Film Breakdown: A Deep Dive Into Seahawks’ 268-Yard Rushing Onslaught vs. Chiefs
Breaking into the win column, albeit unofficially in an exhibition setting, for the first time in 2025, the Seattle Seahawks steamrolled the Kansas City Chiefs 33-16 on Friday night for a satisfying home victory at Lumen Field.
While there was plenty to be encouraged by on the field, the Seahawks threw haymakers early running the ball behind an offensive line that has looked much improved so far this preseason, rushing for nearly 200 yards in the first half alone. By the time the final horn sounded, they had racked up 268 rushing yards as a team with four different backs producing at least one run of 15-plus yards and quarterback Drew Lock adding a 30-yard scramble.
“I think just right now our offensive operation I'm very pleased with,” coach Mike Macdonald told reporters after the game. “How we take the ball, the decisiveness in how we move and shift. Felt like we called our targets right. Just felt like we were going to the right guys for the most part really until about the fourth quarter. Backs ran really hard. Every back today I thought ran the ball hard and going forward how we finish plays, can't wait to watch it.”
Grounding and pounding Kansas City to a tune of nearly 270 rushing yards, how did the Seahawks find such success in their second preseason dress rehearsal? Breaking down the All-22 film, here are 10 plays that showcased offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s system and how personnel in the trenches and backfield seems to be meshing well with his staple concepts so far:
Play 1: Zach Charbonnet 13-Yard Run (1st and 10, 14:52 1st Quarter)
Wasting little time getting their downhill run game going, the Seahawks dialed up an inside zone out of an I-formation with fullback Robbie Ouzts lead blocking through the weak-side A-gap in front of Zach Charbonnet. While zone blocking principles remain the same up front for the offensive linemen, including center Jalen Sundell going straight to the second level without a defender either head up on him or in the run-side A-gap, but the presence of a fullback makes this play have more of the feel of a gap concept for the running back. In addition, Kubiak had Jaxon Smith-Njigba running back towards the quarterback from the slot on an orbit motion tag that serves as more eye candy for the linebackers and safeties to account for.
With Ouzts serving as the eyes for Charbonnet leading him through the hole, the play looks like a lead dive more than a zone. However, the back still has a sense for potential cutbacks with the line zone blocking left in front of him and he astutely cuts back to his right to find a big crease created by tackle Abraham Lucas and guard Anthony Bradford washing their defenders down the line of scrimmage with down blocks. Sundell does a fantastic job of taking a great angle to the linebacker and steering him downfield, allowing Charbonnet to race behind him and pick up nearly 15 yards on the first play from scrimmage.
Play 2: Zach Charbonnet 4-Yard Run (1st and 10, 14:17 1st Quarter)
Technically, the Seahawks kept two-back personnel in the game after Charbonnet’s big run to open the first series with Ouzts still in the huddle. But one of the reasons why Kubiak loved him coming out of Alabama was his ability to line up at multiple spots in the formation, and given his previous tight end background, shifting him to an H-back role flanking a tackle should be second nature to him. This creates the flexibility for Seattle to run singleback sets with Ouzts still on the field alongside either Barner or Arroyo to deploy a 12 personnel grouping instead without making a single substitution.
Sure enough, Kubiak shifted Ouzts to the right side as an H-back stacked next to Lucas and sent him on a pulling assignment along with Bradford to turn upfield as lead blockers on a counter for Charbonnet. This run wasn’t blocked near as well across the board as the previous one with plenty of leakage towards the counter side, as the Chiefs did a good job of diagnosing the concept and letting the pullers take them to the football. Still, Bradford and Ouzts both made strong blocks at the point of attack after turning upfield, which helped Charbonnet still pick up four yards for a positive play.
