NFL Announces Double Punishment for Seahawks Before Mike Macdonald’s Week 5 Game

They went without any fines for the first two weeks. But in the week 3 game, Leonard Williams used his helmet, for which the NFL fined him $23,186. So, the total fine of Mike Macdonald’s team has now reached $46,372. That’s not a high number, and they can breathe easy knowing that they did not commit any penalty on the rivals. Instead, it was just the high adrenaline during the game. However, the locker room would definitely want to lower such financial losses.

In the end, the Hawks walked with their heads high as they won the game. Now, their eyes are set on the week 5 matchup against the Buccaneers. And that’s going to be a tough one.

Mike Macdonald focused on the Week 5 game

The coach knows that the Bucs have earned respect the hard way, by playing with their hearts out. Baker Mayfield had kept his team united and led them with ferociousness. According to ESPN‘s Brady Henderson, “Coach Mike Macdonald said that by the Seahawks’ in-house metrics, Mayfield is probably the best quarterback in the NFL right now in terms of extended-play situations.” With the eighth-fastest average time before throw at 2.68 seconds, Mayfield has troubled his rivals.

However, the more worrying part for the Hawks is the absence of their players. Three defensive players. CB Witherspoon, DT DeMarcus Lawrence, and S Julian Love are out. In the offense, G/T Josh Jones is dealing with an ankle injury that didn’t let him practice on all 3 days, after which the Hawks marked him ‘out’ of the week 5 game.

Witherspoon has helped them win games with 17 tackles (12 solo), 1 defended pass, and 0.5 sacks in just 2 starts. But he is dealing with an injured knee and stayed away from practice the entire week. They will miss him big time.

Lawrence also missed the full week 5 practice because of his quadricep injury. The Seahawks signed the 11-year veteran on a 3-year $42 million contract. And he has supported them well in the 2025 season. In the 4 games (all starters), the 4-time Pro Bowler has recorded 12 tackles (5 solo).

They will also miss Love, who played only 3 games (all starters) but logged 18 tackles (15 solo), 1 sack, and 2 PDs. So, Mike Macdonald knows that they need to be alert at all times as they are playing without 3 defensive starters. But there’s a silver lining too. Mayfield was also dealing with a knee/right biceps injury. However, he practiced for the full session later.

For the fans, it will be a battle between injury-depleted Seahawks and a banged-up Bucs QB.