The Seattle Seahawks have found one of the NFL’s most dependable formulas under Mike Macdonald.
That’s pack a bag, hit the road and win.
A 15-2 record across Macdonald’s first 17 regular-season road games gave Seattle an .882 winning percentage in that span.
Brian Nemhauser highlighted the mark Tuesday, noting it’s the second-highest road winning percentage by a head coach through his first 17 road games dating to 1922.
That is the second-highest road winning percentage for a coach in their first 17 games, dating back to 1922.
Only former San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert started better, going 16-1 from 1989-91. Macdonald sits ahead of Paul Brown, Allie Sherman and Sean McVay, who each opened 14-3, according to the graphic Nemhauser shared.
Seattle has already added another road win since completing that 17-game sample. The Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-7 in Week 2, pushing Macdonald’s regular-season road record to 16-2 through 18 games.
Seahawks Have Turned Road Success Into a Macdonald Staple
The road results started swiftly.
Seattle finished 7-1 away from Lumen Field in 2024, matching the best road record in franchise history. The only loss came at Detroit, and the Seahawks closed that season by winning six straight road games.
Macdonald credited the organization’s travel operation when asked about the success after that season, pointing to the way Seattle handles everything from logistics to nutrition.
“The way we travel and how it’s set up,” Macdonald said, “it’s really seamless when we travel, guys can really just focus on football.”
Seattle then went 8-1 on the road during its 14-3 Super Bowl season in 2025.
Taken together, those two seasons produced the 15-2 mark that placed Macdonald behind only Seifert through a coach’s first 17 regular-season road games. Seattle’s 2025 standings list the club’s 8-1 road record.
The significance goes past a quirky historical stat.
Seattle’s own team site noted after the 2024 season that the Seahawks regularly rank among the NFL leaders in travel mileage and played three road games with 10 a.m. Pacific kickoffs that year.
Macdonald’s teams have kept winning anyway.
The Seahawks have also transported that profile into 2026 while dealing with unpredictability at quarterback.
Drew Lock led Seattle past Arizona after Sam Darnold missed Week 2 with a glute injury. Lock has thrown for 422 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, while Macdonald has said Darnold will return to the starting job when healthy.
Commanders Trip Hands Seahawks a Chance to Flex Road Identity
Seattle’s next test comes Sunday at Northwest Stadium, where the Washington Commanders will finally play their 2026 home opener.
Washington enters Week 3 at 0-2, while Seattle is 2-0 and coming off its 31-7 victory over Arizona.
The Seahawks’ defense has been especially sharp through two games, ranking second in total defense at 214 yards allowed per game, second in scoring defense at 8.5 points allowed and first against the pass at 124.5 yards per game, per the Commanders’ official Week 3 preview.
The setting should feel good enough to snatch a victory. Seattle won 38-14 in Washington last season, one of eight road victories during its Super Bowl campaign.
Macdonald’s first 17-game road sample is in the books, so Sunday can’t change his place on Nemhauser’s historical list.
It can strengthen the larger point.
Another win would make it 17 victories in 19 tries away from Seattle — a remarkable level of consistency for a franchise that routinely deals with some of the league’s heaviest travel demands.
Seattle Seahawks Almost the Best in 100-Plus Year NFL History With Road Start