The Seattle Seahawks first preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys may have been a 17-7 loss, and the scoreline reflects the inconsistencies of a preseason game. As the teams shifted units around, the Cowboys were able to hold the Seahawks from scoring for the final 52:18 of the game after their opening drive touchdown. Part of this was just due to some bad luck, or whatever you attribute Jason Myers missing his lone field goal opportunity to. You can also point to a 4th down inside the 10 where the Seahawks should’ve scored a touchdown, and those two occurrences could’ve gone the other direction to make this a tie game. But apparently, head coach Mike Macdonald felt tonight wasn’t up to their standard:
Mike Macdonald said their operation wasn't good enough tonight in multiple areas and that will be a focus for them moving forward. — Curtis Crabtree (@Curtis_Crabtree) August 16, 2026
Macdonald: "Just all the things. How we get calls in, how we take the line, how we motion, how we shift, how we get lined up on defense, how we communicate. "All those things need to take a very big jump very quickly. But's it's good to know. Now we know it, so let's go get it." https://t.co/kHAD4Ul7Jg — Curtis Crabtree (@Curtis_Crabtree) August 16, 2026 These process-oriented coaching struggles are the reason football is practiced 6 times as much as it’s played, more than any other sport. It takes a preseason to work out the uneven spots. All the way from pee-wee football and high school to college and the pros, shifts and motions take time to operate with chemistry. Regardless of the level you play at, you will have some wake-up call games while holding a standard, and the goal is to have those in the preseason. Daniel Jeremiah mentioned a perspective earlier tonight that’s also valuable right now about how what matters more to personnel decision-makers in preseason is the traits/process:
As an old scout once told me- preseason is a liar. It’s helpful to see how guys move & react but be careful drawing any sweeping conclusions. That being said, much rather see young guys look good than bad. Ha — Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) August 15, 2026
Most personnel guys look at traits/process more than results in these preseason games. I don't think stats really mean much, to be honest. It's such a different game. When I was in BAL, we had a DL get multiple sacks/pressures in final preseason game. We cut him at 7am next day. https://t.co/KwQ1CLaQx8 — Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) August 15, 2026 When you put this lens on the game, you can gleam some parts to look better. The scoreline might not have been the worst problem. It takes some responsibility to communicate this, though, and Mike Macdonald deserves credit for how he treats his fans with a baseline of respect in his press conferences and public communication. There were silver linings. The backup offensive line hasn’t played that hard in any preseason game I can remember. Jalen Milroe was decisive both inside of the pocket and running outside of it. Rashad Rochelle nearly had a punt return touchdown, too. The team has enough athleticism in it’s depth that it’s easy to see them doing well in the regular season. We’ll look deeper into this game all week before the next one the following Sunday, so check out the top takeaways and Studs & Duds (comes out later tonight) if you haven’t done so yet. This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: RECAP: Seahawks lose to Cowboys 17-7 in preseason Week 1