Predicting where Seahawks will land in NFC West standings post-schedule release
In one of the more unique events of the NFL offseason, we recently had the schedule release for all 32 teams. With a new schedule, brings excitement, primetime opportunities, renewed rivalries, and hope for every fanbase. This includes the Seattle Seahawks. Despite a disappointing end to the 2023 season (and Pete Carroll era), there is new hope for the 12’s.
Seattle and GM John Schneider won the head coaching carousel by hiring Mike Macdonald, they won the NFL Draft by drafting Bryon Murphy II and Christian Haynes at picks you wouldn’t have expected to see them available, and they finally don’t have to see Aaron Donald anymore!
With a new energy, the Seahawks will also have three primetime games this season, the extra home game in the unbalanced 17 game schedule, and hope to take advantage of a third place schedule from last year. It could be a nice bounceback in year one for this new regime, but they are not the only ones in the NFC West with big dreams. The 49ers, Rams and Cardinals all have fascinating schedules and separate goals for 2024.
Where will the Seattle Seahawks end up in the NFC West in 2024?
As we head into offseason OTAs, we’ll take a look at each team’s schedule and predict how we will see the final records and divisional standings in the NFC West. Who’s going to be disappointed, who’ll exceed expectations, and who’s going to the playoffs?
NFC West Standings 4th Place: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are one of the trendy picks for a team making the jump in 2024. Coming off a draft where they had both the 4th and 27th picks in the draft, the Cards selected arguably the best players in the draft in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Missouri Edge Rusher Darius Robinson. Harrison Jr. is expected to be a massive addition to an offense that is in desperate need of talent.
Kyler Murray should be fully healthy in 2024, and this season feels like a make-or-break for him under the Jonathan Gannon regime. When he’s not scrambling around, he’ll lean heavily on MHS and his young and talented tight end Trey McBride.
They’ll need all the help they can get because there may not be a rougher first eight games to the season in all of the league. Here’s how the Cardinals kick off their season:
WK 1 - @ Buffalo
WK 2 - vs Los Angeles Rams
WK 3 - vs Detroit
WK 4 - vs Washington
WK 5 - @ San Francisco
WK 6 - @ Green Bay
WK 7 - vs Los Angeles Chargers
WK 8 - @ Miami
That is six games against playoff teams from last year, while their only respite is the new look Commanders with Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels, and the Jim Harbaugh led Chargers. That is a brutal blow to any team’s hope of a hot start, and could derail their season.
As much as I admire the way the Cardinals fought in 2023, that brutal start mixed with the Seahawks twice and the Rams and 49ers waiting in the second half of the season, this team is probably still a ways off from being a playoff contender in 2024.
2024 Record Predicition: 4-13