> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Top-Seeded Seahawks’ Ground Attack Coming Alive at Perfect Time - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/top-seeded-seattle-seahawks-ground-attack-coming-alive-perfect-time/ - Published: 2026-01-04T23:08:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:16:31.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Features, Seahawks, Jalen Sundell, Grey Zabel, Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo, Josh Jones, Zach Charbonnet, Ken Walker III, AJ Barner \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3600"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27927078-format-original-1.jpg) Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images \[/caption\] SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Maintaining a 10-point lead with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter at Levis Stadium, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in a perilous situation after linebacker Drake Thomas intercepted a Brock Purdy pass that caromed off of Christian McCaffrey’s hands inside the San Francisco 49ers’ five-yard line. On one hand, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald will obviously always take turnovers, especially when the 49ers had been on the doorstep of scoring a touchdown to cut the deficit to just three points with more than half a quarter left to play. On the other hand, however, per TruMedia, Seattle had a poor track record when starting a drive backed up inside its own eight-yard line in the first 16 games, turning the ball over a league-worst three times in such situations through Week 17. From that perspective, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks weren’t out of the woods yet, as the danger of giving up a safety for two points or something worse happening remained. But with an NFC West title and the top seed hanging in the balance, center Jalen Sundell and the offensive line put on their hard hats taking on the role of closers, spearheading a methodical 16-play, 94-yard drive that ate more than eight minutes and forced the 49ers to burn all three of their timeouts. Starring on the drive as they had all game long en route to 170 combined rushing yards on the night, Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet toted the rock 10 times for 40 yards, picking up three possession-extending first downs along the way. Even with Jason Myers’ 26-yard field goal clanking off the right upright, the damage had been done as the Seahawks left no time for the 49ers to rally and held on for 13-3 road victory to secure the division title and NFC’s lone bye in the playoffs. “That last drive was incredible,” Darnold told reporters after the win. “Our offensive line, the way that we were able to run the ball that last drive was awesome. I'm just proud of the guys in the locker room.” For much of the 2025 campaign, the Seahawks had been unable to find a consistent rhythm running the football under the direction of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Through Week 7, the team sat a dreadful 31st in the NFL averaging just 3.7 yards per rush and 23rd in yards before contact (1.11) per rush, failing to surpass 87 rushing yards in three of the first seven games. But as the second half of the season has progressed, coinciding with Darnold and the passing game cooling off to an extent, Seattle has gradually built a formidable rushing attack over the past couple of months that has matched what Macdonald visioned when he hired Kubiak last February. After posting five straight games with 100 or more rushing yards from Week 10 to Week 14, the duo of Walker and Charbonnet running behind a much-improved offense line has averaged 171 yards per game in the last three contests, including hitting 180 yards against the 49ers on Saturday night. With sights on their first division crown since 2020, the Seahawks got off to a strong start against their bitter rivals, as Walker and Charbonnet combined for 29 rushing yards on six carries on an opening series that unfortunately ended with a Darnold fourth down incompletion to Cooper Kupp. On the following series, Charbonnet quickly amended for that missed opportunity, banging a duo run back to the left behind an excellent block from tight end AJ Barner before slipping through safety Malik Mustapha’s tackle attempt along the sideline for a 27-yard touchdown to kick off the scoring. To open the ensuing drive, Walker entered his name into the fireworks frenzy. Aided by superb second level blocks from Sundell and left tackle Josh Jones, who has shined in a three-game stint in place of injured starter Charles Cross, the elusive back cut back behind left guard Grey Zabel before bolting outside with only a last gasp trip up tackle stopping him from racing for a 70-plus yard touchdown. Charbonnet added an 11-yard run on the drive, positioning Myers for a 47-yard field goal that wound up slicing right to seal another unfortunate empty possession. Albeit with only 10 points to show for it with the botched red zone chance and Myers’ missed field goal, Walker and Charbonnet rushed for 110 yards before halftime as the offensive line