The Seahawks wrapped up preseason play with victory that, as head coach Mike Macdonald put it, "wasn't the prettiest of wins of all time," beating the Cleveland Browns 37-33 for their second win in three preseason contests.

And now, with the preseason behind them, the Seahawks focus on a regular season that will be their first under Macdonald and his coaching staff. Through three preseason games, the Seahawks have shown plenty of positive things, as well as plenty of things that still need to get sorted out over the course of the next two weeks before the Broncos come to town for their season opener.

In other words, the Seahawks aren't completely ready to take the field for that opener at Lumen Field, but Macdonald also feels like "we've got a heck of a group" that he fully expects to be ready come September 8.

"I think we're right where we should be," Macdonald said. "We're not the team that we need to be yet, but it's still early, and the important part is to keep taking the steps that we need to take. So that's going to be our focus here as the team starts to declare itself this week, then we'll get a couple of days break, and then come back with a full week getting ready for Denver. Then whatever happens in the Denver game, it's going to be the same mentality all the way through game 17 and into the playoffs."

One big step this week for the Seahawks, and every other team, is trimming the roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, then establishing a practice squad the following day. Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider and Macdonald will establish that roster this week, a process that's always tough on everyone involved, first and foremost the players who will be released in the coming days.

"These are hard decisions," Macdonald said. "You just kind of let what's best for the team be the guiding light. John (Schneider) and I, we've been hand-in-hand through this whole thing. I'm looking forward to kind of the next stage. This is a tough time. This is probably the toughest part of the job. I think if you look at it optimistically, you're saying, this is a long-term investment. There's opportunities for guys to be on squads, other people that have earned an opportunity somewhere else.

"Hopefully the guys feel like we're invested in their growth, as well. Bittersweet for sure. It's going to be some tough decisions."

As for what the Seahawks showed in their three preseason games, there was plenty to like, from standout individual performances to the way the team's depth showed up in two victories, to the way the starters took care of business in their limited playing time—the No. 1 offense scored a quick touchdown on its only drive of the preseason, while the starting defense forced three punts and allowed only one first down, via a third-down penalty, while it was on the field. Again, there's work to be done this week and next, but the Seahawks' first preseason under Macdonald has the team feeling like it's heading in the right direction.

"We're excited for that in a couple weeks," Macdonald said. "We're on to the next part of the process here. Got a couple big days ahead of us. Just proud of the effort of the guys, really throughout the offseason, training camp. Think we got a heck of a group. Excited for the next phase here."