INGLEWOOD—It's a point Mike Macdonald has been making since taking over as the head coach of the Seahawks, and he said it again after Saturday evening's win over the Chargers.

When it comes to the team's identity, Macdonald wants the Seahawks to play, "a style that's really tough to play."

And the Seahawks were most definitely tough on the Chargers Saturday at SoFi Stadium in both team's preseason debut, rolling to a 16-3 win thanks to a dominant defensive performance.

"Great first start," Macdonald said. "I'm just proud of the mentality, the focus that we had, the intent, it felt like the guys played really hard, felt like they were focused. It's a first game, so the first time doing all the operation stuff for real, and I thought our operation was clean for the most part. I've got a bunch of notes written down as the game unfolded there, things we're going to want to chase and debrief on, but overall, I'd say it's a foundational first game. This is something we want to build on. There will be plenty of details on tape we're going to dive into, and I can't wait to watch the tape and see how the guys did."

While the Seahawks rested most of their offensive starters, their No. 1 defense was on the field for the first two Chargers possessions, forcing a pair of three-and-outs. And yes, the Chargers were playing without starting quarterback Justin Herbert, but the Seahawks continued to dominate even after subbing out their starters, holding the Chargers without a first down until late in the first half, and limiting them to a single field goal the entire game, and a 58-yarder at that.

"We played the majority of our starters on defense, so we definitely wanted to start fast," Macdonald said. "Just get a feel for getting the call in, the subs, situational ball for real. The guys were locked in, I thought we did a good job of getting the calls in fast, and the guys communicated well on the back end, especially when they started going fast there, I think it was the third drive or so. So it was very important."

The importance in the performance by Seattle's defense has less to do with the end result—it's a preseason game, after all—and more to do with what it can mean to a team and to a defense building something new under Macdonald and his coaching staff.

"I feel like it just boosts (our confidence) even more," said rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, who had a tackle for loss and nearly added a sack. "Coach Macdonald, he's big on defense, he's just been preaching to us since we've been in OTAs, training camp. I feel like a total boost. Now, I feel like we can really see his vision after today. After this game, I feel like it's time to take it up a notch, so that's what we're going to do."

Added safety Coby Bryant, who had an interception that set up Seattle's second touchdown, "It's definitely meaningful. We get tired of scrimmaging each other each and every day. Obviously, we learn each other, but just to go against someone else and execute the way we did, it showed us something."

Plenty of numbers paint a picture of Seattle's defensive dominance: the Chargers managed just 198 yards and nine first downs, went 2 for 13 on third down, and averaged only 3.5 yards per play. But just as encouraging as the numbers was the way the players communicated and avoided mistakes in their first game running a defense that relies a lot on said communication. That was particularly evident on Bryant's interception, with Macdonald noting that the defense had a communicate a check, get players in the spot to make the play, then have K'Von Wallace and Bryant both be in position to make a play, with Wallace laying a huge hit on tight end Hayden Hurst, and Bryant being right there for the interception.

"Team football, man," Macdonald said. "Good pocket, guys communicated, made the right checks in the back end, we were in our spots on play action, attacked the football, then when it comes to us, let's make the play and try to go score."

And even as the Seahawks got deeper on the depth chart in the second half, the defense kept it up until the end, getting two fourth-down stops late in the fourth quarter to close out a game in which the Chargers punted eight times and had five three-and-outs.

"We showed grit," said defensive end Mike Morris. "From the beginning to the end of the game, we went out there—they tried to run power, they tried to run some gap scheme—and we just knocked it out of the park. They didn't get over 100 yards rushing; I don't think they got over 100 yards passing either, so I feel like collectively, as a unit, we played very, very well."

Saturday's win was just one step in the process of getting ready for the regular season, but a very important one at that. And if this game was any indication of what's the come, the Seahawks are indeed going to be very tough to play against this season.

"All the edges that we're chasing, our mentality, we want to be rock solid," Macdonald said. "We say 12 as one, we want to be together, connected, all those things. Everybody pushing in the same direction. We're not there yet, but that's the vision, the guys know it. We're on our way, and the faster we can push tighter, the further we'll go. Step one."