Seahawks' Run Defense Woes Continue to Haunt in Blowout Loss to Bills

Tormented by the same issues that have hurt them all season long in a loss to the Bills, the Seahawks don't look any closer to fixing their ragged run defense.

Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) rushes for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

SEATTLE, Wash. - With the game already well out of reach in the early moments of the fourth quarter, the Buffalo Bills broke the huddle at the Seattle Seahawks' seven-yard line ready to stick the dagger in Mike Macdonald's defense.

Lining up in 12 personnel with two tight ends flanking the offensive line to the left, deploying a heavy grouping as they successfully had for the entirety of the game, the Bills dialed up an outside zone from a singleback formation. James Cook took the handoff from Josh Allen and quickly stuck his right cleat into the turf, cutting up behind a caravan of blockers that had Seahawks defensive tackles Byron Murphy II and Jarran Reed on skates.

In what has become a nightmarish commonplace for Seattle, Cook rocketed through a massive crease untouched until he reached the goal line, putting an exclamation mark on the run by plowing over linebacker Ernest Jones and de-helmeting him in the process. The touchdown put Buffalo up by 28 points in an eventual 31-10 blowout win, sending coach Mike Macdonald's squad to their fourth loss in five games.

After watching the Bills run through and around his defense all afternoon on Sunday while regularly sending in a sixth offensive lineman and/or multiple tight ends, Macdonald was left grasping for straws after the game with Seattle continuing to struggle defending the run week after week, this time questioning why his players didn't seem prepared to deal with those heavy packages.

"It's something that they've been doing," Macdonald said. "It was more than they've shown on tape in those situations, but you still have to be ready for it, so I thought we had a solid plan. Probably could have some more front flexibility on that front to have some more answers, maybe some more movements, so we'll look at it. Those are things we talked about I thought.

"You're trying to adjust throughout on seeing where the ball's hitting to see if we can get some anchor points to where we can play it or play blocks better, so there's a combination of not trying to scrap what you have, but also maybe just kind of calm it down. But it wasn't good enough when they went to their big 12 personnel."

Dominated in all phases, Cook's touchdown run served as a microcosm for many of the issues plaguing Seattle's porous run defense. The defensive line lost the battle at the line of scrimmage, the alignment of linebackers behind them created problems leveraging the run play, and the back didn't have any resistance until he already was bearing down on the goal line, which should never happen in the congested red zone.

All afternoon long, the Bills were able to have their way with the Seahawks, who made the 190-pound Cook look like Earl Campbell as he bounced off of tacklers at seemingly tacked on multiple yards after contact every time he touched the football. Able to consistently build up a full head of steam with the defensive line being pushed around snap after snap while also finding massive cutback lanes on a regular basis, he averaged 6.5 yards per carry while tallying 111 rushing yards.

Even accounting for a kneel down by backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, Buffalo became the fourth straight Seattle opponent to eclipse 155 rushing yards, producing 164 on 34 carries for a healthy 4.8 yards per carry average. During that span, three different backs have hit the 100-yard mark, as runners of all shapes and sizes have enjoyed the pleasures of running through semi-sized holes and powering through arm tackles.

Bluntly assessing the state of Seattle's defense after getting steamrolled yet again, Murphy said the onus falls on him and the defensive line to elevate their game after letting the Bills run up and down the field all day long in a trend that has become all too familiar this season.

“We couldn’t stop the run when we needed to," Murphy said. "That really was the biggest thing. We just couldn’t stop it and got outplayed. We just have to get better.”

Getting gashed on the ground on a weekly basis, Macdonald wishes that he had a simple solution to cure what ails the Seahawks, citing coaching as well as on-field execution as equal of blame for the lingering concern. But between run fit issues at the second level, poor tackling, and problems setting the line of scrimmage up front, there isn't an all-encompassing panacea available to shore up a litany of problems overnight.

As has been the case for the past month and change, everyone from the head coach down to reserves has to attack these woes head on. While improvements schematically are part of the equation and Seattle's defenders have to do a better job of working off blocks and finishing tackles, after watching Buffalo physically abuse them for four quarters, a change of mindset appears to be the biggest change that needs to come to fruition for Macdonald's team.

At the end of the day, the Seahawks simply haven't been tough enough compared to the majority of their opponents, unable to handle the physicality at the point of attack and lacking the tenacity needed to finish plays bringing down NFL backs. Though that may seem like a physical issue, quality run defenses at any level have to have a prideful identity built around mental toughness and accountability at all three levels.

Unfortunately for Macdonald and his staff, as exhibited again with the boo birds chirping in displeasure on Sunday, this current Seahawks defense hasn't demonstrated such an identity to this point. In a copy cat league, until the players themselves are able to manifest such a changed mindset on the field, opponents will keep doing what the Bills did rushing behind heavy personnel groupings and this wash, rinse, repeat charade being unable to stop the run won't conclude any time soon.

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