of 2nd, 6th, 3rd, and 10th in the NFL in points scored, as well as 5th, 6th, 4th, 1st, and 6th in EPA per play.

When he’s given a capable quarterback or a reasonably healthy team (or, not and), he generally puts up good results. And even when saddled with lesser quarterback play and crippling injuries, his offenses don’t bottom out. But everything changes when Shanahan takes on Macdonald and the Seattle defense in its current form.

According to Benjamin Solak, Kyle Shanahan has coached 163 games (regular and postseason) for the 49ers, and been held under 7 points a grand total of four times. If that seems low, it’s probably because two of those four games have happened in the last three weeks, against the Seahawks.

Looking back on the 2025 49ers, even with all the injuries they sustained, they were fairly consistent in putting up at least some points in every game they played. Outside of their week eighteen and divisional round games against the Seahawks in the last month, their lowest point total was fifteen, against another hyper-elite defense in the Houston Texans.

So that the Seahawks held them to three points, and then played them two weeks later and held them to six points, is a remarkable accomplishment. A coach as good as Kyle Shanahan can make counters, learn from what doesn’t work, and figure out where he can exploit weaknesses when given multiple games against the same opponent. But he can’t figure this one out.

And we’re not just talking about these last two games when making this determination. Week one this year saw the 49ers put up 17 points, turn it over twice, and post 5.3 yards per play. The mid-November battle last season also featured 17 points and 4.9 yards per play, and that was with the roster partially inherited from the previous regime.

Only in the week six game in 2024 did the 49ers find significant success against the Seahawks, with 36 points and 7.9 yards per play. Back when the Seattle defense was putting Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson on the field at linebacker, Tre Brown getting corner reps, and guys like Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace at safety. We’re a long way away from that.

Shanahan gets the best of most opposing defenses. But after two seasons and five games against Macdonald’s crew, we can safely conclude that the Seahawks have found the right guy to counter the 49ers. Now, it’s San Francisco that needs to adjust, to search for solutions, to figure out how to crack the code. And until they do, it’ll be hard for them to beat Seattle.

He was brought here to give us an advantage over division rivals, and so far he's done just that. — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald walks off the field after a victory over the Atlanta Falcons. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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