Mike Macdonald wants to run it forward. The 2026 Seahawks may want to practice doing that on the field if they hope to do it this season. No matter the caveats one can offer about preseason football, this 17-7 loss the Dallas Cowboys was a performance that was below the standard that Macdonald and his players have set. The locker room talks about, “no drop off,” when starters leave the field. If what Seattle put on the field Saturday was not a drop off from their starters, this will be a long season.
Chief among the disappointing performances was quarterback Jalen Milroe. He continues a perplexing start to his career that includes flashes in practice that have earned him more snaps with the second string and rotating with Drew Lock in this preseason game, with game play that looks like someone not ready to command an NFL offense.
Milroe is at his best when he is decisive and getting through his progressions with pace. His worst is a tentative player, who seems confused by what he sees, and chaotic when his reads are not open. We saw very few snaps that looked like the good version, and too many that looked like the bad one.
It is nice to see that he does not bail from the pocket and abandon plays early. It is less good that he is too late to escape pressure either with a dump off or a scramble. Waiting until a player is already on top of him limits the potential for positive outcomes.
He was not helped much by an offensive line that struggled, especially at tackle. Bobby Hart was signed before training camp, likely as a hedge against the health of Josh Jones who had missed all of OTAs and minicamp. Jones has been on the field throughout training camp. It’s time to move on from Hart. He is regularly beaten in practice and may get one of the QBs hurt in joint practice in Nashville or one of these remaining games. He has had a long career. It should not continue here.
There will be those who wonder if i have some sort of rose-colored glasses on when watching Milroe during practice given my positive practice reports on YouTube. I would wonder that if I was not experiencing it myself. The truth is I have no reason to build up a player who is not earning the praise given that would only hurt my credibility as an analyst. So if he is performing better in practice than he is in games for two straight preseasons, where does that leave us?
I have seen plenty of comments from people saying he should not take up a roster spot. That is a bridge too far. How many quarterbacks have to demonstrate that it can take years for the light to go on at that position before people realize it is a mistake to kick someone to the curb this early? Maybe Sam Darnold would have realized his potential earlier if he had a chance to sit and develop in New York. Maybe Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love and Patrick Mahomes would have struggled more had they been asked to excel immediately.
The quarterback spot is so massively valuable that it makes no sense to move on from a player who is demonstrating progress and productivity in practice while still having two more years on his rookie deal. He can safely sit behind Darnold and Drew Lock. Seattle has twelve picks in the draft next year. If they want to push Milroe, they can prioritize drafting another young quarterback to challenge him.
It is true the light may never switch on for Milroe, or the ceiling he hits will not be high enough to warrant a starting spot. This is not the time to make that call. The already high odds that Seattle will need to pay Darnold big money, though, are rising every time Milroe puts on a performance like this.
Tyrice Knight was almost the lone standout in this game for Seattle. He was everywhere. Most importantly, he excelled in pass defense. This is a player who was known for run defense coming out of school, but struggled at times to defense the pass. That is part of how Drake Thomas took over the top of the depth chart.
Knight had arguably the best reps of any player for either team in this one. The most stunning play came when he lined up outside the tackle on the right side of the line, only to drop out into match with a slot receiver. The pass came his direction and Knight expertly broke on the ball and knocked it down. It was a play any nickel corner would put in their highlight reel, let alone an inside linebacker.
That was just one of the many plays he made while on the field. He is doing more than having a strong camp. He is forcing his way onto the field, a la Coby Bryant in 2024.
Montorie Foster Jr. caught a touchdown pass and led the team in receptions, but he had a costly drop and penalty. Lock missed him on what could have been a long touchdown and missed another receiver who was wide open down the left hash for what would have been a 20+ yard gain.
The offense looked lifeless and overmatched. Whether that was Brian Fleury acclimating to calling plays in a game for the first time, or the team being overly cautious about what they put on film against a team they will play during the regular season, or the Cowboys depth actually being better, is not something we can know yet.
Macdonald was sharply critical of the operation on both sides of the ball after the game. He may have meant that exactly as stated. He also may have been protecting his new OC by equally weighting the criticism at the defense and offense.
Penalties plagued the Seahawks and stunted drives. The most egregious may have been the false start on tackle Logan Brown after the team decided to go for it on 4th and 3 near midfield. Those types of mistakes and lack of discipline stand out as being well below the standard Macdonald sets for his teams.
The game felt sloppy and uninspired overall, leading Macdonald to even bemoan the lack of sideline celebration penalties. There was not much to celebrate.
We saw one nice quarterback hit from Rylie Mills. There was very little pressure beyond that. A few pressures from linebackers or defensive backs were the most effective on the night. I did like what I saw from nose tackle Uso Seumalo on first blush. The run defense was not good, but his effort and movement at his size showed up in some penetrating plays.
Shemar Jean-Charles has been victimized throughout camp, and that continued in this game. We did not see much from rookie safety Bud Clark or AJ Finley.
Rookie guard Beau Stephens had a holding penalty that negated a nice play as did second year guard Mason Richman.
The biggest takeaway from this game will be that Macdonald is going to get after this team, coaches and players. He basically apologized to fans who paid money to come out to Lumen Field and watch. He will be questioning himself about whether he has missed something in messaging or preparation that led to this result. Some might wonder what the big deal is about a throwaway bad preseason game. When you have spent an offseason trying to determine how to sustain excellence and seemingly were doing it through months of practice, only to see what may be the team’s worst preseason performance under Macdonald, it merits some reflection.
Joint practice in Nashville later this week will be intense. The veterans in that locker room will reinforce and demonstrate what Seahawks football looks like. If there is a repeat next week of this performance, Hard Knocks will certainly be in for some colorful conversations off the field.