One more win and the Seahawks will earn the #1 seed in the NFC.
It’s been a long time since we can legitimately talk about that. Now it’s a reality. One more victory, albeit against a very good 49ers team (despite their long list of injuries) and the Seahawks will do something they’ve only done three times in franchise history. On each occasion, they followed it up with a Super Bowl appearance.
There’s still plenty to do to make any of this a reality.
This is far from a flawless team. There were further turnover issues today — a problem that threatens to be an issue down the road, even if so far it hasn’t proven to be too costly.
Sam Darnold is a question mark. There are good and bad moments it seems every game. They have lost an explosive element to their passing game too.
The play-calling was baffling at times here. On a day where running the ball and playing defense felt like the flow of the game early on, the Seahawks refused to accept this.
The slow starts are an increasingly common occurrence.
It was also confusing why it took until a five-run clinching drive from the Panthers’ 25-yard line for Zach Charbonnet to out-carry Ken Walker on a day where he was the hot-hand.
Even so — this is more or less the 2025 Seahawks. They aren’t as complete or rounded as the legendary 2013 group but we’ll likely never see a team who is. The defense can be brilliant. They do have a very talented roster. They find ways to win games in the second half. They also have shown multiple ways to win games.
Football has three aspects — offense, defense and special teams. Seattle’s combination of the three appears to be the best.
They’re the highest scoring team in franchise history (470 points). They’ve won 19 of their last 24 games (#1 in the NFL during that period) and they could’ve easily won all three of their lost games this season.
They haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in a franchise record 25 consecutive games. What a stark contrast to the end of the Carroll era where we bemoaned the embarrassing loss to the Steelers at Lumen Field as they ran down Seattle’s throat in abject humiliation.
This is what many of us wanted. This is why we called for change, despite a lot of pushback (some of it quite nasty) from fans who disagreed.
It speaks to where we are now that in a close, awkward, sloppy game in Carolina — we expect better. And despite the awkwardness and sloppiness, they still won by 17 points in the end.
Whatever happens the rest of the way, this is a team to be celebrated. They’re heading in the right direction and can be even better in the future.
It would be great to finish the regular season job next week, have a week off and look forward to the best opportunity this franchise has had for 11 years.
I so hope that happens.
