Seahawks' pass protection 'very good' through Week 3, run game 'not good enough'

Through three games, the Seattle Seahawks have the 12th-ranked passing offense (219 yards per game) and the 22nd-ranked rushing offense (96 yards per game).

That's similar to last season, despite the team changing offensive coordinators, with the declaration that they will run the ball effectively and often in 2025.

In 2024, the Seahawks finished the season with the eighth-ranked passing offense (236.5 yards per game) and the 28th-ranked rushing offense (95.7 yards per game). That was a more extreme difference, of course, which had Ryan Grubb's Seahawks offense feeling far more unbalanced than Klint Kubiak's currently does.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has had a mostly clean pocket to work with, and that's fueling Seattle's passing offense. Darnold has been sacked just three times so far, whereas he had been brought down eight times at this same point last year with the Minnesota Vikings.

JSN. TOUCHDOWN.

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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 21, 2025

"Our guys are playing at a high level," Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said during his Monday radio interview on Seattle Sports 710AM. "There’s a couple of great contested catches that we’ve made over the last few games, and that doesn’t come to life unless we protect well ... I think our offensive line, our tight ends and our [running] backs right now are blocking well enough to make that thing come to life. It’s something we’re still chasing, but our pass protection has been very good.”

Darnold completed 14 of 18 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns in Seattle's 44-13 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday — posting a 154.2 passer rating.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is currently the second-leading receiver in the NFL through Week 3 (pending Monday Night Football) with 22 catches for 323 yards and a touchdown. Only Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua has more receiving yards (333).

However, after a solid 100-yard rushing outing by Kenneth Walker III in Week 2, the Seahawks' run game slowed substantially against the Saints. Walker turned 16 carries into just 38 yards and two touchdowns. George Holani picked up 27 yards on 10 carries.

That’s how you cash it in. 💸

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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 21, 2025

As a team, Seattle totaled just 2.6 yards per carry on the day, well below their season average of 3.3, which is already a concerning figure at this point in the season.

"It’s not good enough. It’s not even close to being good enough," Macdonald said. "It’s not what we saw throughout camp; it’s not what we saw in the preseason. Got to give the other teams credit, too; they’re designing some good things and playing hard and tackling well. But we’ve got to be better. We need to be better."

Macdonald added it's 'nothing that's not fixable' in the run game as they progress further into the season. But it is a huge element of the offense that has underwhelmed thus far.

"We’re coming out of the win, and it’s great that we won in that fashion. But when you watch it, no one on our football team is going to be satisfied, really in all three phases, of the things we fell short on, and we understand where we need to improve, and the run game is right there in the front with our offense," Macdonald said.

A 31-point win is always going to be celebrated, but the Seahawks aren't always going to get three huge special teams plays that result in a 21-point swing. The offense will need to establish a consistent rushing attack to support the passing game's consistency.

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