The Seattle Seahawks finished 12th in points allowed last season. First-year head coach Mike Macdonald is a defensive-minded leader. His main unit forfeited 368 total points, 21.6 per contest.
Entering the 2025 campaign, Macdonald has a goal to field a top-10 scoring defense. That would mark improvement and officially get the Seahawks ' defense into elite territory. Macdonald discussed that goal during the annual league ownership meetings.
Mike Macdonald’s defense finished ninth in points allowed in 2024. The Seahawks return most of their key players on that side of the ball, with one exception being DeMarcus Lawrence replacing Dre’Mont Jones. Here was Macdonald on Seattle’s defense last year and how Lawrence fits: pic.twitter.com/uINqW4FYx4
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) April 1, 2025
"I feel like we ended the year with some momentum, and the expectation is we can take advantage of that," Macdonald told reporters. "You're going to hit some speed-bumps along the way, but we want it to be more seamless. We understand there's a lot of expectations on that side [defense]."
Macdonald is correct that the defense built momentum as the campaign transpired forward. The defense allowed a stingy 18.3 points per contest in the final eight games following the Week 10 bye.
The Seahawks possess a ton of continuity on defense from a personnel standpoint. Almost every key player is scheduled to return after Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed re-signed with the club. The one exception is cap casualties Rayshawn Jenkins and Dre'Mont Jones, the latter of which was replaced by DeMarcus Lawrence.
The Seahawks should field a top-10 scoring defense. Anything less would be a disappointment.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: NFL ownership meetings: Seahawks HC sets defensive goal for 2025
