ATLANTA — Mike Macdonald called Rashid Shaheed‘s shot.
Sort of.
Leading up to their game against the Falcons on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks had seen enough on film to believe they could exploit Atlanta’s kickoff unit, especially with Shaheed, a dangerous return man, in the fold.
But as the Seahawks’ coach was wrapping up his halftime remarks in the visitors locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, he didn’t predict that Shaheed would return the opening kickoff of the third quarter for a touchdown so much as he told him to.
“He literally called it out,” Seahawks nickelback Nick Emmanwori said. “He was like, ‘Sheed, go take one back to the house.'”
Shaheed delivered, racing 100 yards to the end zone to break a 6-6 tie and ignite a second-half rally, during which Seattle outscored Atlanta by 28 points, en route to a 37-9 victory. His first touchdown as a Seahawk — and third special teams score of his career — seemed all but certain once he broke through the first wave of defenders at the 35-yard line and had only the kicker to beat at that point.
It was part of a breakout performance for Shaheed, who had four catches for 67 yards, marking his best game since Seattle acquired him a month ago in a trade with the New Orleans Saints.
“Based off the film that we watched, we knew that we were going to have an opportunity to score, and that’s what we did,” Shaheed said. “We had perfect calls, and that’s a testament to our coaches.”
And it’s a testament to Shaheed’s game-breaking speed, a trait that compelled the Seahawks to give up a fourth- and fifth-round pick to acquire him in the last year of his contract. Though their primary motivation was to give their passing game an established deep threat and another complementary option to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Shaheed’s return ability — he was a Pro Bowl selection and a first-team All-Pro returner in 2023 — was a bonus.
So was his relationship with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was New Orleans’ playcaller last season. Shaheed was the Seahawks’ top target among receivers leading up to the Nov. 4 trade deadline. General manager John Schneider was so excited about the possibility of acquiring him that he had to fight the urge to tell Shaheed while standing near the receiver during pregame warmups when the Seahawks hosted the Saints in Week 3.
It wasn’t until the day of the trade deadline that Schneider sealed the deal, and he had to up his offer to do so.
“They did a nice job of keeping him all the way to the deadline,” Schneider said last month on Seattle Sports 710-AM. “But he’s a player we had identified several weeks ago as a guy that could really add to your group with the top-end speed and the return ability and all that, and obviously Klint knows him real well, all the guys that came from New Orleans. The competitive spirit, the personality and most importantly, the person, the character, that you’re putting in the locker room this time of the year is always incredibly important.
“So, we just stuck with it and it got very hairy there on [the day of the trade deadline]. They were like, ‘It’s an AFC team and you guys, and you better step up,’ so we did. So, we were blessed enough to get him.”
The Seahawks then lost rookie Tory Horton — their No. 3 receiver and punt returner — to a shin issue that eventually landed him on injured reserve. But while adding Shaheed proved to be timely in that regard, it hadn’t been that impactful over his first four games, as he had only 73 scrimmage yards on nine touches in that span.
That changed in a big way Sunday.
Two of Shaheed’s four catches against Atlanta converted third downs. One of those went for 33 yards, helping set up Sam Darnold‘s second of three touchdown passes.
“He had a huge kick return, but he makes plays all the time at practice,” Darnold said. “… He’s been executing at a high level throughout these games ever since he’s gotten here, he just hasn’t had necessarily the opportunities that other guys have had. The fact that he finally got his today was special to see.”
Smith-Njigba has and will continue to be the focal point of Seattle’s passing game. After catching 7 passes for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns Sunday, the NFL’s leading receiver has accounted for just under 45% of the Seahawks’ receiving yards this season. According to ESPN Research, that’s on track to be the third-highest percentage by any player in a season since the 1970 merger.
But that production has brought plenty of attention from opposing defenses. Before Shaheed’s arrival, the Seahawks ran the most plays against boxes with at least eight defenders of any team. In the five games since Shaheed’s arrival, they rank 10th in such plays.
“He can run every single route, and his speed is dangerous, so teams have got to respect that, especially if you’ve got eyes on me or whoever,” Smith-Njigba said. “He’s going to spring open, and when hard work meets opportunity, I know he’s going to shine. You saw a little bit of that today, so the future is bright for him in this offense.”
With how well the Seahawks’ defense is playing, Seattle would have beaten Atlanta even without Shaheed’s breakout game. The Seahawks, at full strength on that side of the ball for the first time this season, forced three turnovers and held the Falcons out of the end zone.
But whereas the Seahawks have seen their defense dominate for much of the season, they had been waiting to feel the full effects of the difference Shaheed can make.
Consider that wait over.
“He’s going to be — he is a big key to this offense and we’re going to need him,” Smith-Njigba said. “I think us just playing that game, 2-on-2 out there, I feel like I can spring him open and he can definitely spring me open, so it’s going to be a vital piece of this offense moving forward.”
