Washington Commanders vs Seattle Seahawks Week 3: Five Questions with Field Gulls

On offense, the Seahawks are coached by OC Brian Fleury, former TEs coach and run-game coordinator of the 49ers from 2022 to 2025. A TEs coach has good insight into both the blocking and pass-catching aspects of offense due to TEs being heavily involved in both duties. The fact that Fleury was also the run-game coordinator for the 49ers means he should be well suited to understanding and coaching all aspects of the Shanahan offense (note that Cowboys OC Klayton Adams was formerly a TEs coach for the Colts and OL coach for the Cardinals who designed their prolific run game before moving to Dallas ). So far, the Seahawks offense has stayed true to its Shanahan roots , with heavy use of under center, play action passing, and an outside-zone run game. Perhaps to simplify the passing game for a backup QB, the Seahawks have been targeting WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba with an absurd 44% share of targets (last year he led the NFL with a 35.8% target share). It makes sense to simplify things for your backup QB by scheming him to just throw it to his best player.

On defense, the Seahawks are still coached by head coach Mike Macdonald, former DC of the Ravens, and DC Aden Durde, former defensive line coach of the Cowboys. Perhaps unsurprising given that their DC is a former DL coach, the Seahawks defense is anchored around the excellent play of their defensive line. Last year, the Seahawks were able to achieve the 6th-best QB pressure rate despite the 7th-lowest blitz rate, meaning they were able to get pressure rushing four most of the time, and leave more players back in coverage to stop passing plays and explosive plays. The result is a defense that allows the NFL's fewest passing yards and 9th-fewest rushing yards through two games this year.

I asked John Gilbert of Field Gulls five questions to better understand the state of the Seahawks and what to look for in this game.