Geno Smith rests, Mike Macdonald’s new defense dominates in Seahawks’ preseason win at LA

His predecessor would have been running up and down the sideline and roaring at his guys.

Mike Macdonald?

His remade Seahawks defense played starters in very basic schemes. Yet it kept dominating. His assistant coaches and his players kept coming up to the Seahawks’ new head coach during his debut game patting him on the back and smiling.

Macdonald kept standing there, calmly. He had his pen in his mouth, his play card in his hands — and his emotions in check.

It looked as if he expected this.

He did.

“I mean, I always expect us to go out and play hard and play physical and be clean,” Macdonald said. “If it’s not the way we want to look then, you know, we are going to want to make that right.”

He chuckled.

Seattle’s first-, second- and third-team defense shut down the Chargers’ first-team offensive line, back-up quarterback Easton Stick and Los Angeles in Seattle’s 16-3 victory in an NFL preseason opener Saturday at SoFi Stadium.

“I’d say it’s a foundational first game,” the 37-year-old Macdonald, the league’s youngest head coach, said after his initial game as a head man at any level.

“Great first start. ...But, yeah, there’s some things that — it wasn’t a perfect showing, by any means. But it was a solid start. And I think the guys know that.

“We should be able to take a jump here moving forward.”

His debut hinted why the Seahawks made the former defensive coordinator for the NFL’s best defense in Baltimore their new coach.

The first downs: Seattle 20, Los Angeles nine. The total yards: Seahawks 325, Chargers 198.

Thirtieth in the 32-team NFL in defense last season, the Seahawks forced five three-and-outs and got an interception over their first six defensive series. They allowed 21 yards in their first 16 plays. The Chargers were 0 for their first 7 on third downs.

The new coach was pleased — but far from satisfied.

“We wanted to start fast,” Maconald said outside the Seahawks’ visting locker room Saturday night.

But...

“We’re not there yet.”

In the second quarter, third safety K’Von Wallace walloped a Chargers receiver as Stick’s pass arrived. The hit caused a tipped ball Seattle’s Coby Bryant intercepted and returned into the red zone. That set up undrafted rookie running back George Holani’s 11-yard touchdown run.

Bryant said when he saw Wallace’s hit coming he positioned himself for the tipped ball, knowing it was coming.

Bryant is trying to reclaim status and playing time with the team and his new coaches after an injury-filled 2023. Macdonald is rubbing off on the third-year safety and converted cornerback; Bryant wasn’t satisfied with this game, either.

“I should have had two of ‘em,” he said of interceptions.

On offense, Geno Smith warmed up fully pregame. Then he rested and watched from the sideline as backup quarterback Sam Howell continued his on-then-off-target training camp. Howell competed 16 of 27 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the first 2 1/2 quarters Saturday.

Macdonald said he was happy with how Howell played.

The defense was the story of this first night of a new era.

The starters defense matched what they’ve been doing in training camp. Macdonald, with 21 new assistant coaches and all-new systems, stayed truly vanilla for this preseason game. The former coordinator and play caller for Baltimore’s NFL-best defense did not want to display his trickier schemes to the league.

Seattle started in a base 3-4. They didn’t appear to blitz early.

“We didn’t have a lot of schemes up,” Macdonald said.

His starting defensive linemen were Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed flanking nose tackle Johnathan Hankins. The linebackers were Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe outside, Tyrel Dodson and rookie Tyrice Knight inside.

The cornerbacks were Devon Witherspoon on the left, Riq Woolen on the right. The safeties were Julian Love and Rayshawn Jenkins.

They shut down the Chargers’ offense that had Stick playing for idled Justin Herbert at quarterback, and with four regular starters on the offensive line. Seattle held Los Angeles to 7 yards on their first six plays, two consecutive series of three and out.

For the third series, all starters except Mafe exited.

That second Seahawks defense got the team’s third consecutive three and out. The Chargers gained 15 total yards on nine plays in the first quarter.

L.A. didn’t get a first down until late in the second quarter. They got two in two plays on a drive that ended in their only points, a 58-yard field goal.

The Seahawks allowed just four first downs and 93 total yards over the first three quarters.

Throughout, Macdonald kept it basic.

The most “exotic” he got in schemes was to use the standard fifth defensive back for two third and longs. Tre Brown entered at cornerback and Witherspoon moved inside to nickel on the opening defensive drive. On the third drive, rookie sixth-round draft choice D.J. James entered at cornerback and Artie Burns became the nickel, slot cornerback.

While the rest of the starting defense rested and chilled on the sideline, Knight remained at inside linebacker the entire game, and Mafe stayed in at outside linebacker the entire first half.

Mafe, the third-year starter, has struggled to produce in daily pass-rushing drills during training camp, and coaches have noticed.

Mafe had one tackle, one hit on the quarterback and one pass defensed Saturday.

Ryan Grubb’s new offense

Macdonald’s first game as a head coach, albeit an exhibition, was also offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s first game coaching in the NFL.

