The Seattle Seahawks now know their schedule for the 2024 season. This means, obviously, 12s do as well. Their personal schedule as well as the team. Now that a Seahawks fan knows the schedule they know which dates to tell their friends they won't be available for parties.
Unless that happens to be a Super Bowl party, of course, and then everybody can join in. Seahawks versus who? Who cares? Just happy to be a part of the big game is the hope, of course. And why should 12s not hope? A new head coach and a new direction were made in hopes of making 2024 better as well as the future.
But what should 12s expect from each game of the 2024 season? Should Seattle make the playoffs in Macdonald's first season? That might be a reach but there is certainly talent on the roster and Macdonald should make the defense better. New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can hopefully do the same with the offense. Here is are some game-by-game predictions for Seattle.
Game-by-game predictions for the Seattle Seahawks 2024 schedule
Denver Broncos - Week 1
Forget Russell Wilson as he is no longer with the Broncos. Wouldn't it be fun to defeat Sean Payton who simply seems really full of himself? Plus, Denver should not have a quarterback good enough to beat Macdonald. Seattle wins 23-10.
At the New England Patriots - Week 2
Who knows what the Patriots are going to be like in 2024? They replaced Bill Belichick this offseason with a coach in the person of Jerod Mayo who had it written into his contract that he would be Belichick's replacement. That doesn't scream confidence. Plus, the Patriots should still be figuring things out on offense and their defense might not be as good.
That is what makes this game scary. Seattle should win as they have more talent. New England also hasn't been very good in a few years. This one just seems closer than it should but Seattle wins 17-16.
Weeks 3 through 6
Miami Dolphins - Week 3
Miami has a terrifically talented offense but in the last couple of years, they have backed down against a team that had a bullish defense. The Dolphins seem all finesse and no real power. Mike Macdonald should know how to prepare his defense, especially if Seattle completely buys into Macdonald's defensive philosophy, against what Miami wants to do and Geno Smith and Seattle's offense should be able to outscore Miami. Seattle wins 31-24.
At the Detroit Lions - Week 4 (Monday Night Football)
This should be an amazing matchup as the game features two coaches that Seattle entertained being replacements for Pete Carroll. Of course, Seattle chose Mike Macdonald as Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson must have been a horrible interview wherever he was, well...interviewed. The Lions are a very good team overall, but Seattle has gotten big wins against them in the last two seasons. It feels like Detroit is due, though. The Lions win 35-21.
New York Giants - Week 5
Could this potentially be a Drew Lock revenge game against the Seahawks? Not that he has a real reason to want to get revenge as he was treated well in Seattle; Geno Smith was just better. Maybe this is a Leonard Williams revenge game? Either way, Seattle should be the more talented team. The Seahawks win 23-16.
San Francisco 49ers - Week 6 (Thursday Night Football)
Seattle won 15 of 17 games against the 49ers between 2014 and 2021, but the 49ers were not overly good for a lot of that time either. Between 2016 and 2018, San Francisco only won 12 games, for instance. After making the Super Bowl for the 2019 season, the 49ers then won only six games in 2020. The point is that the 49ers are now on a different plateau and they have shown that by winning five straight against Seattle and none of those games have been very close.
Is Seattle good enough to beat the 49ers in 2024 simply because they changed coaches? That is debatable. Geno Smith has not been the problem either; remember that Drew Lock started one of the 2023 games against the 49ers while Smith was hurt. San Francisco has just been better on both sides of the ball and will still be this coming season, but maybe not in 2025. San Francisco wins 31-20.
Weeks 7 through 10
At the Atlanta Falcons - Week 7
The Falcons should be a better team in 2024 than they have been over the last several years. In the NFC South, a team does not have to improve too much to get into the playoffs as the NFC South is filled with a bunch of mediocre teams. That said, while the Falcons seemingly had no clue what to do in the 2024 draft, they signed quarterback Kirk Cousins and his experience is going to make the offense much better.
Seattle has had better success playing in Atlanta than playing the Falcons at Lumen Field recently. The Seahawks have won two straight in Atlanta but lost to the Falcons in Seattle the last two times. Good thing this game is being hosted by the Falcons. Seattle wins 38-31.
Buffalo Bills - Week 8
Buffalo still has Josh Allen at quarterback but his best receiver left this offseason. The negative part for Seattle is the Bills have a very good defense and likely a healthier one than they had late in 2023. At least the game is at Lumen Field and Seattle will not be dealing with potential bad weather in Buffalo. Still, Seattle gets a surprise victory 20-17.
Los Angeles Rams - Week 9
Those dreaded Rams! Over the last decade, even when the Rams have not been overly good they still give Seattle fits. Since the beginning of 2015, LA is 13-6 against Seattle and that is true even though the Seahawks were overall the better team at the beginning of that run. Sean McVay just became a horrible matchup for Pete Carroll and the hope is that Mike Macdonald can reverse that trend.
