Seahawks Turned in Puzzling Pass-Rush Performance in Week 6

The Seahawks had their highest pressure rate of the season versus the 49ers, but didn't register a single sack. What happened against San Francisco?

Oct 10, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at Lumen Field. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks’ Week 6 primetime game versus the San Francisco 49ers proves why pressures aren’t everything. It’s a general measuring stick for the health of a pass rush, but that and sacks don’t tell the whole story.

One week after posting its worst pressure rate of the season against the New York Giants (37.5 percent), Seattle posted its highest pressure rate of the campaign by a country mile, per Pro Football Focus. But it didn’t matter.

The Seahawks pressured Niners quarterback Brock Purdy on 28 of his 31 dropbacks (90.3 percent) but didn’t sack him once. They only hit Purdy twice, as well.

Seattle’s next highest pressure rate of the season was in Week 4 (65.6 percent) versus the New England Patriots. In that game, the Seahawks sacked Jacoby Brissett three times and hit him on one other occasion out of 21 total pressures.

Much of the puzzling data against the Niners is credited to Purdy and the San Francisco offensive line. Purdy is ninth in the NFL in pressure-to-sack percentage (14 percent), per PFF, four spots ahead of Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Purdy also has the second-highest passer rating under pressure at 101.6.

Through six games, however, Seattle is tied for eighth in the league in sacks (17) and third in total pressures — rising four spots in the latter category from their ranking last week. The Seahawks’ 28 pressures were the second-most in Week 6 behind only San Francisco.

Seattle has converted just 13.6 percent of its pressures into sacks so far this season. That ranks 22nd among all 32 teams. The Seahawks are consistently affecting opposing quarterbacks, but not often turning those effective rushes into negative plays for the offense.

For comparison, the Giants rank first in the NFL with a 22.81 percent pressure-to-sack percentage. There’s a massive gap, however, between the Giants and Jets (17.86 percent), who rank second in the league. The Atlanta Falcons, Seattle’s next opponent, is dead last at just 7.04 percent.

Edge rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are both top-30 in the league in total pressures with 21 and 20, respectively. Mafe has piled up that total while also missing two games, and he’s the only player in the league with under 100 pass-rush snaps and at least 15 pressures. But he only has three sacks to show for it.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s scheme is working, even if it isn’t showing up yet. Macdonald’s Baltimore Ravens group in 2023 posted a league-leading 60 sacks on 447 pressures — a similar pressure-to-sack rate (13.4 percent) to the current Seattle group.

Keep in mind teams like the Giants are highly unlikely to retain a rate north of 20 percent the entire season. It’s still early, and there’s a lot of football left. Seattle isn’t in a bad position to remain among the top pass-rushing teams in the NFL.

Sometimes, you have to give credit to a quarterback and offensive line combination that bends but doesn’t break. That was the case against San Francisco in Week 6.

The Seahawks have other coverage and run-defense issues to fix ahead of Week 7, but they can at least be confident in getting after Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins on Sunday.