The Seahawks dropped a tough one on Sunday, losing 17-13 to the 49ers after San Francisco was able to drive for a late touchdown, then force a turnover when the Seahawks drove into the red zone looking for the winning score. From some of the questions I'm going to respectfully decline to answer this week, some of you are really mad about that game. And I get it, it stinks seeing your team lose, and to a division rival no less, but it's also worth taking a deep breath and remembering that there are still 16 games to go, and you can almost never really get the full picture of what a team is, good or bad, from the first game of the season. If the offense manages only 13 points every week, would that be acceptable? Of course not, but can we just determine that that performance is what this offense will be for an entire season because it didn't go according to plan in Week 1? Hardly. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now and we can move onto your questions.

As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

Dan from Zillah, Washington asks, "Why did the Seahawks decided to kick a field goal instead of go for it on fourth and short late in the game?"

A: If you need a refresher, the situation this question is referring to came late in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks, after a 6-yard Sam Darnold completion to Cooper Kupp, were facing fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 19-yard line with 3:28 left on the clock and the score tied at 10-10.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald had a choice to make at that point, which was to take a high-percentage field goal attempt to take a 13-10 lead, or to go for it on fourth-and-1, potentially extending the drive to take more time off the clock before kicking a field goal, or ideally, scoring a touchdown to go up by seven points.

Macdonald, having watched his defense hold the 49ers to a single field goal over the span of eight possessions following an opening-drive touchdown, opted to take the (almost) sure points in the moment and trust his defense. With San Francisco holding all three time outs, it was no sure thing that the Seahawks would have been able to bleed out much more clock had they gotten the first down, which as Macdonald explained on Seattle Sports 710AM, factored into their thinking.

"It was in favor to go (for it) for us on our model," Macdonald said on the Brock and Salk Show. "You are making these things in real time, but it was a full yard, probably a little bit more so. And I felt like if we took the lead right there, we were playing well on defense, it wasn't four-down territory for them yet. If kick the ball off to them, it's not four-down territory for them yet. I think they would still punt it if we got a three-down stop in minus territory and get into four-minute mode, which I felt good about the way we ran it that drive. And if they get in plus territory, they're still in three-down mode to kick a field goal, which, what are we, six inches away from being able to go down and kick a field goal with ample time on offense.

"So that was the thinking, If you go and you get the first down, you're not guaranteed a touchdown," he added. "You're going to knock some time off the clock, and ultimately you'll probably end up with a score on that, and then San Fran's going to be in a four-down situation coming down the field, … which is a difficult situation too on defense. I think the numbers are about 40, 50, 60-percent score rate in that situation. So that's what was going through my mind."

@MrEd315 asks, "In your estimation, what good things came out of the season opener?"

A: As frustrating as that loss was, there were, in fact, several good things that came out of the game. First and foremost, despite some very costly mistakes, the effort and physicality the team played with, in all three phases, was really good, and that can go a long ways over the course of a season. Small mistakes tied to execution or technique or scheme can be costly, to be sure, but those a heck of a lot easier to coach up in a week than are effort or toughness.

On defense, several players stood out, including Ernest Jones IV and Josh Jobe, who had interceptions, and Julian Love, who had 10 tackles, a sack and a blocked field goal, and several players along the defensive front who were disruptive in the run and pass game, including Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence and Derick Hall.

On offense, a 13-point showing obviously isn't ideal, but there were some encouraging signs, including the fact that Sam Darnold was hit only twice and sacked once—and yes, it was a massive, game-altering sack—indications that Darnold is doing a good job processing quickly and getting the ball out fast, and also that the offensive line did a good job in pass protection. And of course, there' was Jaxon Smith-Njigba's performance that saw him catch nine passes for 124 yards, including a 40-yarder late in the game that put the Seahawks in the red zone for a possible go-ahead score before the game-ending fumble.

@curtis93969 asks, "What is the biggest change in weekday/weekend routine you see when the team ahs a 10 a.m. East Coast game?

A: The Seahawks don't change a ton during the week in terms of practice/meeting schedule during the week when they're preparing to head east. The biggest adjustment comes when the team leaves Friday, as opposed Saturday for a shorter trip to play an NFC West opponent. By getting to their destination—Pittsburgh this week—on Friday night, players can start to adjust their body clocks, starting with an earlier start to their Saturday. The Seahawks have been on a similar schedule for years, having also traveled on Fridays under Pete Carroll, and it has worked out well for the team. Dating back to the 2018 season, the Seahawks are 19-5 in their last 24 games that kick off at 10 a.m. PT.