Play 3: Zach Charbonnet 7-Yard Run (1st and 10, 12:32 1st Quarter)
Working towards midfield after a completion by Sam Darnold and a two-yard “tush push” run by Jalen Milroe to move the chains, Kubiak subbed veteran tight end Eric Saubert in for Ouzts and stayed in a singleback set, shifting Saubert across the formation from left to right to set up a tight trips look next to receivers Jake Bobo and Dareke Young. Aiming to get the athletic Lucas as well as Saubert out to the perimeter, the Seahawks called a toss sweep to the right with both Bobo and Young “crack” blocking down on defenders.
Each receiver executed their job, including Bobo making a stellar crack block on a defensive end off the snap. Meanwhile, Lucas showed no ill-effects from the knee issues that plagued him the past two years, running fluidly out towards the sideline to kick out a cornerback and create a running lane for Charbonnet. Bradford also had a dominant block reaching the 3-tech defensive tackle shaded to his right and generated some downfield drive once he got his hands on the defender, helping Seattle pick up seven yards on a highly successful first down carry.
Play 4: Zach Charbonnet 6-Yard Run (1st and 10, 11:21 1st Quarter)
As a staple of the Shanahan-style West coast offense, the Seahawks won’t be spending near as much time in shotgun as they have in previous years with Ryan Grubb and Shane Waldron as the offensive coordinators. But there will still be plenty of snaps out of gun and the run game will remain a centerpiece from those sets, including mixing in outside zone runs with wider targeting points for the running back such as this first down call.
Staying in 11 personnel with AJ Barner as a nub tight end next to Lucas, Charbonnet sprinted out of his stance and took the handoff from Darnold completely parallel to the line of scrimmage, looking to get outside as quickly as possible before turning up with the aiming point at the inside shoulder of the right tackle. This run wound up going for six yards because of an excellent drive block from Bradford on the linebacker as well as textbook technique and quickness from Sundell to reach the 2i-tech nose tackle before sealing him back inside away from the ball carrier. The seam produced from those two blocks allowed Charbonnet to stick his cleat in the turf, get downhill, and power his way past the 40-yard line.
Play 5: Zach Charbonnet 15-Yard TD Run (2nd and 1, 9:35 1st Quarter)
Two completions from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Elijah Arroyo off play action fakes advanced the Seahawks into the red zone and Kubiak went back to his bread and butter with the zone run game. Reaching into his bag of tricks subbing in three tight ends - Barner, Saubert, and Arroyo - for a heavy singleback package out of 13 personnel, he called a split zone concept, which has a tag for a fullback out of the backfield or a tight end to wham block away from the play side as a kick out blocker on the unblocked edge defender.
In this case, without a fullback, Saubert drew the responsibility and aced the job. Coinciding with excellent blocks from Grey Zabel and Josh Jones on the left side blocking to their right, the tight end lowered his shoulder with a booming hit on the outside linebacker before finishing him all the way to the ground, opening up a highway lane that a semi could have drove through as Charbonnet exploded past the line of scrimmage untouched for an easy 15-yard score. This concept couldn’t have been executed much more perfectly across the line, which should have left Kubiak and offensive line coach John Benton all smiles on the sideline.
Play 6: George Holani 30-Yard Run (1st and 10, 4:00 1st Quarter)
Leaning on one of the staples learned from his time with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Kubiak opened the second series with an outside zone run off of a toss. The blocking remains the same as a traditional outside zone with a handoff, but the toss to the running back allows the ball to get into Holani’s hands a bit quicker as he initially sprints out wide before looking for potential cuts off of his aiming point.
In another zone run that can be used as textbook teaching tape, the Seahawks once again win big off the snap, with Zabel and Jones creating impressive horizontal displacement tag-teaming on the 5-tech while inadvertently gobbling up a linebacker in pursuit. But what really sprung this run was the outstanding work done from the pivot position by Sundell, who showcased his elite quickness reach blocking the nose tackle and managing to shield him away from the run, providing a jetway-wide pathway for Holani to accelerate through for an explosive 30-yard gain.
