A year ago, the Seahawks finished 10–7 and still found themselves on the outside of the playoff picture, victims of a cruel combination of tiebreakers and bad luck. 2024 was a season that showed progress but ended in frustration, with Seattle eliminated before Week 18 even kicked off. That pain from last season hung over Seattle as a lingering reminder till the moment of redemption now.
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For head coach Mike Macdonald, last season’s disappointment became fuel. One year later, the response has been emphatic.
The Seahawks didn’t just return to the postseason in 2025; they stormed back as the NFC’s most dominant team. Seattle clinched its first NFC West title in five years and capped the regular season with a statement win, dismantling the San Francisco 49ers 13–3 to lock up the No. 1 seed in the conference.
The victory secured Seattle home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, a first-round bye, and the knowledge that the road to the Super Bowl will now run through Lumen Field. For Macdonald, the moment carried extra weight.
In 2024, his first season as an NFL head coach, Seattle improved in meaningful ways but was ultimately undone by circumstances beyond its control. With one game left to play, the Seahawks’ playoff hopes were killed when the Los Angeles Rams clinched the NFC West on a strength-of-victory tiebreaker. Seattle’s only path back then was winning the division outright, and that path required help from other teams that never arrived.
Arizona failed to upset the Rams. The Jets were blown out by Buffalo. Green Bay’s late comeback fell short against Minnesota. Atlanta squandered a halftime lead and lost in overtime to Washington. And, when rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels hit Zach Ertz for a game-winning touchdown, it sealed Seattle’s fate. The Lions–49ers result no longer mattered. The Seahawks were done.
That elimination stung because the 2024 team had taken steps forward. The defense showed real improvement, Jaxon Smith-Njigba emerged as a cornerstone of the offense, and MacDonald looked every bit like a long-term answer at head coach. Seattle even recorded its first 10-win season since 2020.
The 2025 season erased any lingering doubts about the team as well as the pain. Under Macdonald’s direction, the Seahawks transformed from a promising team into a powerhouse. Seattle finished the regular season 14–3, setting a new franchise record for wins in a single season.
The defense, built in Macdonald’s image, became one of the league’s elite units, consistently suffocating opponents with discipline, speed, and physicality. The former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator wasted no time installing a system that travels, holds up against top offenses, and thrives in high-stakes moments.
Saturday’s matchup against San Francisco was billed as a marquee coaching duel between Kyle Shanahan’s offense and Macdonald’s defense. With the win, Macdonald evened his coaching series with Shanahan at 2–2.
However, Macdonald quickly brushed aside the individual narrative after the game, choosing instead to spotlight his players and the process behind the turnaround.
“We’re a young team with an idiot head coach — second year trying to figure it out,” Macdonald said. “We’re just going to keep attacking day-by-day, one thing at a time.”
That mindset has defined Macdonald’s first two years in Seattle. After a 10–7 debut season that fell heartbreakingly short, he followed it with a 14-win campaign, a division title, and the top seed in the NFC. Few coaches have engineered such a sharp rise so quickly, and fewer still have done it while reshaping a team’s identity completely.
Seattle now enters the postseason as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, backed by a dominant defense and an offense capable of capitalizing on it. And while Macdonald’s star continues to rise in Seattle, the story has taken a very different turn for his predecessor.
Pete Carroll, who moved on from the Seahawks to Las Vegas, appears to be nearing the end of his coaching tenure. The Raiders enter Week 18 with a league-worst 2–14 record, a disastrous season that has reignited questions about leadership and direction within the organization.
According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the expectation inside the Raiders’ building is that Carroll will not return as head coach next season. Whether that comes via dismissal or retirement remains unclear, but change is looming.
Las Vegas hoped to recapture past magic by pairing Carroll with Geno Smith, a familiar face from Seattle. Instead, the reunion unraveled quickly.
Smith endured one of the worst seasons of his career, throwing for 3,025 yards with 19 touchdowns and a league-high 17 interceptions across 15 games. Despite a solid completion percentage, turnovers and inconsistency plagued the offense, symbolizing a Raiders team that never found its footing.
If Carroll does exit, the Raiders will once again start over. It would mark their fifth head coaching change since 2021, a staggering level of instability that has defined the franchise since Jon Gruden’s departure. On Sunday, Las Vegas faces the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that carries draft implications more than playoff stakes. A loss would guarantee the Raiders the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The contrast between Seattle and Las Vegas couldn’t be sharper. In Seattle, Mike Macdonald has turned last year’s disappointment into dominance, delivering the best regular season in franchise history and restoring belief that championships are once again within reach. In Las Vegas, Pete Carroll’s final chapter appears to be closing amid losses, uncertainty, and another looming reset.
