The Seahawks schedule has some great contests and some that don’t have the same appeal. Those can turn into traps for a team focused on bigger opponents.
The Seahawks always seem to have an inexplicable loss pop up on their schedule. These are the games where you have to rub your eyes, because it looks like imposters are suited up in the navy, gray and green. A few not-so-fun examples are the Debacle in the Desert against the Cardinals in 2016, or the stumbling loss at the hands of the 49ers last season. I see these as the trap games of 2019.
Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals, week four
Yes, I’m sure you’re shocked I would include the Cardinals as a trap game. In the past nine years, Pete Carrol’s tenure, Seattle is 11-6-1 versus the guys in red. That’s a .639 winning percentage, higher than Carroll’s .622 overall percentage with the Hawks. Sounds good, right? Well, not so much when you dig a little deeper.
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In the past three years the Cardinals have been mediocre at best, and terrible last year. Their overall record is 18-29-1, a winning percentage of .385. Yet the Hawks just went 3-2-1 against them in those three seasons. Only once did Seattle outscore the Cardinals by more than three points. That win was by just four points.
This season, the Cardinals present some interesting questions. Mainly, how good will rookie quarterback Kyler Murray be? Our friends at Raising Zona have plenty of reasons for optimism, but he’s still a rookie. This road game is sandwiched between two very high-profile contests, following the Saints and before the Rams. A 3-13 team from last year with a rookie quarterback between two top teams spells T-R-A- P.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seahawks, week nine
This is the perfect time to mention that these trap games could change into must-wins, depending on how the season plays out. This game starts the second half of the season. Seattle could be in good position for a playoff run or could be fighting for survival. I opt for the former, but we’ll talk about full season predictions another time.
The Bucs are coming off their second straight 5-11 season. Jameis Winston will be back under center for the entire season, so some of the turmoil that marred 2018 for Tampa Bay should be settled. The last time Seattle faced this team was one of the Hawks worst performances in years, a 14-5 drubbing that saw Russell Wilson pass for just 118 yards. But that was in 2016, and three years is a long time to hold on to revenge.
This game is another of those sandwich contests. Not like who can eat a 12-inch pastrami on rye the fastest, sadly. The Seahawks will be coming off a road game in Atlanta, then head back out for a game in San Francisco after this one. Seattle has never done particularly well in games on the East Coast. The Falcons are expected to bounce back from their injury-wracked 2018, and the 49ers should be much improved from last year as well. Bucs equals trap.
Arizona Cardinals at Seahawks, week sixteen
Yes, I have the Cardinals on the list twice. I get it, they’re a division rival. Seattle should be up for this game, considering how much trouble Arizona has given them lately. All of that is true. Yet, the Hawks never do seem to be up to play the Cards, do they? At least not lately.
This is the penultimate game of the year. Seattle will be coming off what will likely be a very physical game against the Panthers in Carolina. They may be looking ahead to the season finale when they host the 49ers. Cardinals rookie QB Kyler Murray should be much better in what will be his 15th game, compared to just his fourth. I expect the Cardinals to be tougher than they should be because they always are.
Seahawks will be gunning for these opponents
I’m sure some of you are wondering why I didn’t include either of the Niners games as traps. I believe the expectations for San Francisco this year are accurate. They brought in a lot of talent in the draft, and they’ll have Jimmy Garoppolo back. Plus Seattle lost to them last season, as I mentioned above. The Hawks will be wide awake for these games.
Similarly, the Cleveland Browns can’t be counted as sleepers now. The team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2007 is no longer the league’s punching bag. They went 5-3 under Gregg Williams last year and made a ton of upgrades in the offseason. Rookie Baker Mayfield played like a five-year veteran and will have even more weapons this year. The Browns are no one’s trap game.
Seattle has a few games on the schedule that will be far tougher than they should be. It seems they always do. Hopefully, this is the year when they play up to the competition in every contest, never down. If that’s the case, these three trap games will turn into big wins.