The Seahawks are off to a 3-0 start under head coach Mike Macdonald after yet another strong showing from their defense, and more than enough offense to get the job done.

There are seven rapid reactions to Sunday's 24-3 win at Lumen Field, which made Macdonald the first coach in franchise history to start his career 3-0:

1. The defense dominated throughout.

Even with backup quarterback Skylar Thompson starting, the Seahawks came into the game feeling like they needed to be sharp on defense, both because of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel's offensive scheme, as well as the explosive playmakers Miami has on offense, led by five-time first-team All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill.

As it turned out, the Seahawks were more than up to the task of keeping the Dolphins offense in check, allowing just a single field goal, a score that was set up by a turnover deep in Seahawks territory. With Miami unable to run the ball effectively and Thompson, and later backup quarterback Tim Boyle who replaced an injured Thompson, did minimal damage against Mike Macdonald's defense, gaining a total of 205 yards and 13 first downs while going 1 for 12 on third down, with their first conversion coming in the fourth quarter.

Leading rusher De'Von Achane managed just 30 yards on 11 carries, Hill was held to 40 yards on three catches, and Seattle's pass rush, even missing some key players—Uchenna Nwosu remains out while Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II both exited in the first half with injuries—was a handful all game long, recording six sacks and 12 quarterback hits.

3. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall continue their upward trajectory.

Boye Mafe, a second-round pick in 2022, had a breakout second season last year, recording 9.0 sacks to lead the team, and he has been even better this year, making plays in the running game while also registering a sack in each of Seattle's first three game, including a third-down sack on Sunday.

A year after drafting Mafe, the Seahawks used another second-round pick they received from Denver in the Russell Wilson trade on outside linebacker Derick Hall, and he has backed up a strong training camp with a great start to his second NFL season. And on Sunday, Hall had two of Seattle's six sacks, a forced fumble, five tackles and four quarterback hits.

The emergence of Hall and continued growth of Mafe bode very well for Seattle's pass rush, particularly with Nwosu expected back soon.

4. The offense started fast, stalled out, then closed things out in style.

Things looked good for Seattle's offense early on, with an efficient five-play drive resulting in a first-quarter touchdown, followed by a one-play scoring drive, a 71-yard DK Metcalf touchdown

But while it looked like the Seahawks might roll to a huge lead, the offense went into a bit of a funk following those two scores, failing to score points in the second or third quarter and well into the fourth quarter. A big problem for Seattle's offense was a 3-for-11 conversion rate on third down, a number that was a reflection of what was happening on first and second down as much as it was a sign of how the Seahawks were executing on third down. Of the eight third downs the Seahawks didn't covert, seven of them were third-and-15 or longer, the result of penalties, sacks and other negative plays putting the offense in nearly impossible positions.

The offense, was, however, able to get things together late in the game to put the game out of reach, driving 98 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown, a drive that followed a fourth-and-goal stop by the defense.

And on a day when the defense was so dominant, a hot-and-cold day for the offense was more than enough to get the job done.

5. DK Metcalf just keeps making big plays.

With the offense struggling to sustain drives beyond the first quarter, DK Metcalf didn't have as productive of a day as he did in Week 2 when he caught 10 passes for 129 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown. But what Metcalf was able to do once again was show that, even with limited opportunities, he can make game-changing plays.

Metcalf's biggest play came as time expired in the first-quarter, a 71-yard touchdown that gave the Seahawks the two-score lead they would never relinquish. He also had a 22-yard catch over cornerback Kendall Fuller, who was in great position to make a play, a catch that helped set up an eventual Zach Charbonnet touchdown run.

Those plays helped Metcalf finish with 104 yards on four catches, his second straight 100-yard game.

6. Zach Charbonnet kept grinding and ended up with a big game.

Starting his second straight game for an injured Kenneth Walker III, running back Zach Charbonnet found the end zone early, scoring on a 4-yard run for Seattle's first touchdown of the game, but as was the case in New England last week, rushing yards were tough to come by for Seattle's offense for much of the game.

Charbonnet kept fighting, however, and had some of his best moments late in the game as the Seahawks put together a 98-yard drive to help put the game out of reach. On that 11-play drive that gave the Seahawks a three-score lead, Charbonnet had runs of 13, 11 and 10 yards, the last of which was a touchdown, giving him a team-leading four touchdowns through three games. And by the time the game was over, Charbonnet had a career-high 91 yards on 18 carries.

7. So… many… flags…

When both teams study the film of this game, they'll come away with the same conclusion in one facet of the game: there were way too many penalties.

A flurry of flags late in the second quarter set the tone and the penalties continued to pile up in the second half, with the teams combining for 22 enforced penalties, 11 per team, for a whopping 177 yards.