Patrick Hood writes news posts for Field Gulls, having joined the staff in August 2024. He is a college student who enjoys writing and talking about anything and everything related to sports history.
One month removed from dropping five of six to fall to 4-5, the Mike Macdonald-led Seattle Seahawks are playing meaningful football in December. Since that slide, Seattle has won four in a row to climb to the NFC West lead, winning three key division games along the way.
In Week 11, the Seahawks went into Levi's Stadium for a crucial contest against the San Francisco 49ers, needing a win to keep their slim playoff chances alive. They got that win, following it up with three more to zoom past the Arizona Cardinals for the top spot in the NFC West. Among the reasons for the recent turnaround has been buying into the culture that Coach Macdonald is trying to build.
"We talked about it this morning, it's the next game, but it's about becoming who we want to become as a team, and where we want to go, and it's the next step," Macdonald said (via Seahawks.com). "It's a big stage, obviously, but that's why you do all the things you do your whole life, and this whole year as a team, and all the steps we've taken to earn this opportunity to have this stage with this amount at stake. You've got to love it."
Every young, developing team is bound to have its highs and lows, and the Seahawks are no different. One of Macdonald's methods for establishing his own, hard-working culture with Seattle is with a mural at the VMAC that reads, "A style nobody wants to play." This was a phrase that Macdonald used upon his arrival in the off-season, and one he continues to use to this day.
"It's on that mural over there," Macdonald said, motioning to said mural. "Trying to not just make it a bunch of words on a wall, but who we are. The stuff we talk about, 12 as One, that visual, that imagery, that vision of what we want to be. We're getting there, but we understand we've got a month of football to play. Some pretty big-time games, starts with this one."
The Seahawks' next game against the Green Bay Packers (9-4) is certainly a big-time game, with both teams battling towards a spot in the postseason. A win would allow Seattle to stay ahead of the surging Los Angeles Rams (8-6), who have won seven of their last nine games, including their Thursday Night Football contest vs. the 49ers.
The Seahawks have reached this point in the season thanks in part due to quality leadership. When the going gets tough, it can be difficult to stay the course and keep going towards the goal. However, Seattle has continued to find ways to win despite sailing in some rough waters a month ago.
"Our leaders deserve a lot of credit," Macdonald said. "Man, we love our guys, and I think they've done a great job of staying steadfast in what we're trying to create. I think you just need to be consistent. We weren't getting the results that we wanted, but I felt like the guys believed in the things we were trying to get done, and it felt like there was progress going on. So, those types of things, that kept everybody together. But our players deserve a lot of credit for keeping the faith and staying poised and staying together, and that's why we love them."