The Seattle Seahawks revealed their schedule for the 2024 season last night. In a refreshing change from the usual brutal slate of September contenders, the team has fielded a pretty easy start to the year, and we are projecting that they will begin the season with a promising 4-1 start. However, the schedule gets much tougher as the season goes on and in the end we are expecting them to finish pretty close to the same record as they have each of the last two years.
Without any further delay, here are our projections for each game on Seattle’s 2024 schedule.
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For the second time in three years Seattle hosts Denver (No. 30) to open the regular season. These Broncos just went through another big change at quarterback, trading for Zach Wilson and then taking Bo Nix at No. 12 overall in the draft. Either way, it’ll be an unproven starter at quarterback going against the most diabolical defensive playcaller in the entire league in new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. Some bumps and mistakes are to be expected with any new scheme, especially early on. However, we fully expect Seattle’s defense to have the advantage against any rookie quarterback.
Prediction: Seahawks win (1-0)
In Drake Maye the Patriots (ranked No. 31) also have a young and unproven rookie QB, but one with far more potential than Bo Nix – at least as far as we can tell. Either one could become the next Tom Brady, or both could become busts – at this point we just don’t know. That said, one thing we can usually rely on is rookies struggling in their first few games at this level. Peyton Manning threw more interceptions than touchdowns his first year and guys like C.J. Stroud and Cam Newton who excel right out of the gate are exceedingly rare, even for early first-round picks. Expect Macdonald’s defense to flummox Maye if he starts. If not, it’ll be veteran Jacoby Brissett, who gives the Pats a far better chance to win games right now but it’s worth more for them to let Maye develop. Either way, New England just doesn’t have enough talent to win many games this year.
Prediction: Seahawks win (2-0)
This matchup has the potential to be the most fascinating of the year as far as the Xs and Os go. In Mike Macdonald the Seahawks hope they have found a young defensive genius who can keep them competitive even against creative, razor-sharp playcallers Mike McDaniel, who may be the next big thing in producing explosive offenses. Miami (ranked No. 10) led the league in yards and finished a close second in scoring behind Dallas last season. If Macdonald has an answer for Tyreek Hill it will bode very well for the future of this team’s defense, but until we actually see it we have to pick the more-talented Dolphins in a shootout.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (2-1)
These Lions are unquestionably a better team on paper than the Seahawks are this year. We have Detroit ranked No. 4 in the league right now, a close second behind the Niners in the NFC. However, on any given Sunday anything can happen – and Seattle historically just seems to have this team’s number. Going back to 2001 the Seahawks have won nine of their last 10 games against the Lions. That includes two straight thrilling shootouts in Detroit the last two years. We will take Geno Smith’s contract and his ability to perform in the clutch over Jared Goff’s any day.
Prediction: Seahawks win (3-1)
By this point in the season we expect the Giants (ranked No. 29) to have a full-blown quarterback controversy. So, Seattle will either face former backup QB Drew Lock or starter Daniel Jones, who’s 0-2 in his career against the Seahawks with a 70.0 passer rating. We have seen enough from Jones to expect more of the same – the G-Men’s only hope may be unleashing Lock and hoping he will fulfill some of that awesome potential. We do expect that to happen at some point this season, just not against the Seahawks this particular game.
Prediction: Seahawks win (4-1)
The Seahawks wouldn’t have hired Mike Macdonald if they didn’t think he could compete against Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which is currently the greatest obstacle between this team and a serious run in the playoffs. While we are hopeful Macdonald will do much better than Pete Carroll, we also expect it to take some time to shrink the rather large gap between these teams talent-wise. Until the 49ers (ranked No. 3) roster falls off or Seattle’s takes a huge leap forward, there’s not much even the greatest football minds ever could do to win this matchup on the field.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (4-2)
Houston takes the award for most-improved team over the last year by a landslide. However, second-place should go to Atlanta (ranked No. 8), where the Falcons have massively upgraded what was one of the worst quarterback units in the league. With Kirk Cousins they have a reliable veteran who won’t get in the way of an exceedingly-gifted skill group and an offensive line that’s probably the NFL’s best right now. With Michael Penix Jr. they have a supremely high-potential backup at the very least. Defensively they have some issues but also some underrated powerful pieces like Grady Jarrett and Jessie Bates. We expect the Seahawks to keep it close but these Falcons are going to be a tough out, especially at home.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (4-3)
The Bills (ranked No. 12) lost a ton of talent this offseason and it’s possible that their Super Bowl window is closing. Then again, we’re never going to completely write them off as championship contenders long as they have a healthy Josh Allen starting at QB. So far Seattle has only faced Allen once in his career, but he was phenomenal. In the 2020 matchup Allen took seven sacks but he also threw for 415 yards and scored four times, part of a 44-point effort by Buffalo. We expect Seattle’s defense to do far better this time around, but it likely won’t be enough.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (4-4)
Coming into this matchup the Seahawks will be in rough shape, having dropped three straight games against likely playoff teams. Even though these Rams (ranked No. 14) have been getting the best of Seattle for several years now, we are expecting that all-important desperation to set in. Sometimes needing a win more than the other guy is the deciding factor. That’s why we’re taking the Seahawks here.
