Mike Macdonald sends clear message after Seahawks' loss to Buccaneers
Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should go down as an instant NFL classic. Not only was it arguably the greatest uniform matchup the league has ever seen, it also saw a level of quarterback play from both sides that's never happened before.
Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold became the only QBs in NFL history to throw for 325+ yards and complete 80% or more of their passes in the same game.
As entertaining as it was to watch, you can bet both Todd Bowles and Mike Madonald were not happy that it turned into a shootout, with neither defense proving capable of stopping the other QB. In Macdonald's Monday appearance on Seattle Sports radio he made it clear that he expects more from his defense, especially when it comes to tackling.
The tackling was pretty sloppy against the Buccaneers, especially when they were trying to bring down Rachaad White in short yardage situations.
However, the much bigger problem was that the Seahawks simply were unable to get any consistent pressure on Baker Mayfield in the pocket. It didn't help that Derick Hall went down early, but Seattle's greatest strength this season has been the pass rush, and it just wasn't there for almost the entire game.
Macdonald can probably help his defense out by calling more blitzes - which he did eventually start doing against Tampa - albeit a little too late. He may not have much of a choice this coming week against Jacksonville, as so many different defensive starters are either expected not to play or will not be playing at 100%.
Dan Orlovsky Has Strong Words for Jalen Hurts After Eagles Game
Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles took down the Dallas Cowboys on the opening night of the 2025 NFL season on Thursday. The Eagles scored on all of their first four drives as their offense looked unstoppable early.
Hurts did not throw for any touchdowns, but he made the right plays when he needed to, especially with his legs, to get the job done at home.
On Friday, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky spoke on Hurts' play against the Cowboys and gave his biggest takeaways from the game.
"Jalen was perfect," Orlovsky said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "You play as perfect a game as you can, given what's asked of you. Carried the team in many ways. He just is one of those guys that just seems to do whatever it takes to win the football game."
Hurts was 19-of-23 passing for 152 yards while carrying the ball 14 times for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hurts' performance was a big boost for the Eagles' running game, which saw Saquon Barkley held in check with just 60 yards on the ground.
The sixth-year quarterback was only sacked once, as he escaped the pocket on several occasions.
"I think if you're Philly, you're like, 'Our quarterback looked absolutely fantastic,'" Orlovsky continued.
While he didn't have the biggest statistical output, Hurts did what he needed to do for the Eagles to get a win against their divisional rival. With this victory, head coach Nick Sirian
