Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
One of the toughest environments to play football, Lumen Field, stands to welcome the New Orleans Saints Sunday as they travel to take on the Seattle Seahawks. New Orleans and Seattle have met 18 times in the regular season and playoffs, with the Saints leading the series 10-8.
However, New Orleans has not topped the Seahawks since the 2014 season with four consecutive losses, two at home and two away.
The Saints will look to change that as they enter the weekend 7.5-point road underdogs against a team that has not been as successful at home in recent years.
1. The Seahawks are 3-7 at home under head coach Mike MacDonald
Since taking the mantle as the Seahawks’ head coach in 2024, MacDonald’s club has not maintained the reputation of home success once held true in Seattle. Since 2022, the Seahawks are 13-14 in their home stadium.
The 12th man of Seattle is very impactful and will be a factor on Sunday against a young Saints club, but the previously unstoppable days at Lumen Field are a memory looking to be reclaimed.
2. Saints’ former offensive coordinator now calls plays for Seattle
Former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is now calling the shots for the Seahawks. Some of his game plan will be familiar, such as rushing outside of the tackles 69.8 percent of the time in 2024 with the Saints and doing so 54.5 percent of the time through his first two games as Seattle’s play caller.
While the rushing attack gets most of the attention in his wide zone scheme, expect Kubiak to also look for shots to air the ball out against his former club, with whom he was a one-and-done as an offensive coordinator.
3. Seattle’s interior defensive line will be a big problem
Defensive tackles Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II and Jarran Reed are all dangerously active and impactful players on the defensive interior. So far, per Next Gen Stats, the Seahawks have generated pressure on a league-leading 49.4 percent of pass rushing snaps.
Pro Football Focus credits the Seattle defense with 39 pressures generated. Eighteen of those have been created by Williams, Murphy and Reed. The trio is also responsible for three of the Seahawks’ four sacks.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ interior offensive line is credited as being responsible for just six of the 30 pressures notched against the protection unit. This game could be the quintessential measuring test for the interior offensive line of New Orleans, who may be down not only starting left guard Trevor Penning, but the backup who has filled in to start the season there, Dillon Radunz.
4. The passing game is coming together for quarterback Sam Darnold
Seattle has some talented receiving options that can pick up yards in a hurry. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is No. 2 in the NFL in receiving yards with 227 through two games, including 124 receiving yards in Week 1 and 103 in Week 2. His receiving cohort, Cooper Kupp, added 90 yards receiving, including 38 after the catch in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Seahawks threw for 278 net passing yards while rushing for 117 yards in that game on their way to a 31-point output and win. The run game may get a lot of airtime in Seattle, but the passing game looks to have just as much potential.
5. There are some notable injuries to watch on the Seahawks’ defense
While the Saints continue to manage injuries along the offensive line, the Seahawks are dealing with injuries to several key defensive players, particularly in the secondary.
Updated with Seattle, who had several defensive pieces out Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/57pYJKYIZP
— Ross Jackson (@RossJacksonNOLA) September 17, 2025
With two safeties (Nick Emmanwori and Julian Love), as well as a top cornerback (Devon Witherspoon) all managing ailments, the Seattle secondary will be a fascinating unit to keep up with over the week.
MacDonald shared an optimistic update on Witherspoon and Emmanwori earlier in the week.
“I would say we’re optimistic,” he said of both players. “Anytime you’re talking about possibly going into a game without practicing, that’s a dangerous game to play, not one we want to play consistently. With (Witherspoon), he’s probably a guy that we’d be more inclined to do that with, and probably not so much with (Emmanwori).”
