The Seattle Seahawks looked cooked entering Week 6. After an ugly Week 5 when head coach Mike Macdonald's defense appeared incapable of stopping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team throttled the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This was the case even though Seattle was missing three starters and one key contributor on defense. Just like in the second half of Week 5's meltdown, the Seahawks would be missing Riq Woolen, Julian Love, Devon Witherspoon, and Derick Hall.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, appeared to be ascending. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was playing well, and the team had a good group of receivers. This was especially true after the Jags took two-way stud Travis Hunter in the 2025 NFL draft.
Mike Macdonald proves his worth again as the Seattle Seahawks head coach
But forget what you knew. Instead of being outscored again in Week 6, the Seahawks brought brutal pressure against Lawrence, and, except for wide receiver Brian Thomas, Jacksonville was extremely limited.
Even Thomas's numbers (eight catches for 90 yards) were more because of early-game breakdowns. No other receiver had more than 29 yards. The Jaguars also only rushed for 59 yards.
While the players executed the scheme, it was the scheme that won the game. That means Mike Macdonald, even with a weakened defense, understood their assignments, was well-prepared for what the Jaguars might want to accomplish, and was ready to dominate.
With a lesser head coach or defensive coordinator, Seattle's 20-12 victory over Jacksonville in Week 6 doesn't happen. Macdonald spoke about how he didn't have the team ready for Week 5 and would aim to correct that. He most certainly did.
The Seattle Seahawks had seven sacks, limited Jacksonville to 4 yards per play, and just 273 yards overall. While the Jaguars picked up all three of their fourth down attempts, they were just four of 16 on third downs. That's not going to win many games, and it wasn't going to beat the Seahawks.
To be fair, Seattle wasn't great on third downs, either. The team was just one of 12. This meant the defense had to keep coming onto the field and trying to defend a one-score lead for most of the game.
Near the end of the game, the Seattle Seahawks' offense was not able to eat clock very well, yet Mike Macdonald's defense kept thwarting the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense so that Trevor Lawrence and his mates never got a sniff at tying the score. While Seattle stole the win on the road with a banged-up defense, Mike Macdonald won the game.