To be fair, he should. Macdonald is young enough to have learned how to coach defenses that were adapting to McVay's kinds of offenses. That was not the case with Carroll. Macdonald was partly hired because he should be the defensive equal to McVay and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan's offense. A win at home against the Rams would be a massive statement win for Macdonald and the Seahawks will get it 21-17.
Week 10 - Bye! Take a deep breath...
Weeks 11 through 14
At the San Francisco 49ers - Week 11
The 49ers are just a bad match-up for the Seahawks currently. Some on social media attribute Seattle's slide against the 49ers, a team they previously dominated, to Geno Smith, but this is ridiculous. The fact is that San Francisco already had a great offensive system intact and then added Christian McCaffrey, a perfect fit in the system, to it. San Francisco has as many weapons as anyone.
The key to either 49ers game isn't going to be how Seattle's offense does but how well Mike Macdonald's defense can do against the 49ers. With the Baltimore Ravens, Macdonald had success against San Francisco. The biggest difference is the overall talent of the 2023 Ravens defense versus the current one for the Seahawks. Seattle is better but not good enough to beat the 49ers yet. San Francisco win 27-17.
Arizona Cardinals - Week 12
The Cardinals are difficult to get a read on, to be fair. They had a new coaching staff in 2023 and while they did not win a ton of games they were a heck of a lot more competitive in more games than most expected. Plus, a lot of those games were without starting quarterback Kyler Murray who missed the first part of the season with an injury.
The Cardinals seem like a team that is beatable but one who is going to fight another team for every inch of grass. This is likely due to the direction of the front office and coaching staff instead of the talent on the field. The reason that is a problem is that on-field talent can be changed but the front office is probably going to stay the same and that consistency could make the Cardinals an issue for many seasons. Seattle likely splits the two meetings with the Cardinals this year but gets this win at Lumen Field 25-20.
At the New York Jets - Week 13
The Jets should be among the most improved teams in the NFL. New York already had an excellent defense, but one that was left on the field far too much in 2023. The Jets' offense should be a lot better in 2024, though, and not just because quarterback Aaron Rodgers returns. New York rebuilt its offensive line and their offensive skill position players should be a year older and wiser. The Jets are going to be a tough out for anybody and they beat Seattle 27-16.
At the Arizona Cardinals - Week 14
In 2023, Seattle was conceivably still playing for a playoff spot while taking on the Cardinals in the final game of the season. Not until halfway through the game did the Seahawks know they were not going to be in the postseason and they were still trailing the Cardinals for part of the game.
One could argue that the Seahawks felt they were ready to end the season, but how would that explain the ending when Seattle scored a late touchdown to win the game even though they knew there was no game the following week?
The fact is that the Cardinals are a feisty team and were clearly taught to keep fighting by their new coaching staff. Now Arizona has more talent. They still should not be as good as Seattle but they might want this game more. Arizona wins 24-23.
Week 15 through 18
Green Bay Packers - Week 15 (Sunday Night Football)
The Packers are going to be trouble. They made a decently deep run in the playoffs and quarterback Jordan Love should be even better in 2024. He waited for his time and did not look good in the starts he got while waiting, but he is clearly one of the better quarterbacks in the NFC. Green Bay also seems to keep one of the better defenses in the NFC every year. The Packers will win 24-17.
Minnesota Vikings - Week 16
The Vikings appear to be a team in transition. Whoever they start at quarterback in 2024 is not going to be scary. This has to be a win for the Seahawks because even if both teams are somewhat moving into the next era, Seattle should have better overall talent. This is also the kind of trap game that might have given Pete Carroll issues recently. Mike Macdonald needs to prove a point by hammering the Vikings. Seattle wins 28-17.
At the Chicago Bears - Week 17 (Thursday Night Football)
This could really be a revenge game but for new Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. He was the Seahawks OC for the last few years, of course, but he got too pass-happy and forgot he had good running backs and he was a big reason that former head coach Pete Carroll got fired. Thanks, Shane (not)! Waldron will probably be even more pass-happy with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. This could be a game with Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe combine for six sacks. Seattle wins 34-23.
At the Los Angeles Rams - Week 18
Los Angeles might have lost Aaron Donald, arguably the greatest interior defensive player in the history of the NFL and a menace to Seattle, but they are still going to have a very good defense. Head coach Sean McVay lets his defensive coordinators do their job, but he obviously gives his input on how to adapt and adjust to offenses because McVay is a fantastic offensive coach.
McVay will know how to put his offensive players in the best situations to succeed so for the Seahawks to win they are going to need to get pressure from their defensive front. Rookie Byron Murphy II is going to be a huge boon and will help take pressure off the veterans around him. Mike Macdonald will begin to reverse the trend of the Rams having their way against Seattle and the Seahawks will get the victory in LA 17-14.
Final record: 11-6