Good afternoon, 12s. Here's a look at what's going on out there and any news you might have missed, about your Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks are back at home at Lumen Field on Sunday for their 50^th season celebration and matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while both wearing their Throwback uniforms. Before the game this week, Seahawks senior reporter John Boyle gave out his quarterly honors.

Seahawks 2025 First Quarter Honors

Offensive MVP: Sam Darnold

Defensive MVP: Leonard Williams

Special Teams MVP: Jason Myers

These are just a few of the highlights from this quarter's awards but read more to learn who the offensive player of the quarter, best rookie, best newcomer and unsung hero is for the first quarter of the Seahawks' season.

Seahawks Mailbag: Best Seattle Defense Since? Byron Murphy II's Growth, Run Game & More

@FiveStarGam1ng asks, "Best defense since the LOB?"

A: Presuming you're defining the LOB era roughly as the time that Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman played together, then I would say that, yes, this current defense, assuming it continues at anything close to this level the rest of the season, will be the Seahawks' best since the LOB era, and by a pretty good margin.

The defense that John Schneider and Pete Carroll built last decade set a bar that will be tough for any team, this one included, to top, starting in 2012 when Seattle led the league in scoring defense, starting a four-season streak of leading the league in that stat, making the Seahawks the only team to accomplish that in the Super Bowl era. And in 2013, the Seahawks led the league in total defense, scoring defense, passing defense and takeaways, then went on to dominate the highest scoring offense in NFL history, holding Peyton Manning and company to eight points.

So having said all of that, it's not really fair to those teams, or to the current one, to compare this defense to the very best of that era, at least at this point, it is pretty clear that what the Seahawks are doing on defense right now under Mike Macdonald is pretty impressive in its own right.

In 2016, the last year Thomas, Chancellor and Sherman all played a full season together—both Chancellor and Sherman suffered season-ending injuries midway through the 2017 season, with Chancellor's neck injury ending his career—the Seahawks finished third in the NFL in scoring defense and fifth in total defense on the way to another NFC West title. Since then, the Seahawks have finished outside of the Top 10 in both categories every season. In Macdonald's first season in Seattle, the Seahawks finished 11th in points allowed and 14th in yards allowed, but made a big turn in the second half of the season, and they look to be picking up where they left off, if not improving, heading into their second season running Macdonald's defense.

Granted, it has only been four games, so there's still a lot of work to do, but the Seahawks currently rank second in points allowed, 13th in total defense, sixth in sacks and seventh in takeaways. The Seahawks are stopping the run, generating pressure with their front four, are tough to throw on, and given the talent and depth the Seahawks have at all three levels, it all feels very sustainable, if not something that could get even better as the year progresses.

What To Watch In The Seahawks’ Week 5 Game vs. The Buccaneers

2. Can the Seahawks build off their run game progress against one of the league's best run defenses?

For all the things the Seahawks have done well through four games, one area where they'd like to see some improvement, and a lot more consistency, is their running game. At times, Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet have been explosive, but there have also been too many negative runs.

Last week, the Seahawks had season highs both in rushing yards (155) and rushing yards per attempt (4.4), a sign of progress, but they know there's still room to improve if the offense is going to be at its best.

Taking that next step in the run game won't come easy this week, not against a Buccaneers run defense that ranks fifth in yards allowed (85.0), and second in yards per carry allowed (3.3), while also ranking fourth in total defense.

"They're so well-coached," offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said. "They're disciplined, they play really hard, they take the ball away. Very similar to our defense how physical that Tampa is. Playing against Coach Bowles for many years, his guys are in the right spots, and they're coming with a bad attitude. We have a ton of respect for them and putting all of our time this week into getting ready for them."

Pro Football Focus NFL Week 4: Rookie Team of the Week

Tight End: Elijah Arroyo, Seattle Seahawks – 67.6

A former second rounder out of Miami (FL), Arroyo put up a strong showing in the Seahawks' thrilling 23-20 win over the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. Both of his receptions resulted in first downs, as he recorded 44 receiving yards. Arroyo also made an impact as a run blocker, recording a 67.1 grade in that field with a 92.0 grade on pull lead runs.

Interior Offensive Line: Grey Zabel, Seattle Seahawks – 62.4

A regular on these lists, Zabel continued the solid start to his young career and showed that the transition from FCS to NFL opponents isn't too big for him. He surrendered just two pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps against the Cardinals for a 66.8 PFF pass-blocking grade.

Social Post of the Week

Other Seahawks News

Week 4 Coaches of the Week

Our Week 4 coach of the week winners are head coach Terry Cloer of Mt. Spokane High School (3A) and head coach Cody Baskett of Orting High School (2A). Each coach will be invited to a Seahawks game later this season to be recognized for their accomplishments and will receive a $500 donation to their football program!

Coach Cloer has been at Mt. Spokane since 2007, first serving as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach in 2014. During his tenure, he has compiled an impressive record of 86–34, including winning the GSL title in 2022 with an undefeated league record. His teams have reached the playoffs every year, advancing to the state playoffs seven times, including three quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal run.

Most recently Mt. Spokane beat their rival Mead 16-14 on a 4th down catch with 18 seconds left in the game!

Coach Baskett enters his second year as the head coach of the Orting Cardinals but has been coaching with the program for 12 years. Coach Baskett grew up in Orting, attending the high school, so it is very full circle and an honor to be back at his alma mater. He began his coaching career under his former coach and inspiration Marty Parkhurst. Baskett said, "It is such a special experience to be able to coach at the stadiums and fields I grew up playing on, and in the community I grew up in... Our program takes pride in coaching boys to be men filled with integrity and respect and it's an honor to lead these Cardinals alongside an incredibly hardworking coaching staff." The Cardinals just beat a very good Franklin Pierce team 43-42 in a thriller to start the season 4-0.

More From Around The Web

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times: What injuries in Seahawks secondary mean for Riq Woolen | Notebook.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times: How NFL schedulers gave Seahawks a gift for their 50th anniversary.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times: What Seahawks might do when Nick Emmanwori returns | Mailbag.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times: Seahawks edge Rams for top NFC West ranking after four games | Analysis.

Matt Calkins of The Seattle Times: Seahawks’ Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba proving doubters wrong.

Cameron Van Til of Seattle Sports: ‘Calmness’ of Seahawks QB Sam Darnold jumps out to Daniel Jeremiah.

Gregg Bell of The News Tribune: Leonard Williams uses at-home recovery room, dominates most Seahawks games.

Gregg Bell of The News Tribune: Seahawks’ Cooper Kupp still wowed by what Bucs’ Baker Mayfield did on 2022 Rams.

Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic: Could Riq Woolen be traded? Benched? How the Seahawks could shuffle the secondary.

Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic: Seahawks pulled Ernest Jones IV from darkness. Now he leads them through fire: ‘He’s unshakable’.

Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic: The Seahawks’ biggest flaw, even at 3-1, is what was supposed to be their strength.

John Boyle of Seahawks.com: Sam Darnold & Baker Mayfield Are Two Quarterbacks 'Writing A Heck Of A Story' In Career Resurgences.

Ari Horton & John Boyle of Seahawks.com: The Shared Principles Between Seahawks And Buccaneers & Other Takeaways From Mike Macdonald's Wednesday News Conference With The Media.

Ari Horton of Seahawks.com: Seahawks O-Line & D-Line Take Every Opportunity To Learn From Each Other: 'Iron Sharpens Iron'.