@jimbot4000 asks, "How long is Nick Emmanwori going to be out? He looked pretty good in the short time he got to play?"

A: Emmanwori did indeed flash his potential early in the game, tackling 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey for a 2-yard loss, but unfortunately, he also injured his ankle on the play with teammate Leonard Williams fell into his leg. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that Emmanwori does have a high ankle sprain, and while he didn't give a specific timetable, he did indicate that the rookie safety could possibly go on injured reserve this week, which would cause him to miss at least four games should the Seahawks make that decision.

"It is a high ankle for Nick," Macdonald said. "Let's call it week-to-week at this point. If we make a move, it would be probably the next day or two, because we've got to decide whether or not to make a move on that front."

Asked to clarify if making a move meant potentially putting Emmanwori on injured reserve, Macdonald said, "That's under consideration, yeah. We'll see here in the next few days."

@XRay_Bird asks, "With Emmanwori's injury, how big of a role do you think D'Anthony Bell will play in his absence?"

A: Well, for now the question would be if Emmanwori's injury could mean a promotion from the practice squad for Bell, which seems like a real possibility. The Seahawks also can always elevated Bell from the practice squad for a few games if they don't want to put Emmanwori on IR. As things currently stand, Ty Okada is the next man up at safety behind starters Julian Love and Coby Bryant, but when it comes to the role of a third safety, it won't be a one-for-one replacement for Emmanwori in terms of playing time. The Seahawks had created a specific role for Emmanwori to take advantage of his unique talents and traits, so for however long he is out, we might see the Seahawks play more traditional nickel defense (three cornerbacks, two safeties) than the big nickel package that includes Emmanwori.

Bell did show playmaking ability in camp and has been a special teams standout in his previous three seasons in Cleveland, so an injury at safety could definitely create chances for him to contribute on game day.

@LoneStarSeahawk asks, "Why did they hype the run game all preseason and then abandon it after the second drive?"

A: Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with the premise of this question. Did the Seahawks run the ball well on Sunday? Not often enough, as is evident in their 3.2 yards per carry average, but it's just not true that they abandoned the run.

After running on 16 of 27 first-half offensive plays, the Seahawks ran on 10 of 23 plays in the second half, including six consecutive runs—one of them a Darnold scramble, the other five designed runs—on the fourth quarter drive that resulted in a field goal. The did skew the numbers a bit late in the game by throwing four straight times on their final drive with time winding down, but to say they abandoned the run is just not accurate.

Do the Seahawks need to figure out how to run the ball more effectively? Absolutely, but they didn't give up on it.

**@erocy.world** on BlueSky asks, "The Jalen Milroe Draw on the third play of the game, what were they trying to accomplish with that exactly?"

A: As Macdonald said Monday, Milroe had an option to throw, but read the play right and elected to run. Obviously they didn't get a big gain out of it, but the idea is to get Milroe on the field at times to take advantage of his athleticism, and depending on game situations and how many total plays the Seahawks run—they had just 50 on Sunday—there will be more chances for him to get on the field. The Seahawks also probably liked the idea of putting him on the field early in Week 1 to show teams that a Milroe package is something they'll need to spend time preparing for during the week.

**Bcas98@bsky.social** asks, "Hey John, it sounded like Mike before the season was talking about Olu having a shot to win his job back during the season. Do you think they're taking it week by week or is Sundell is the starter for the season?"

A: I didn't take Macdonald's comments to mean it's an open competition throughout the season, but the Seahawks do like Oluwatimi and would trust going to him if that situation were to arise. Oluwatimi played well in a tough situation last year, jumping into the starting role unexpectedly midway through the season when Connor Williams abruptly retired, and Oluwatimi was having a good camp and very well might have won the story role, but a back injury sidelined him and opened the door for Jalen Sundell, who to his credit took advantage of the opportunity and won the role. Macdonald showed last season at a few different positions that he isn't afraid to make lineup changes in the middle of a season, so while I don't see a situation where they have an open competition throughout the season, you can never say someone is locked into a starting role for a season because they were the Week 1 starter.