In the final two seasons under Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks defense had a huge problem allowing explosive plays, especially against the pass. According to Stathead, the Seahawks gave up 110 pass plays of 20+ yards from 2022 to 2023, “good” for eighth most in the NFL. For context, the “Legion of Boom” gave up 104 explosive pass plays from 2012 to 2014, which is an extra season’s worth of games.
Two weeks into the Mike Macdonald era, and the Seahawks pass defense has been excellent. They’ve only allowed two explosive passes—one to Josh Reynolds in the Denver Broncos game, and a screen pass to Hunter Henry in the New England Patriots game—which is a number only bettered by the Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.