Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald looks on in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium
Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
The Seattle Seahawks improved to 3-1 with a 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but head coach Mike Macdonald was far from satisfied with how they got there.
Seattle committed a franchise-record 14 penalties for 150 yards, including seven personal fouls. The Seahawks repeatedly extended Chargers drives with costly mistakes, allowing Los Angeles to stay in a game it had trailed by as many as 21 points.
“We definitely have a lot of room for improvement with our operation. How we take care of the football,” Macdonald said post-game. “Obviously, penalties are something we need to address; the spectrum being around here on how we describe penalties once cost doing business.
Much of Mike Macdonald’s opening remarks focused on penalties. The Seahawks committed 14 (for 150 yards). Per ESPN Research, that’s their most in a game since 2018. pic.twitter.com/LxsTNyJIpF
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) October 5, 2026
“Sometimes we make mistakes, and now the other side of the spectrum is what we call selfish penalties. This is going to be in the through, not around, type of next 24-48 hours on how we address the penalty,” he added.
Seattle controlled most of the game and led 27-6 early in the third quarter. But three straight scoring drives by Justin Herbert brought the Chargers within seven before the Seahawks finally closed out the win.
Uchenna Nwosu’s strip sack of Herbert with less than a minute remaining ended Los Angeles’ comeback attempt. Derick Hall recovered the fumble to secure the victory.
The penalties remained the biggest concern for Macdonald. Six of Seattle’s flags came on defense, with five resulting in 15-yard penalties. Nick Emmanwori was flagged for unnecessary roughness and a facemask penalty, while DeMarcus Lawrence and Hall were each called for roughing the passer.
The Seahawks will need to clean up those mistakes quickly. The undefeated San Francisco 49ers visit Lumen Field next Sunday in a matchup that will put Seattle’s discipline to another test.