The Seattle Seahawks had one of the softest schedules to start the season, and they (mostly) took advantage. Seattle kicked things off this year with a 3-0 record, but their opponents were Denver, New England and Miami. Hardly teams that will be competing for the playoffs this year. After the soft start, the Seahawks were then torched by Detroit and shockingly humbled by the New York Giants on Sunday.
Aside from general disappointment stemming from an ugly loss at home to the lowly Giants, Sunday’s defeat could have costly implications in the immediate future. As I’ve said before, there are no “freebie” wins in the NFL, but there are games more winnable than others. A depleted New York team struggling on offense should have been one the Seahawks notched into the win column. You need to bank wins when you can in this league, because the next stretch of games is not one you’d want to face already in the middle of a two-game losing streak.
Next up on the docket for Seattle are the San Francisco 49ers, a team they will host on Thursday Night Football for a third-straight year. San Francisco has defeated the Seahawks in their last five meetings, and while they seem to be struggling this year more than last, they are still a formidable opponent who has Seattle’s number as of late.
After the primetime showdown against the 49ers, the Seahawks will then travel to Atlanta to face the shockingly resurgent Falcons (who will be coming off a game against the Carolina Panthers) before coming home to play the Buffalo Bills. Following the Bills, Seattle will host the Los Angeles Rams for their first meeting of the year, who swept the Hawks last year.
All of this before their Week 10 bye. Suddenly, their 3-2 record feels a lot more precarious than originally thought. Now, who’s to say they still wouldn’t struggle against these upcoming opponents even if they had defeated the Giants? They probably would, but having an extra win would have given them a lot more wiggle room than they have right now.
The season is obviously still early. We have not reached the midway point. But as Mariners fans will tell you, no one wants to hear “it’s early” because games at this point in the season matter just as much at the end.
It may be “early” but the Seahawks are dangerously close to losing their margin for error.
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