Play 7: George Holani 6-Yard Run (2nd and 4, 2:41 1st Quarter)
Shifting back to 21 personnel with Brady Russell lining up in the backfield in front of Holani, the Seahawks stuck with wide zone on the ensuing first down snap while adding the lead blocking element. After Saubert motioned to the play side pre-snap, he and the entire offensive line fired off the ball horizontally to the right with Russell sprinting outside before taking his blocking track through the widened B-gap with Holani barreling behind him.
Though Holani doesn’t have near as much space to operate with this time around, Bradford sets the tone with a punishing block that ends with his defender eating the turf and Lucas successfully washes the edge defender close to the numbers. Meanwhile, with a direct route to the linebacker presented to him, Russell aggressively puts a hat on a hat to win on his lead block, creating enough push for Holani to pick up more than half the yards needed for a new set of downs on a punishing wide zone run.
Play 8: Damien Martinez 19-Yard Run (1st and 10, 0:28 1st Quarter)
Only a few plays later, Kubiak went back to the same outside zone concept with a lead blocker, only choosing to do so without a tight end anchored to either side of the offensive line in a 20 personnel grouping. From the outset, Sundell beats the 1-tech nose tackle to his spot again, reaching and sealing him inside, while Bradford sends the linebacker bumbling towards the numbers with a well-executed second level block.
Creating the cutback opportunity for Martinez, another excellent lead block from Russell out of the backfield paired with Bradford and Sundell’s efforts parted the seas for the rookie running back to accelerate with tons of green in front of him. A stellar second level backside block from Zabel opened up even more room for Martinez, who wound up rumbling to a 19-yard gain that advanced the football into the red zone for the Seahawks. A couple plays later, Drew Lock hit Jake Bobo on a screen for a 12-yard touchdown on the only pass play for the entire drive, showing just how dominant the rushing attack was for the home squad.
Play 9: Damien Martinez 7-Yard Run (1st and 10, 9:14 2nd Quarter)
Moments after the Chiefs cut the Seahawks lead to 14-7, Kubiak went right back to work with the staples of his rushing palette. After catching a first down pass on the first play of the series, Martinez received his first in-game crack at running outside zone on a toss, benefiting from quality blocking not only from the offensive line, but as well as Saubert and Elijah Arroyo paired up on the right side of the singleback formation.
Unlike the earlier outside zone toss play where Holani maintained his aiming point and cut back to the B-gap, Martinez correctly kept stretching his run outside after right tackle Amari Kight and right guard Christian Haynes won their blocks quickly sealing defenders back inside. Saubert and Arroyo basically served the role of president’s caravan on this one, with the former bodying up a linebacker in pursuit and the latter kicking out the outside linebacker so that the back could run right off of his backside, finishing off a quality seven-yard run to put the Seahawks well ahead of the sticks.
Play 10: Jacardia Wright 19-Yard Run (2nd and 6, 9:00 3rd Quarter)
Up to this point, Seattle’s offensive line deserved all of the credit for manufacturing run lanes that trains could fit through, making life much easier for Charbonnet, Holani, and Martinez. But in terms of impressive individual efforts by a running back to produce his own yardage, Wright takes the cake from Friday’s victory with a run that would have made two-time 1,000-yard rusher Chris Carson proud.
On the opening series of the second half, with Lock still in under center, Wright received a pitch to his left from the quarterback with Kight and tight end Marshall Lang swinging their hips open to pull out wide as lead blockers on a toss sweep. Both Kight and Lang did an outstanding job of getting their hands on defenders for key blocks on the perimeter, including Kight pancaking a safety, but the running back looked to be going down with a minimal gain after a linebacker hunted him down in backside pursuit. However, Wright managed to roll over the tackler and his knee never touched the ground, allowing him to maintain his feet and turn a couple yards into a 19-yard explosive that generated roars of delight from the crowd at Lumen.
