The Seattle Seahawks Have NFL's Best Pass Rush That Struggles to Finish

Through two games, the Seattle Seahawks are first in team pressures and 16th in sacks. It should be affecting games more than it is.

Sep 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) sacks New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Mike Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks defense has had no problem getting after opposing quarterbacks so far in 2024. Through two games, the Seahawks lead the league with 50 total team pressures, per Pro Football Focus.

The Minnesota Vikings are second (49), and the Dallas Cowboys are third (45). Seattle’s third-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe is second among all NFL players with 15 pressures. His 11 hurries lead the league.

The team productivity for Seattle has also come without starting edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who is currently sidelined by a knee injury he sustained in the preseason.

On a per-game basis, Seattle averaged 18.5 pressures and 2.9 sacks in the 2023 regular season. They are currently beating that pressure average (25) while falling short of the sack average (2.5).

Seattle has lived in its opponents’ backfields, but finishing sacks has been the team’s weakness. Despite their league-leading pressure total, the Seahawks are tied for 15th in team sacks (5).

In Week 2, the Seahawks pressured Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett 21 times and hurried him on 13 occasions but brought him to the ground just three times. Much of that is a credit to Brissett and his ability to evade pressure — oftentimes shaking Seattle defenders once they had their hands on him — but it’s an area the Seahawks must clean up if their pass rush is going to decide games.

Mafe, outside linebacker Derick Hall and defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II all have at least five pressures and at least half a sack — quickly emerging as Seattle’s most disruptive players up front. Williams is second behind Mafe on Seattle’s defense with 11 pressures, ranking ninth in the league regardless of position.

Mafe’s role has changed quite a bit in his third season. Under Macdonald, he is being asked to drop into coverage far more than he did his first two seasons with the Seahawks. The added responsibility — and the offensive linemen in front of him not knowing what Mafe will do next — has made him more productive.

In 2023, Mafe dropped into coverage on just 29 snaps all season, per PFF. He’s already done so 10 times in just two games. He had about a 13.1 percent pressure rate last season. That’s jumped to nearly 24 percent so far in 2024.

“I can’t think of a time where [Mafe] hasn’t been here and doing all the things that we’re asking him to do,” Macdonald told reporters Monday. “He’s in great shape. He understands the game plan, he understands what his fastball is. He’s not trying to be somebody he’s not, but it also is teamwork on how you rush the passer.”

Despite his production and his 23rd-ranked pass-rush grade (70.8), Mafe wasn’t even listed on PFF’s latest top-32 rankings. The Detroit Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson, who has a nearly identical pressure rate to Mafe but four more sacks, was ranked first. The Seahawks’ Williams and Murphy were slotted 29th and 32nd, respectively.

Miami Dolphins veteran pass rusher Calais Campbell, who has one pressure and one sack this season on 33 pass-rush snaps, was ranked 28th.

Sep 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) reacts with linebacker Boye Mafe (53) after a sack against New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

This is not an attack on PFF’s rankings, but it’s a direct oversight of its own metrics, which is quite puzzling. The stats it provides are useful (as evidenced in this very article) but I don’t put much weight into the rankings. The data and watching the games provide enough to form your own opinion.

Perhaps Mafe’s 11.8 percent pressure-to-sack ratio is what’s holding him back. I would expect that to improve dramatically as the season goes on, but his overall frequency of disruption can’t be overlooked.

Murphy’s early-season performance has also been impressive. His 12.8 percent pressure rate isn’t incredibly high, but he’s frequently been double-teamed which has freed up others around him. Murphy’s six pressures are second among rookies behind only Minnesota’s Jared Verse.

All that said, Seattle's top rushers must begin to convert pressures to sacks. Pressures are subjective, sacks are not. Creating a loss for the opposing offense is one the most effective ways to impact a football game. Nwosu may be able to help with that upon his return (16.4 percent pressure-to-sack ratio in 2022, his last full season).

Moving forward, the emphasis has to be on finishing plays in the backfield when the Seahawks have a quarterback dead to rights. The were missed opportunities aplenty versus New England, and that’s likely been an emphasis by Macdonald in practice this week.

In Week 3, the Miami Dolphins offense line won’t make things easy for the Seahawks. The Dolphins have allowed just 20 pressures and five sacks this season.