Getting From Good To Great & Other Takeaways From Mike Macdonald's Friday Press Conference

News and notes from the Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s press conference a day after his team’s Week 4 win in Arizona.

Sep 26, 2025 at 03:45 PM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

The Seahawks improved to 3-1 with a Thursday night victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle's third straight win after a season opening loss, and an eighth consecutive win on the road.

The win was another positive step for the Seahawks as they continue to build under second-year coach Mike Macdonald, but it was also a game that left Macdonald and players feeling like they can be better, especially because the Seahawks had chances to put the game away, only to see Arizona rally to tie it late in the fourth quarter.

More on that and other takeaways from Macdonald's Friday press conference:

1. Going from good to great.

During his weekly spot on Seattle Sports 710AM Macdonald made the comment that the Seahawks are a good team that can be great, but isn't there yet. Later he was asked to expand upon that in his press conference, and mentioned several areas in which he sees room for improvement.

"There's opportunities for us as a football team to capitalize on, and that's how we're executing in those moments, how we're calling it, and our philosophy," Macdonald said. "I don't have the answers to that right now, but I know we'll be looking at that. And our run game, where's our run game? What are we doing well? How can we improve? Right now, I feel like our pass defense is good, but there's going to be room for growth there and how we marry it together. The return game or return numbers, there's a lot of things that come to mind."

The good news, of course, is that the Seahawks are still sitting at 3-1 with that room to grow.

2. Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba's "lights out" connection began in spring.

After another win that featured standout performances from Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who connected for the 22-yard pass that put the Seahawks in field goal range, Macdonald said those two "were just lights out." Darnold has now connected with Smith-Njigba 26 times for 402 yards and a touchdown through four games, with several of those receptions, including the aforementioned 22-yarder, a back-shoulder throw down the left sideline, have demonstrated an impressive level of chemistry between quarterback and receiver, especially considering they have only been teammates since March.

For Macdonald, a big reason those two are so in sync with each other is the work they got in starting with offseason workouts.

"Every opportunity that I have to show the importance and significance of the offseason program, I really believe that sets foundation for your team on and off the field," Macdonald said. "All the chemistry, all those reps in April, May, and June stack. Those are things that are really important. It doesn't necessarily feel like that in the moment, but if you don't do those things, you don't have that foundation and you're playing catch up the rest of the season. Those guys were here every day in the spring and they're committed to the process along with the rest of our offense. Our whole offense was here the entire spring, which is just awesome. I think that's been paying dividends for us."

3. The Seahawks felt Uchenna Nwosu's presence in his two-sack performance.

After Thursday's game, outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu noted he was pretty gassed, which was to be expected considering he played 38 defensive snaps after playing 20 the week before, and 16 in Week 2, his first game back following offseason knee surgery. Having missed most of training camp and the preseason, Nwosu is having to play his way into game shape as the season progresses, but tired or not, he had a strong third game back, recording two of Seattle's six sacks.

"Our guys play hard; they should be tired," Macdonald said. "They play a certain way, and it felt like, you felt Uchenna out there, which is great. He's back and I'm proud of him. I'm happy for him. Again, I've only watched the first half, but definitely felt his presence out there. He's got such a knack for how to rush with angles and set up blocks, he's a great game runner. There's a physicality to how he plays, which is really cool and complements the rest of the group."

4. Devon Witherspoon played well, but will improve.

Devon Witherspoon was back after a two-game absence, and played every snap, recording a team-leading nine tackles, half a sack and a pass defensed, but there were also a couple of plays he'd like to have back, including Arizona's first touchdown, a pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. that got just over the outstretched hand of Witherspoon, who had good coverage on the play. Overall, it was a good game for Witherspoon, who hasn't had a full practice since before injuring his knee in the opener, but he and Macdonald both know he will get better as he gets all the way back from the injury and starts to build up those practice reps.

"As soon as you take your first snap of the season, you're not going to be a hundred percent, but I thought he played a good game," Macdonald said. "There's a couple plays he gave up, a couple catches that Harrison (Marvin Harrison Jr.) had on him, but Spoon's going to be fine. The guy competes; he's on his stuff. He's a spark plug out there for us. You have to remember, he hasn't practiced. He literally hasn't had a full-speed practice in three weeks, and he goes out there and plays an NFL game on a Thursday night and played good football for us. I think you have to keep that under consideration. Now he's going to have a full week of practice going into the next game. Spoon is going to be just fine."

5. Drake Thomas is pushing Tyrice Knight at inside linebacker.

While Ernest Jones IV is entrenched at one starting inside linebacker spot, the Seahawks have a competition going on at the other spot next two him. Tyrice Knight, who took over the starting job midway through last season as a rookie, started Seattle's first three games, with Drake Thomas coming in at times to take over for Knight. On Thursday, however, it was Knight starting the game, and playing 44 defensive snaps to Knight's 21.

"It's the same thing that we've been saying here for a few weeks. Drake's playing really good football and he's playing winning football. When you do that, you're going to play for us. It's really that simple. It's great, we have multiple spots where we have guys that can play and go help us win games, which is great for our team."