A month later, after losing five of six games to 4-5, the Mike Macdonald-led Seattle Seahawks are playing meaningful football in December. Since that relegation, Seattle has rattled off four straight wins to climb to the top of the NFC West while winning three key division games.

In Week 11, the Seahawks headed into a crucial matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, needing a win to maintain their slim playoff chances. They picked up that win and followed it up with three more to overtake the Arizona Cardinals and clinch the top spot in the NFC West. One of the reasons for the recent turnaround was the acceptance of the culture Coach Macdonald is trying to build.

“We talked about it this morning, it’s the next game, but it’s about who we want to become as a team and where we want to go, and it’s the next step,” Macdonald said (via Seahawks.com). “It’s a big stage, obviously, but that’s why you do all the things you do all your life and this whole year as a team and all the steps we’ve taken to earn this opportunity, this stage with us to achieve this amount.” Deployment. You have to love it.”

Every young, developing team inevitably has its ups and downs, and the Seahawks are no different. One of Macdonald’s methods of establishing his own hard-working culture with Seattle is a mural in the VMAC that reads, “A style no one wants to play.” This was a phrase Macdonald used upon his arrival in the offseason and the he still uses today.

“It’s on the mural over there,” Macdonald said, pointing to the mural. “I’m not just trying to represent a few words on the wall, but who we are. The things we talk about, 12 as One, this visual, these images, this vision of what we want to be. We’re getting there but we know we still have a month of football ahead of us. Some pretty big games start with this one.”

The Seahawks’ next game against the Green Bay Packers (9-4) is sure to be a big game as both teams compete for a spot in the postseason. A win would allow Seattle to stay ahead of the surging Los Angeles Rams (8-6), who have won seven of their last nine games, including theirs Football on Thursday evenings Competition against the 49ers.

The Seahawks have reached this point in the season thanks in part to their good leadership. When the going gets tough, it can be difficult to stay the course and keep moving toward the goal. However, despite some rough waters a month ago, Seattle has continued to find ways to win.

“Our leaders deserve a lot of credit,” Macdonald said. “Man, we love our guys, and I think they’ve done a great job staying consistent with what we’re trying to do. I think you just have to be consistent. We didn’t get the results we wanted, but I felt like the guys believed in the things we wanted to achieve and it felt like progress was being made. So things like that that held everyone together. But our players deserve a lot of credit for keeping the faith, keeping the poise and sticking together and that’s why we love them.”

The Seahawks host Green Bay at Lumen Field Football on Sunday evenings on NBC at 5:20 p.m. PT.