Mike Macdonald says Seahawks still have 'room to grow' after 31-point win

It's been a very long time since the Seattle Seahawks completely and utterly dominated an opponent like they just did.

The Seahawks welcomed the New Orleans Saints to Lumen Field for Week 3 and sent them home with a 44-13 blowout loss. They took a 21-0 lead just over 10 minutes in and a 38-6 lead into halftime, and by that point, the game was long over.

It was as complete a performance as this team has seen in a long time, and yet, head coach Mike Macdonald's first instinct after the game was to point out what he feels the Seahawks could've done better.

Mike Macdonald reveals areas of improvement for Seahawks

Sep 21, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

"Obviously very pleased with our win. Really just proud of our process right now, the guys' attitudes, our approach every day," Macdonald told reporters following the game. "The cool is thing about our group is we're not satisfied. We have room to grow as a football team.

"Talk about being decisive, shocking, relentless. I thought we were those things, but especially on defense there is room for growth. We can learn from extended drives. We will look at the penalties and see what went wrong there, and if it was cost of doing business or on the other end of the spectrum."

Penalties were indeed an issue for the Seahawks in this game, as they had eight of them for 70 yards. Granted, the Saints had 11 of them for 77 yards, but it's absolutely an issue that needs to be ironed out.

Beyond that, there were some other issues as well. Rushing for a mere 2.6 yards per carry simply isn't going to cut it against tougher competition, especially when trying to nurse a lead. Additionally, Seattle allowed New Orleans to find some semblence of rhythm on offense in the middle of the game, but did clamp down again toward the end.

The Seahawks have a short turnaround before they travel to face the Arizona Cardinals on "Thursday Night Football," so they'll have to hit the ground running this week.

"Really proud of it, but now we got to go back to work. Got a game Thursday. Got a great plan to get or bodies and minds right. We got to move on quickly because the game is coming fast."

Mike Macdonald reveals areas of improvement for Seahawks

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