Mike Macdonald, Seahawks Playing to Win in Season Finale at Rams

The playoffs may not be attainable anymore, but don't expect to see the Seahawks resting their starters with a chance to hit double digit wins on Sunday.

Nov 3, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald during warmups before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - While the Seattle Seahawks won't have a playoff spot to earn in their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams as hoped with dominos not falling their way last weekend, coach Mike Macdonald's squad won't be packing it in with sights on the offseason on Sunday.

One day after the Seahawks were eliminated from playoff contention thanks to several teams they needed to win coming up short in Week 17, Macdonald declined to delve into the reasons why they failed to make the postseason in his first year at the helm, saying there will be plenty of time to diagnose those issues in coming weeks and months. Instead, his focus stayed solely on preparing for the week ahead as the team looks to reach double digit victories for the first time since 2020, even if reaching that goal won't come with an NFC West title.

"The first thing is it's an opportunity for us to go get to 10 wins and that's important right now," Macdonald told reporters. "There's a standard here of what we're trying to establish and show off our football character of what type of team we are, what type of people we are, and how we're going to play. The situation has changed, but the situation really hasn't changed to a certain extent as well. We're going to play a good football team that won our division, and we want to get to 10 wins."

With Sunday's rematch at SoFi Stadium not having any relevancy in the standings and no bearing on the playoff race, it would be easy for Macdonald to use this game as a showcase for Seattle's younger players with eyes towards 2025. To an extent, that may be the case at some position groups, especially if Los Angeles rests many of its starters as expected.

However, though Macdonald acknowledged veterans dealing with injuries that could be worsened by suiting up may be held out for precautionary reasons, the Seahawks plan to roll into Sunday with the mindset that a division title remains within reach and treat this like any other game. Starters will play as long as they are healthy or it is "safe for them to be out there" to ensure they give themselves the best chance to end the season on a winning note.

Among those who should be expected to suit up and start against the Rams, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith will be looking to hit three incentives-based escalators on his contract worth $2 million apiece, including surpassing 4,282 passing yards and hitting 10 wins. He's also currently sitting at a 70.2 percent completion percentage, positioning himself for an additional $2 million if he can stay above 69.755 percent per his escalator requirements.

As the week progresses, it should become more clear which veterans will be available to play for Seattle and which ones will likely be held out via injury reports. But as he emphasized over and over on Monday afternoon, Macdonald isn't about to let playoff elimination alter how his team prepares and competes on a weekly basis, viewing this as yet another chance to help build a culture of winning as a stepping stone to bigger and better things in the near future.

"It's not an optimum condition on how you're going to play, but us as a football team and an organization, we have a really high standard about how we want to play, that's what we're chasing. Our football character, hopefully, gets shown to the world about what we're about and how we operate, and let's go be those guys that we've been the whole season."

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