Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald takes full blame for defensive disaster vs. Buccaneers
Injuries have decimated the Seattle Seahawks’ secondary, and Sunday’s 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made that painfully clear.
Cornerback Riq Woolen left the game in the third quarter with a concussion and didn’t return, further depleting a unit already without Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love.
Before exiting, Woolen had played 97% of Seattle’s defensive snaps on the year and been a key stabilizing force. His absence opened the door for Nehemiah Pritchett, who struggled in coverage against a relentless Buccaneers passing attack.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield carved up the depleted defense, completing 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns.
The Seahawks’ defense couldn’t keep pace. Despite a strong offensive showing from Sam Darnold, who threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, Seattle’s inability to make key stops doomed them late.
Darnold’s interception with 58 seconds left allowed Mayfield to march down the field for Chase McLaughlin’s game-winning field goal.
After the loss, head coach Mike Macdonald shouldered the responsibility, per The News Tribune: “I have to do better with our defensive game plan and execution and how we call it. When you put up a performance like that, it means that I didn’t prepare them well enough,” Macdonald said.
“It hurts. It stings. It should, because our guys work extremely hard and they care. But we’re going to use this to move forward, and that’s the only thing we can do. We’re going to take it on the chin and move forward.”
Macdonald acknowledged that the offense and special teams performed well, but the defensive lapses were too costly to overcome. “Offense played great. Special teams played great. I’m sure there are things on that end, too, with penalties we got to fix,” he added.
Darnold’s teammates quickly came to his defense after the game. Running back Kenneth Walker and tight end AJ Barner praised his leadership and consistency, noting that one mistake shouldn’t overshadow an otherwise impressive performance.
Walker finished with 86 yards on just 10 carries, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba led all receivers with 132 yards on eight catches.
The Seahawks fell to 3-2 with the loss but remain confident heading into a pivotal Week 6 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Macdonald’s message was clear: accountability first, adjustments next.
Two Ravens UDFA Rookies Recognized for Top-10 Performances
There’s still a lot of football to be played in both practices and games before the Baltimore Ravens open the 2025 season, but the earliest returns point to this rookie class being one of their best in recent memory.
Note the use of “rookie” and not just “draft class,” as two of Baltimore’s rookie undrafted free agents made a considerable impact on at least one publication during the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
Pro Football Focus has completed all of its grading for the opening week of the exhibition slate, and it recently posted a list of top 10 rookies. Not one but two Ravens UDFAs made the list: linebacker Jay Higgins (No. 7) and linebacker Chandler Martin (No. 8).
Ravens’ Jay Higgins, Chandler Martin Get Early Recognition
On Higgins, PFF’s Lauren Gray noted Higgins “finished as a top-10 linebacker overall in Week 1,” revealing he was especially effective in coverage and disrupting the Indy passing game.
“He batted a pass as a rusher and picked off an errant pass from Riley Leonard, who was hit on the throw. Higgins limited quarterbacks to a 47.9 NFL passer rating for the game,” Gray added.
Higgins, as an UDFA, is no guarantee to make the Ravens’ 53-man roster, especially given how much talent Baltimore has on the depth chart, especially at the linebacker position.
The Iowa product’s draft stock took a significant tumble with poor pre-draft testing, despite an impressive resume with the Hawkeyes. He was a two-time all-conference selection, a two-time All-American and won Big Ten linebacker of the year in his final season in Iowa City. The team-leading 124 tackles earned him a “tackle monster” label from NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein.
If he can prove he can hang at the NFL level with his speed — or lack thereof — he’d be a valuable depth piece for an already loaded defense.
As far as Martin goes, he also was a top-10 linebacker in the league for the opener., per PFF. He received at least a 70-grade for each of the recorded defensive metrics on PFF’s grading scale and was “equally impressive” as Higgins with an especially stout performance in the run game (tackle, assist and run stop in 12 run-defense snaps).
From a purely physical standpoint, he’s in a similar boat as Higgins. He’s slightly undersized and his athleticism doesn’t jump off the page, and his testing, particularly his speed, wasn’t great. But he has the sorts of traits the Ravens have loved over the years. He’s tough, physical and has a nose for the football.
Ravens Building Next Version of Elite Defense?
He, too, was a team-leader in tackles at Memphis. He wasn’t as decorated as Higgins earned All-AAC honors and made an impressive final impression with a career-high 17 tackles in the Tigers’ bowl win over West Virginia. It’s not surprising that he was named by one expert an UDFA to watch going into minicamp, and he’s clearly making the most of his reps. His spot on the roster might not be as comfortable as Higgins, but Martin could really help himself by impressing on special teams, an area of the game head coach John Harbaugh prioritizes more than most.
If one (or both) can contribute immediately, that would be a major win for the Ravens, who already look like they might have gotten a steal in second-round draft pick Mike Green. The Ravens also nabbed safety Malaki Starks at the end of the first round, using of four their first six picks on defense.
The core of the next great Ravens defense might already be in the building.