Prediction: Seahawks win (5-4)
The Seahawks may have a chance at upsetting these Niners at Lumen Field, but on the road that task becomes much more difficult – even coming off their bye week. The last time Seattle visited Santa Clara the oddsmakers had them as 14-point underdogs at one point. The ball bounces in funny ways and anything can happen in any given game, but it’s hard to see this team as presently constructed beating the 49ers on their own field anytime soon.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (5-5)
Arizona (ranked No. 27) got a really nice haul in the 2024 NFL draft, including WR1 Marvin Harrison Jr. and RB2 Trey Benson. It takes time for a strong draft class to really make an impact, though – and these Cardinals are still lacking at too many important positions to compete consistently. Until they build out their rest of their roster and finally give Kyler Murray a solid supporting cast, the Seahawks should keep beating them – even if it will never be pretty.
Prediction: Seahawks win (6-5)
We would love nothing more than to pick an upset for the Seahawks against what we expect to be the most-fun team to root against this coming season. The Jets have a ton of prime-time games this season especially early on, so fans should be plenty familiar and sick of seeing them by this point. However, unless Aaron Rodgers just can’t get back to his former level of play after tearing his Achilles, it’s tough to pick Seattle against them on the road.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (6-6)
As messy as these games in Arizona tend to get, Seattle has already won the last six games against this team and we see no reason that shouldn’t continue in 2024. Looking ahead, with better coaching the Seahawks should be able to avoid many of the self-inflicted mistakes they tend to make against the Cards that make these matchups far more interesting than they should be.
Prediction: Seahawks win (7-6)
Since that incredible double-digit comeback in the NFC Championship game in 2015, this rivalry has been pretty lopsided in Green Bay’s favor. The Packers have won five of the six games they have played since, including an embarrassing 17-0 victory the last time they met in 2021. That trend should continue this year because overall, their roster is significantly better than Seattle’s right now, especially where it matters most. Jordan Love may not be peak Aaron Rodgers, but he’s good enough to place just ahead of Geno Smith in our most-recent quarterback rankings.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (7-7)
As we mentioned early on with the Denver and New England matchups, we don’t expect rookie quarterbacks to fare well against Mike Macdonald’s defense. By this point in the season any early bugs should be ironed out and assuming they haven’t suffered major injuries they should have no problem confusing Vikings (ranked No. 24) rookie QB JJ McCarthy with late-shifting coverages and baiting him into interceptions. Assuming they win the turnover battle, this should be an easy win for Seattle at home.
Prediction: Seahawks win (8-7)
Playing another Thursday night game this late in the season will be pretty brutal for the Seahawks, but the same will apply to the Bears (ranked No. 23). While they made all the right moves in the draft to build around him, coaching is the most important factor in developing young quarterbacks. Based on what happened with Justin Fields, we don’t have much confidence in Matt Eberflus to get the best out of Caleb Williams. In any case, it’s another inexperienced QB going against a modern Macdonald defense, which means he’s probably not going to have a good time.
Prediction: Seahawks win (9-7)
The Seahawks may need to win this last game of the season to secure a wild card spot, but they landed the worst-possible matchup. After upsetting them early in the year, the Rams are eager for revenge and so Sean McVay puts on his best coaching clinic of the year. With a loss to end the season, Seattle splits the series with LA, but makes it clear they have closed the gap and may surpass the Rams as soon as 2025.
Prediction: Seahawks lose (9-8)