DETROIT – Dan Campbell has a lot to be proud of, leading the Detroit Lions to success they had not enjoyed for generations.
The Lions won the NFC North last season, their first division title in three decades, and earned two playoff victories in one postseason for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title.
Recommended Videos
Campbell, though, has been humbled by the Seattle Seahawks, losing to them in each of the last three seasons.
“You get tired of that,” he said. “You get tired of that after one loss, much less three.”
The NFC West-leading Seahawks (3-0) have another shot to beat the Campbell-led Lions (2-1) at Ford Field on Monday night.
If Seattle keeps the streak going in the series, Mike Macdonald will join Josh McDaniels as the second NFL coach younger than 40 to start 4-0 since 1933. McDaniels did it in 2009 with the Denver Broncos.
Even though the 37-year-old Macdonald is in his first season with the Seahawks, the Lions are well aware of what he can do after facing him as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator last year when the Ravens routed Detroit 38-6.
“The game kind of got out of hand early,” said Macdonald, who was Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh during the 2021 season.
Spreading the wealth
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, has created a scheme that spreads the ball around to more than one primary receiver.
In the opener, Tyler Lockett had six catches. In Week 2, Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a career-high 12 catches. And last week, tight end Noah Fant led the team with six receptions.
DK Metcalf, meanwhile, used his size, speed and strength to have touchdown receptions of 71 yards and 56 yards the past two weeks.
Grubb was known for using all options during his two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies, and that philosophy has carried over in his role with the Seahawks.
“The great part about my job is that it’s easy because I just have to read the defense and get the ball into the hands of the playmakers,” Seattle quarterback Geno Smith said. “I let the defense dictate what it’s going to be on that day.”
Pivotal passes
A matchup to watch will be Jared Goff going against the NFL’s top-ranked team against the pass.
Detroit’s quarterback has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes through three games, and isn’t stretching the field very often with deep passes.
The Seahawks are the the first team since the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers to win their first three games while holding each opponent to fewer than 150 yards passing.
“What we’ve been able to do over the past three weeks, it shows for itself when you cut the tape on,” Seattle safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. “Everybody’s just flying around, having fun, and making plays.”
While the defense has been impressive, it has not faced formidable signal callers: Denver rookie Bo Nix, New England journeyman Jacoby Brissett and Miami backup Skylar Thompson.
Off the edge
Seattle has been without top edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu for the first three games because of a sprained knee suffered in the preseason. There’s a chance Nwosu returns on Monday night, but there hasn’t been a drop-off with him out.
Second-year outside linebacker Derick Hall had a career-high two sacks last week, giving him three this season. Third-year pro Boye Mafe has one sack in each of the first three games. The Seahawks are among the league leaders in pressure rate and have done so without needing to blitz extensively.
“Macdonald’s as good as it gets at generating that pressure and finding a way to get free rushers,” Goff said.
Pinning punter
If the game is close as expected, the Lions may lean on punter Jack Fox to be one of their key players.
Fox was the NFC special teams player of the week after pinning Arizona inside its 20 on four of his five punts, including a career-high three inside the 10 and one inside the 5.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl