‘Everybody’s Really Improved’: Seahawks Striking Groove Building Formidable Ground Attack
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Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) scores a touchdown past Tennessee Titans linebacker Jihad Ward (53) during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images [/caption]
RENTON, Wash. - Immediately following the hire of Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator, the Seattle Seahawks placed a tremendous emphasis on revitalizing their dormant run game throughout the offseason program and into training camp, seeking an improved complement to their passing arsenal to help take pressure off new starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
But while there certainly were flashes of what coach Mike Macdonald hoped to see from Kubiak’s offense on the ground, consistency and efficiency evaded Seattle in the first couple months of the season with Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba carrying the offense on their shoulders. Through the first nine weeks, even with a talented duo of runners in Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, the team ranked 24th in rushing yards (831), 31st in yards per attempt (3.7), and 26th in Expected Points Added per rush (-0.11), largely failing to live up to the standards set during the spring and into the summer.
Behind those struggles, per TruMedia, no team in the NFL had bigger problems getting stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage from September through the first weekend of November, as the Seahawks led the league with 55 runs netting zero or negative yards. On those plays, Walker and Charbonnet were hit by initial contact 2.11 yards in the backfield on average, the 22nd-worst mark out of 32 teams, making it easy to decipher what was ailing Kubiak’s unit.
However, after preaching patience in the early stages of the season with the belief that the run game would continue to improve by week, the Seahawks have backed up Macdonald’s words as of late, taking another step forward by hitting the 100-yard rushing total for a third straight game for the first time in 2025 in a 30-24 road win over the Titans on Sunday.
“This is something that we've talked about for the length of the season. We felt like the effort was there, but the detail we wanted to chase [wasn’t] and we felt like a lot of these runs were a block away,” Macdonald explained on Monday. “It's either at the second level, the receivers blocking, it's hitting our targets, going to the right people, initial movement, being in and out of the right plays. There's a reasoning on every play, but it also felt like we were doing the right things, and we were on the right track and we’ve just got to keep firing away at it and stay to course and our guys have done that. I felt like everybody's really improved, including the running backs, and you're seeing the results of that process.”
Since racking up a season-best 198 yards on the ground in a 44-22 blowout win over the Cardinals in Week 10, the Seahawks have been one of the best rushing teams by most metrics. Aside from ranking second in rushing yards (447) behind only the Lions in that three-week span, they have improved their yards per carry (4.4) by nearly a full yard compared to the first eight games, produced a league-high 31 first downs via rush, and seen their EPA per rush jump to sixth (0.08).
At the center of Seattle’s resurgence running the football in recent weeks, a healthy Ken Walker III has hit his stride as of late, re-establishing himself as one of the sport’s most dynamic backfield threats. Averaging five yards per carry since Week 10, he ranks in the top 10 in explosive rushes (4) and 20-plus yard rushes (2) during that stretch, benefiting from improved blocking coupled with a better feel for Kubiak’s zone-centric scheme with just four runs that resulted in no gain or negative yardage.
On Sunday, Walker had arguably his best game of the season thus far, rushing for 71 yards on only 11 carries for a 6.5 yards per carry average while adding a 29-yard reception on a screen in the passing game, finishing with over 7.5 yards per touch for the Seahawks.
“I think he was decisive running the football on his tracks and making fast decisions, which was great,” Macdonald said of Walker’s performance. “He got us out of a couple tough situations, and then I felt him in the pass game… We’ve got to keep doing that by finding him in the pass game and keep the running game going.”
While Walker has drawn much of the praise, Charbonnet has turned up his play over the past three games after a sluggish start as well, equaling his backfield mate averaging five yards per carry with a pair of touchdowns for the Seahawks, including a spectacular five-yard score against the Titans where he sped outside, turned upfield on the sideline, and bolted past two oncoming defenders to beat them to the pylon. That latest score increased his season total to seven touchdowns, ranking inside the top 10 with him emerging as one of the more reliable short yardage and goal line backs in the league.
Leaning on his bruising, physical style that contrasts Walker’s sizzle so perfectly, Charbonnet has been picking up big chunks of yardage breaking tackles, ranking fifth among qualified backs averaging 4.19 yards per carry after contact. Even with a still not-so-ideal yards before contact average (0.81), that ability to finish runs with authority and move the pile for extra yardage at the point of contact has helped keep Seattle on schedule while providing a consistent spark at key times as of late, such as a 13-yard run that extended a scoring drive late in the first half on Sunday to send the team into halftime up 13 points on a Jason Myers field goal.
With both backs succeeding far more than they did earlier in the year and enjoying big games in Nashville, Macdonald intends to stick with a similar arrangement where both Walker and Charbonnet continue to receive ample opportunities for the Seahawks moving forward, allowing their stylistic differences to complement one another as a thunder and lightning style package that can wear out defenses while keeping them relatively fresh.
“We’ll stick to a similar plan. I'll tell you what, when went in there, he made some big time runs for us. The two-minute run that got us the first down on second and long which really ensured that we were going to end the half with the ball, which was great. We talk about the red zone all the time. That was a heck of a run that he had that scored a touchdown. He had to make the corner miss, so Zach's playing at really high level now as well. Ken’s also playing at really high level.”
Employing a youthful offensive line with all five current starters at the age of 26 or younger, including standout rookie left guard Grey Zabel and reserve center Olu Oluwatimi stepping in for injured starter Jalen Sundell, Macdonald believes Seattle has a ton of room for growth in the run game heading into the final six games of the regular season as the group continues to mesh in Kubiak’s system. Looking into the numbers, it’s easy to see the most obvious area where that next step could emerge.
As noted with Charbonnet’s aforementioned duress with the ball in his hands behind the line of scrimmage, the Seahawks have still struggled with allowing too much penetration off the snap to opposing defenses, resulting in a 23rd-ranked yards before contact average (1.13) over the previous three games. That isn’t anywhere close to where Macdonald would like that production to be, as Walker and Charbonnet both could truly take off with even slight improvements in initial blocking in front of them in coming weeks.
Still, from the trenches to the backfield to receivers on the outside, there’s no question Seattle has been on a positive, steady trajectory from Week 1 to the present, improving their rushing attack on a weekly basis with better execution and focus on the details from every position group. Trusting Kubiak to continue to build on that progress down the stretch, Macdonald can’t wait to see where things stand as the temperatures continue to cool and inclement weather becomes a bigger factor, as a reliable, dependable ground game will be needed to win games to not only get into the playoffs, but also win into January.
“Our coaches are doing great scheming it and we expect to stay on this track. It’s going to be really important for us to be able to run the ball at the end of November and into December.”
