Seahawks schedule now works in their favor

A 2-3 start to the season is never ideal, especially for a presumed Super Bowl contender, but the Seattle Seahawks may finally be getting a break with their upcoming schedule.

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Whether they can take advantage of this stretch of games may very well determine the outcome of their 2015 season.

To this point, the NFL’s scheduling system hasn’t done the Hawks any favors. Not only were three of their first five games on the road, but in places that are particularly hard to win (St. Louis, Green Bay, Cincinnati). As we know they had chances in all three, but lost them all.

Let’s break down what lies ahead:

SUNDAY OCTOBER 18 – Carolina in Seattle

The phrase “must win” get’s overused, but in this case it may apply. Dropping to 2-4 with a home loss could be devastating. But this is a team the Seahawks match up well with, and they caused a lot of problems for Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in their playoff matchup here last year. Coming off the disappointment of the loss in Cincinnati last week it’s reasonable to expect a motivated Seattle team. Assuming they take care of business in this game is the basis for how well the schedule sets up over the next 6 weeks.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22nd – Seattle at San Francisco

Facing the 49ers in San Francisco, especially on a short week, isn’t the daunting task it was even a year ago. This will be a 49er team that’s motivated, but still not very good. It’s hard to envision San Fran beating the Seahawks in either of their matchups this year.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1st – Seattle at Dallas

Dez Bryant will still be out, as will Tony Romo. Facing Matt Cassell (or Brandon Weeden) with 10 days to prepare sounds like a win for the Seahawks. They catch a break here.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8th – BYE

A much more well-timed bye week than last year when they drew week #4. There’s a good chance they head into the bye on a nice roll, coming off three straight wins to sit at 5-3. And they get to rest and heal up (and maybe even get WR Paul Richardson back from the PUP list) before their most pivotal matchup of the first half……

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15th – Arizona in Seattle

It’s an NBC Sunday Night Football contest, under the lights in prime time, against the newest threat to their NFC West throne. The Cardinals could come into this game at 7-1, with a two game lead on Seattle. Sweeping the series is the Hawks best chance to still take home the division title. Their second meeting is the finale, week #17 in Glendale, AZ. This is the one they really need to get. The bye isn’t as much of an advantage for the Seahawks as you might hope…… Arizona also is off the week before. Should be an epic battle.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22nd – San Francisco in Seattle

CenturyLink Field has been a house or horrors for the 49ers recently. This shouldn’t be any different. In fact, San Fran may be a complete mess by the time this game comes around.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29th – Pittsburgh in Seattle

The third straight home game for the Seahawks, and the first time they’ll get to face the Steelers at home since the 2005 Super Bowl loss. Ben Roethlisberger will likely be back under center, so that Steeler offense could be at full strength. Still, you have to like getting this one on the home turf.

SUMMARY:

So that’s how the next 6 games stack up. Four out of the six at home, with the two road games against struggling teams. Assuming Seattle continues to improve on the offensive line, Lynch stays healthy, and the defense figures out how to hold a two-score fourth quarter lead (all safe bets) then taking care of business over this stretch of games could not only solidify a playoff spot for this team, but put them back in position to win the division.

There are things to like about how the last five games line up as well, but it would be foolish to look that far ahead at this point. We’ll do that once we get deeper into November, when we’ll know much more about who this Seahawk team really is, and how their upcoming opponents are looking at that point as well.

Next: The impact of Derrick Coleman's suspension

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