The Seattle Seahawks are struggling to defend the run this season. Mike Macdonald’s inconsistent unit will enter Sunday’s Week 9 game versus the Los Angeles Rams allowing a 29th-ranked 148.4 rushing yards per contest. The challenge against Rams running back Kyren Williams will be sizable.
Seattle is allowing the fifth-highest yards per carry average (4.9) in the league. Veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams met with the media following Thursday’s practice and faced questions about the run defense. Williams offered an incredibly detailed answer.
“When you’re trying to correct something [run defense] for a few weeks, there’s a lot of competitors on this team,” Williams began. There are guys who want to put it all [the blame] on their shoulders, which is respectable. Everyone is competitive, they want to be the one to make the play. In times like that, we end up [trying to] do other people’s jobs and that affects the rest of the defense. It goes back to consistency, just consistently do your job and we’ll eventually all come together as 11. It’s about us getting back to basics and trusting that your teammate is going to do his job,” Williams concluded.
The Seahawks are allowing the fifth-highest YPC average (4.9) and the fourth-most rushing yards/game (148.4).⁰
Leonard Williams thinks their issues vs. the run aren’t a matter of talent but of discipline — i.e., players not trusting each other and sticking to their assignment. pic.twitter.com/kr8IWYYfDt— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) October 31, 2024
The Rams are averaging a seventh-worst 101.3 rushing yards per contest. Their 3.9 yards per carry average ranks 30th in the league. That’s despite superstar running back Kyren Williams scoring a touchdown in every game this season. Seattle’s defense will attempt to remain disciplined against LA’s struggling ground attack on Sunday.
