New Faces Take Center Stage as Seahawks Renew Rivalry With Packers

Few coaches or players will be on the field on Sunday who partook in the last Seahawks/Packers matchup, but new stars can etch their names in the rivalry's lore.

Aug 26, 2023; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) dodges pressure from Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) in a preseason football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Wm. Glasheen-Imagn Images / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Since the turn of the century, few NFL rivalries have offered more thrilling, historic finishes than when the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers have tangled on the gridiron.

Despite not playing in the same division, Seattle and Green Bay have met four times in the postseason during that time and played in countless close games in the regular season along the way. From Matt Hasselbeck infamously declaring "We want the ball and we're going to score" prior to throwing a pick six in the 2003 wild card round to Golden Tate's "Fail Mary" touchdown in 2012 to Jermaine Kearse's game-winning touchdown in the 2014 NFC Championship game, there's been no shortage of drama when these two franchises have played over the years.

But when the Seahawks and Packers face off for the first time since 2021 on Sunday Night Football, few of the characters who made the rivalry such an iconic one will be in uniform or on the sidelines. Most notably, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers now reside in Pittsburgh and New Jersey respectively, while Pete Carroll isn't coaching for the first time since the 1970s and Mike McCarthy is trying to salvage a sinking ship in Dallas.

Instead, first year coach Mike Macdonald and quarterback Geno Smith will be taking their first crack at beating Green Bay, which has a different signal caller of its own now running the show with Jordan Love running coach Matt Lafleur's offense, presenting an intriguing opportunity for new blood to write a new chapter in the historic rivalry.

"They play a great brand of football. They play winning football," Macdonald said of the Packers. "They've been doing it throughout their entire franchise history and especially since Matt's got there and doing his thing. We've got a lot of respect for them and how they play. They're a physical football team, they play really hard, they attack the football, and they take care of it on offense. They do all the things necessary that you need to do to be a really good football team."

Interestingly, Macdonald doesn't have much of a track record coaching against Lafleur, who rose quickly up the ranks from Mike Shanahan's coaching tree with Washington to become an offensive coordinator in Tennessee before taking over as Green Bay's coach in 2019. They last coached against each other when Macdonald was coaching linebackers for the Ravens and Lafleur was calling plays for the Titans in 2018.

Macdonald has rarely coached against the Packers either, with his last game against them coming back in 2017 when he coached defensive backs for the Ravens. At that time, Lafleur served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams under coach Sean McVay.

Given that lack of head-to-head experience against Lafleur, Macdonald acknowledged on Monday that he's leaning on the experience of several of his assistants who have coached against him over the years to assist with game planning this week, including assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, who helped the Bills beat the Packers 27-17 as a defensive coordinator in 2022.

"You've got to do your homework. You've got to go through, hit all the boxes, make sure you're as thorough as you can be," Macdonald explained. "We've had coaches on staff who have played the Packers in the past too. Utilizing that feedback and just kind of having all hands on deck to try to generate as much information as you can." 

From a players standpoint, there will be plenty of newness at Lumen Field on Sunday night as well. While both players were dressed as backups in 2021, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has not started a game or taken a snap against the Packers since his second season in the league when he was still with the Jets in 2014, while Love has never started a game or taken a snap against Seattle in the regular season.

Looking back at that last matchup three seasons ago at Lambeau Field, neither team has many players on their rosters who even suited up in that contest. Only five current Seahawks - DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Tre Brown, Jason Myers, and Michael Dickson - recorded statistics in that game. The Packers have even fewer holdovers, as only defensive end Rashan Gary and defensive tackle Kenny Clark recorded statistics in the game and cornerback Jaire Alexander wasn't active due to injury.

Keeping that in mind, there will be little past precedent to go off of for either team heading into Sunday's critical prime time clash. But with the Seahawks allowing just 13.7 points per game amid a four-game winning streak and the Packers scoring at least 30 points in four of their previous six games, the stage has been set for another epic rivalry battle under the lights between teams with contrasting styles and major playoff implications on the line.

As one of the few Seahawks who understands the magnitude of the rivalry from experience, Metcalf can't wait to see what's in store for the next round, confident his team can get the job done against a worthy foe and keep their positive momentum rolling with an NFC West title in sight.

"They're a competitive team and it's going to be a good test for us, in my opinion, Sunday, to have a team of that caliber come in here and try to beat us. But I'm taking us 10 days out of 10, so it's going to be a good game in my opinion." 

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