consistently generated push up front and the backs did their part creating extra yardage forcing missed tackles in bunches. “I love how we started the game. It felt like we really set the tone,” Macdonald said. “I'd like us to finish. I felt like we kind of started the game the right way, finished the right way to find some more answers. I thought, they did a good job of finding some counters to slow us down a little bit, so be interesting to watch it and come up with some solutions to that.” As Macdonald acknowledged, the 49ers made some quality adjustments coming out of halftime, particularly against Charbonnet, who only had 14 yards on eight carries in the final 30 minutes and regularly was greeted by defenders behind the line of scrimmage. But while Charbonnet wasn’t as effective yards-wise, his punishing style still wore down San Francisco’s front line, and Walker’s explosiveness took over against a tiring defense down the stretch. Along with two 11-yard runs on the aforementioned 16-play drive to all but seal the win, the fourth-year back left 49ers general manager John Lynch in a pretzel in the owner’s box midway through the third quarter when he took a 3rd and 17 pitch from Darnold and followed a caravan of blocks from Zabel, Sundell, and receiver Jake Bobo, frustrating the crowd as he moved the chains on a 19-yard pickup. With Walker’s latest heroics and Charbonnet rumbling for 25 yards in a similar situation against the Panthers one week earlier, the Seahawks have converted on 3rd and 15 or longer with designed runs four times this season. No other team has accomplished the feat even one time, a testament to the complementary talents of Walker and Charbonnet creating with the football in their hands as well as the linemen and receivers opening up running room as blockers for unexpected explosive rushes. “K9 and Charbs have done a great job in those positions of being able to convert,” Kupp remarked. “The way that they run, the way that they accelerate through blocks and through contact, it’s incredible. But even on those plays, I think the last two weeks, you see Bobo coming in, having huge blocks, I mean, just being able to play next level football where you're not just doing what the line on the paper says, but you're playing off of guys and seeing what the intent of the play is and making it come alive. Guys just playing complimentary football off each other and converting those is huge.” A key contributor on several of those unlikely first down runs by flashing his elite athleticism climbing to linebackers and safeties downfield, Sundell indicated that Walker and Charbonnet’s ability to manufacture yardage on their own has been “freeing” for him and the rest of the offensive line, allowing them to play fast without concern about whether or not they perfectly execute their blocks. “When you run the ball on 3rd and 17, you're taking a shot,” Sundell added, calling blocking for dynamic backs in Walker and Charbonnet a blessing. “But when you just trust in your rules and principles and you get a lot of exotic fronts that aren't - you can't exactly scheme up every exotic front for a run - but when you trust the rules and principles, there's a lot of open holes. When you put three D linemen on one side of the ball and the linebackers are so far back, that’s been good to us.” By the time the dust had settled and the victory cigars started to get lit in the locker room, the Seahawks had dominated time of possession, holding the football for more than 37 minutes thanks to their emerging ground and pound arsenal. With winter weather settling in, that development couldn’t possibly have come at a better time for Macdonald’s crew, who will be looking to impose their will on both sides of the ball with home field advantage throughout the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. At the center of that surge, Sundell, Zabel, and others happily credited seasoned offensive line coach John Benton for his efforts coaching the entire offensive line up, including backups such as Jones who have stepped in and allowed the Seahawks to not miss a beat during the playoff push. After years of struggles in the trenches, the ongoing growth of the unit has been crucial in the ascent from potential playoff team to favored contender rolling into the playoffs. And the best part? Given the youth of Seattle’s line with four starters still on rookie contracts, including Cross, who will be set to return for the Divisional Round from a hamstring injury, there’s plenty of room for further development as the group blossoms together. With that in mind, while he loves the progress the offense has made from the start of the season to Saturday’s bully ball exhibit, Macdonald hopes to see his squad up the ante another level in the playoffs with a complete game running the football yet to be achieved. “I felt it was great, honestly. Some of the counters that they had, I think we got to do a better job countering their counters and we will. We've done a great job throughout the season in the second half making adjustments to things, but it was great to start the game that we did with the run game. So now let's shoot for a four quarter run game.”