The former University of Washington play caller also stayed relatively basic with his formations and very little pre-snap movement that didn’t show what he will do this season. His flashiest play was a relatively tame fly-sweep run by wide receiver Laviska Shenault that gained 5 yards around left end in the first half.

Geno Smith did early and normal pregame work, including in full pads with all other healthy veterans.

Then, he watched Howell run his offense.

Macdonald said this week Smith’s extensive chance to show off his mastery of Grubb’s new offense will come next week when the Seeahawks practice with the Tennessee Titans Wednesday

The 33-year-old Smith is three practices and a light walk-through back from missing almost a week of training camp with knee and hip issues.

Howell, the 23-year-old starter for the Washington Commanders last season before Seattle traded for him this spring, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass on a check-down route to Brady Russell early in the second quarter. The backup tight end broke two tackles for the game’s first score.

Howell would have had two touchdown passes and a 20-3 lead before he yielded to third quarterback P.J. Walker with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. But on second down in the red zone earlier in that period, Howell had Holani wide open in the right flat for a score. Instead of onto Holani’s chest where he could have turned his shoulders to the goal line for the score, Howell’s throw was off target, wide left. That caused the rookie running back to run and reach into the sideline boundary. He went out of bounds at the 1-yard line.

The Chargers broke through the right side of Seattle’s reserve offensive line, with rookies Mike Jarrell at tackle and Christian Haynes at guard, to stop Holani on a fourth-and-1 dive play. The Seahawks’ lead stayed at 13-3.

Macdonald didn’t like that. He’s said since the day the team hired him in February he demands physicality and toughness on defense and offense. His offense failed at the goal line on those counts Saturday.

Byron Murphy’s first NFL game

The Chargers consistently double-teamed Seattle defensive tackle Byron Murphy like he is the hugely disruptive, rookie 16th-overall draft choice he is.

Murphy still got into the backfield regularly. He pushed Chargers linemen into Stick multiple times in the first half. The first-round pick from Texas would have had a sack late in the half but he allowed Stick to run through his arms.

“Yeah, great to see him a couple plays,” Maconald said. “You know, first, first game action, he was all juiced, and the guys were excited for him. So that was, that was cool to see.

“I felt us up front,” Macdonald said, using his pet term for the physicality he demands. “I felt like guys were getting off the rock. And that’s what’s going to be expected moving forward.”

On the play Murphy crashed in for the near sack, linebacker Jon Rhattigan then tripped Stick for a sack wrongly credited to teammate Derick Hall.

It should have been Rhattigan’s second sack of the half.

The Offensive Line Turns (Continued)

The starting line Saturday was Stone Forsythe at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Nick Harris again over previously expected starter Olu Oluwatimi at center, Anthony Bradford at right guard and McClendon Curtis at right tackle.

Left tackle Charles Cross and right tackle George Fant got the night off.

The Seahawks will welcome six-year NFL starter Connor Williams to the team this coming week. The Miami Dolphins starter until he tore his ACL in December while playing for them signed a one-year contract with $3 million guaranteed this week to be Seattle’s new starting center.

The Seahawks’ line blocked for 143 yards on 42 plays, and seven conversions on 12 third downs in the first half.

The new kickoff

The Seahawks and Chargers got their first experience with the NFL’s new kickoff rules.

Covering one didn’t go exactly as planned to begin the game. Chargers undrafted rookie Jaelen Gill broke through the new coverage line for 43 yards.

On returns, Shenault showed how he can make this team. The former University of Colorado star known for breaking tackles took Seattle’s first return of this new kickoff from the goal line to the 44-yard line. Wide receiver Jake Bobo’s excellent block sprung Shenault.

“Laviska’s return was definitely a highlight,” Macdonald said.

“There’s a couple of things where we got to look at, you know, how we’re blocking, some things, especially the balls going across the field.”

The receiving team’s blockers and the kick-coverage guys trying to tackle the kickoff returner are now just 5 yards apart to begin the kick. And they are lined up in the receiving end of the field, at the 40- and 35-yard lines, while the kicker kicks from the opposite 35.

In the fourth quarter, Jason Myers’ kickoff ended up 3 yards short of the new target zone. That gave the Chargers a drive start at the Seattle 40, by new rule.

New Seahawks special-teams coach Jay Harbaugh said every NFL team is watching each others’ preseason games to see how everyone is doing the new kickoff.

“I think the Hall of Fame game (the NFL’s first preseason game) the other night was probably the most anticipated preseason viewing, maybe ever — that I could think of, at least,” Harbaugh said before Saturday’s debut of the kickoff.

“I think the one thing that stood out more than anything else was just the speed that everything happens in terms of the first contact, the cover guy, and the return team blocking. Just how fast that occurred. You know it’s going to be fast, they’re only five yards away. But still, in the game situation with adrenaline flowing, the speed at which that occurred was still a little surprising even though you knew it was going to be fast.”