Has Seahawks' Struggling Run Game Finally Turned Corner?

Ranked near the bottom of the NFL in rushing yards, the Seahawks started to show a pulse on the ground against the Jets, though short yardage remains a concern.

Dec 1, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) carries the ball during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Prior to Sunday's important road date with the New York Jets, despite being held to just 65 rushing yards and under three yards per carry by the Arizona Cardinals in the previous game, Mike Macdonald felt good about the state of the Seattle Seahawks' fledging run game.

While such optimism seemed unfounded at the time given the continued struggles against Arizona, Macdonald saw improvements on the practice field in recent weeks, lauding offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and the coaching staff for continuing to make positive tweaks to the run scheme. While those adjustments had yet to manifest into better results on game day, he believed Seattle's offense was heading in the right direction and on the cusp of a breakthrough, even if numbers didn't back up that narrative.

"There's some good stuff out there. It's just not as much as we want it or as consistent as we want it," Macdonald told reporters on November 25. "But there's some good stuff and our guys are working really hard at it. Our coaches are devising some really good plans in my opinion, that we're still going to try to improve on, but we're on the right track."

As it turns out, Macdonald may have been onto something, even if the stats still weren't overly impressive in a 26-21 win. From a box score perspective, Seattle rushed for only 84 yards, the fifth-lowest total in 12 games so far this season, while averaging an underwhelming 3.7 yards per carry.

Clawing back from an early 14-point hole on Sunday, however, the Seahawks found moderate success running between the tackles in the second half at MetLife Stadium, as Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined to produce five runs of at least eight yards as the team rallied over the final two quarters. In addition, Walker had a 27-yard run wiped out by debatable holding penalties flagged against right tackle Abraham Lucas and rookie right guard Sataoa Laumea.

What seemed to tick after halftime? For one, Grubb leaned heavily on duo concepts, vertical-oriented gap schemes which consist of multiple double teams at the point of attack. Unlike zone runs where running backs read a defensive lineman to determine their cut, the middle linebacker takes central focus on duo plays with the back reading their reaction to determine if they will maintain a track inside or bounce the run outside.

On a long drive that unfortunately ended without any points - more on that later - Walker ripped off a pair of quality runs on duo concepts.

In the first example, the Seahawks broke the huddle with 11 personnel, reducing receiver Jake Bobo inside to function as a second tight end on a singleback, under center set. Left tackle Charles Cross and left guard Laken Tomlinson teamed up on one double team, while center Olu Oluwatimi and Laumea worked together in tandem on the other combo block.

The #Seahawks found something with their duo run scheme on Sunday. Good displacement with double teams and a quick, decisive read of the MIKE linebacker by Ken Walker III leads to a positive gain. pic.twitter.com/XRLYWrcZMn

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) December 5, 2024

On the very next snap, the Seahawks again dialed up a duo concept, this time adding a tight end "WHAM" tag with AJ Barner motioning across the formation for a kickout block. With the run being to the right this time and the Jets' linebackers shifting pre-snap, Oluwatimi and Tomlinson worked on one combo block, while Laumea and Lucas teamed up with the rookie guard climbing off the double to block linebacker Jamien Sherwood, creating a seam for Walker to explode through for 10 yards.

Another example of quality execution by #Seahawks on duo run concept. Linebackers shift pre-snap - read changes for Walker from #56 to #44.

Laumea does a good job working off combo to get to 44 at second level, Walker makes slight cut and explodes through crease. pic.twitter.com/HtjEU2JYiC

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) December 5, 2024

The Seahawks also hit twice on fullback dives with Charbonnet, who checked in as part of 22 personnel packages with Walker on several short-yardage situations. Moving Walker to the flanker spot and running jet motion pre-snap, Grubb dialed up the same exact fullback dive on two separate third and 1 calls in the game, with the second one going for eight yards on the game-winning touchdown run.

On that particular play, Laumea did a fine job of adjusting to a hard slant by defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, washing him outside on a down block that sprung Charbonnet. From there, with Lucas whiffing on his block, the back did the rest creating yardage on his own, rumbling through two tackles to find his way to pay dirt and put Seattle in front for good with under six minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.

#Seahawks ran the same exact play from same exact formation on Zach Charbonnet's game-winning touchdown. Jet motion from Walker, FB dive behind motion... Adjustment from Laumea to down block on hard-slanting DT ends up being difference here, while back breaks a pair of tackles. pic.twitter.com/Pils6z14NI

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) December 5, 2024

Those two successful fullback dives netted 15 yards, moving the chains and putting points on the board, a sign of growth in short yardage situations. But the Seahawks still have a long way to go in that department, as evidenced by the fact they didn't score running eight plays inside the Jets five-yard line on the same drive where Walker ripped off the two aforementioned runs on duo concepts, failing to create any push on three run plays that were stuffed near the goal line.

In addition, Charbonnet had nowhere to go on a 4th and 1 inside split zone on the drive where he eventually found the end zone, getting brought down for a loss by defensive end Solomon Thomas. Fortunately for Seattle, the play didn't count due to a horse collar penalty, breathing new life into the game-winning possession in New York territory that nearly didn't come to fruition.

"We have sound schemes for how we're blocking those things, we've got to execute better," Macdonald remarked. "I think we have to have, frankly, just a better plan going into it, and we've got to work together on it. That's something that is definitely a point of emphasis this week."

Moving into the home stretch, the Seahawks still have major work left to do establishing the offensive balance Macdonald desires with a physical, consistent ground game to complement Geno Smith and his arsenal of receivers. Most importantly, they have to find a way to eliminate negative plays running the football, as they finished with nine carries netting one or fewer yards, including Walker getting blasted for a seven-yard loss on the final scoring drive.

But unlike the vast majority of their previous games, with the exception of the red zone woes that continue to dog the team, Seattle's offensive line actually generated consistent push at the line of scrimmage on Sunday against a quality New York defensive line. With Lucas improving by week as he gets his legs back underneath him and Laumea showing promise in his first start, this could be the stepping stone the team needed for the offense to start clicking on all cylinders at just the right time.

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