The Seattle Seahawks entered Week 5 with one of the better statistical defenses in the NFL. But that came crashing to a halt for Mike Macdonald’s defense at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Seahawks allowed Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield to average 11.5 yards per pass. Seattle also yielded two rushing scores, as Tampa Bay racked up 38 points.
In the prior two games, the Seahawks defense allowed 36 points combined.
Macdonald voiced his frustration with his defense following the 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay. Macdonald placed a lot of the blame for the unit’s struggles during Week 5 on himself.
“I have to do better with our defensive game plan, in our execution, and how we call it,” Macdonald told reporters following the loss. “When you put a performance like that, it means that I didn’t prepare them well enough.”
The Seahawks head coach appeared upset about a lot of aspects from the play of his defense Sunday. But Macdonald particularly criticized his unit’s tackling.
“We’re not doing the things that we’re trained to do, and when it doesn’t come to life on the field,” Macdonald added. “I’m responsible… it didn’t come to life today. So, it’s my responsibility. But we’ll definitely be looking at that. We missed way too many tackles.”
Despite the poor defensive performance at home, the Seahawks held a fourth quarter lead against the Buccaneers. But Tampa Bay kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired at the end of regulation.
Mike Macdonald Criticizes His Coaching After Seahawks Week 5 Defensive Performance
Macdonald tried to delivered a positive ending message on his defense, saying his players “work extremely hard” and that they would use what happened Sunday to “move forward.”
But the Seahawks head coach continued to be highly critical of himself and the unit.
“They did a great job of scheming stuff open. We obviously have to play better,” Macdonald said. “I mean, it goes both ways. We knew that they were a great offense. We just didn’t get it done.
“When you have guys open like that, that can’t happen. And that’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The Seahawks were missing cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love because of injuries in Week 5. That could explain why Buccaneers rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka went off for seven catches and 163 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Seattle also lost cornerback Riq Woolen and edge rusher Derick Hall to injuries during the game.
But Macdonald wouldn’t allow those injuries to be an excuse.
Injuries happen in the NFL. I have to design better plays and put our guys in better positions consistently for us to play better on defense. It’s that simple,” said Macdonald.
“The expectation is the same no matter who’s out there. But again, we’ve got to design better things, our pressures have to be more locked in, we have to call them at better times,” Macdonald added. “All of those things. Our pressure coverage was very weak today. That’s something that we have to look at.”
Seahawks Fail to Create Pressure Against Baker Mayfield
The Seahawks didn’t tackle or cover well on defense. But their lack of pressure on Mayfield may have been the biggest defensive issue from Week 5.
Macdonald explained that their game plan included wanting to pressure Mayfield. But the Seahawks, who entered Week 5 sixth in sacks, had just one sack and two quarterback hits Sunday.
Granted, part of that failure, as Macdonald explained, was the poor coverage from the secondary when blitzing. But at the end of the day, the Seahawks didn’t make Mayfield uncomfortable enough in the pocket.
With the loss, the Seahawks dropped to 3-2 this season. They will visit the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday in Week 6.
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