The Seahawks improved to 3-0 on Sunday with a 24-3 win over the Dolphins, a fast start to the season that has Seattle out in front of the other three NFC West teams who are all 1-2. But while Mike Macdonald's tenure as Seattle's head coach is off to a perfect start in the standings, he and his players also know there are plenty of issues to clean up heading into a Monday night contest with the Detroit Lions.

"We are in a great position where we've done enough to win each game that we've played," Macdonald said. "There's a lot of great stuff on tape, but we're also at the beginning stages of this team and who we are going to become, and the guys know that. It's very clear when you watch the tape where we need to improve, and there's a great opportunity for us to improve. The message is, 'Let's take advantage of this opportunity that we have.' We have the opportunity to learn so much about who we are, how we're going to grow our operation throughout the week, how we prepare, and we can be so much better. It's so early in the season we're in a great position. Obviously, it's way better than the opposite, and so we're excited about that, but there's a sense of urgency, too, on where this football team needs to go."

In addition to some injury updates, here are five takeaways from Macdonald's Monday presser:

1. Geno Smith was better than his critical self-assessment might have indicated.

Following a game in which he threw two interceptions, quarterback Geno Smith said he was "pissed off" with how he played. But neither of those interceptions were all on Smith, with the first coming on a throw under duress in the end zone with Smith trying to avoid a safety, his throw hitting off Zach Charbonnet's hand, and with the second coming after 6-foot-8 defensive end Calais Campbell beat his blocker and got a hand up to bat a pass at the line of scrimmage.

And outside of those two plays, Smith again played very well, completing 26 of his other 32 attempts for 289 yards and a 71-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf. So while Macdonald understands why his quarterback was unhappy with those turnovers, he also saw a lot to like out of Smith's performance.

"He wouldn't be Geno if he didn't feel that way," Macdonald said. "I understand that, but coming out of the film I felt like he had command of the offense. I thought he was making fast decisions. I thought he played very well, good enough to help us win the game. So, I'm pleased with the way he played."

2. Johnathan Hankins 'played a great' game when the Seahawks really needed it.

With Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II both exiting Sunday's game in the first half due to injuries, the rest of the defensive line had to step up and shoulder the load, and one player who quietly played a big role in the win was veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Playing a season-high 33 snaps, Hankins recorded three tackles, but his impact went far beyond what showed up on the stat sheet, as was evident in the fact that Pro Football Focus had him as Seattle's highest graded defensive player in the game.

"Hank played a great game," Macdonald said. "He was active in there and did a great job, especially at the nose spot when we had him in at zero, but that's why we brought him here, to play games like that. So we're going to need another big game out of him this week."

3. Christian Haynes is still pushing for playing time.

Unlike Week 2 when rookie Christian Haynes played a couple of series in place of right guard Anthony Bradford, the Seahawks stuck with Bradford and the rest of the starting offensive line for the entire game on Sunday. But heading into Week 4, Macdonald said things still aren't set at that spot, and noted Haynes deserves an opportunity to compete.

"It's going to be the same answer until we start fortifying that spot; it's a week-to-week thing right now," Macdonald said. "I think Christian deserves an opportunity to go compete a little bit more. How much so we'll kind of let the practices decide at this point."

4. Derick Hall's Year 2 emergence is the result of a lot of work this offseason.

After a relatively quiet rookie season in which he recorded 38 tackles and no sacks, Derick Hall has had a great start to his second season, recording three sacks in the last two games, including two against Miami. Hall's emergence in Year 2 is similar to what Boye Mafe did a year ago on his way to a team-leading 9.0 sacks, and Macdonald isn't surprised to see a player like Hall take a leap in his second season.

"The rookies have a tough ask when you look through their calendar of the rookie season," Macdonald said. "So, having that full offseason to be dedicated to your craft, and put in a full offseason in training is really valuable. So normally, you see a big jump going into the second season, but Derick has been here every day of the offseason putting in the work. Our coaches have done a tremendous job training him with all the fundamentals. I think what happens is you start to bank all these reps at this foundation. I know I keep saying this, but that gives you confidence. If you want confidence, do really hard stuff all the time and start to have success of it, and then you're going to feel good about yourself. He understands what's expected from him on the edge. His fastball is a big athletic physical guy on the edge that can do all the things we're asking him to do. He's got a couple of changeups in his pass rush, and he's utilizing those things. So I'm proud of his start. Again, we're three weeks in, so let's keep rolling. But, so far, he's doing a great job for us."

5. Sunday was a productive day for Seattle's tight ends.

DK Metcalf had the most receiving yards and the biggest highlight of the game, a 71-yard touchdown reception, and through three games, Seattle's trio of Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett has done most of the damage in the pass game. But on Sunday, the tight ends were as involved as they have been so far this year, led by Noah Fant's six catches for 60 yards. Pharaoh Brown, making his Seahawks debut, had one catch that helped set up a field goal, and also played a big role as a blocker in pass protection and the running game, while rookie AJ Barner added three catches for 13 yards.

"I'm proud of Noah," Macdonald said. "He had the drop last week. I know he was not happy with himself and put in a ton of work this past week. You could tell. But catching the ball, getting upfield, those are hidden yardage throughout a game that come back and help you win football games. So, really happy with the way he played. The rest of the tight end position, I thought they did a great job. We had the one holding call. Pharaoh (Brown) made a big catch, 3rd down fringe to get us into a field goal range. So, expectations just keep churning. If you got to defend all those eligibles (pass catchers) out there, it's a tough ask of defenses."