The Seattle Seahawks 2023 schedule has been released and two things are very clear. One, 12s will, as always, be traveling all around the country and racking up lots of air miles. Secondly, if you really like your family a lot, this is not a great season to be a Seahawks fan.
Seattle will, like many teams, play on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but Seattle will also play on Thanksgiving night. All your holidays are busy now, 12s. Make your plans and forewarn your family. You'll have stuff to do.
Seattle will also finish with four of their last six games on the road. They will play on back-to-back Thursdays in Weeks 12 and 13. Plus, Seattle will play in three prime-time games (Weeks 4, 12, and 13), but this is fewer than the glory days and only one is on a Sunday or Monday. But what is Seattle's toughest four-game stretch? Maybe the one that follows.
Seahawks toughest four-game stretch of 2023
Week 12 - Seahawks at home versus 49ers on Thanksgiving Day
Most of Seattle's schedule is sprinkled with good teams and then followed up by teams that aren't expected to be quite as good. But the stretch between Weeks 12 and 15 is potentially brutal and could make-or-break the Seahawks season. The string of games begins with Seattle eating some turkey and then playing football at Lumen Field (or just having a really late dinner).
The 2022 NFC West champion 49ers visit Seattle at 5:20 pm PT. This will be the first of two matchups between the teams favored to win the division in 2023. If Seattle plays as well as hoped prior to Week 12, they could actually be leading the division by the time San Francisco arrives. Plus, a win in Week 12, even as imposing as the next three games seem, could still put Seattle in excelent position for a playoff spot.
Week 13 - Seahawks at the Dallas Cowboys on November 30th at 5:15 pm PT
The Cowboys had the same issue the Seahawks did in 2022 defensively and that was stopping the run. In fact, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dallas has a worse run defense grade (58) than Seattle (60) last year. But the pieces are there for Dallas to be a great defense and they added to that in the draft by taking run-stuffer Mazi Smith.
Still, this is likely not a game where Geno Smith and his receivers need to win the game, even assuming Dallas' run defense is better. The Cowboys are very good at pressuring quarterbacks and shutting down receivers. Dallas was 10th in QBR-allowed last year (84.7), sixth in QB hits (110), second in sack percentage (8.9), and eighth in interception percentage (2.9 per pass attempt).
Dallas didn't get any worse at stopping the pass this offseason so that won't be any easier for Seattle. But Seattle may have gotten even better at running the ball after taking Zach Charbonnet in the second round. Sure, a lot of 12s didn't like the pick that much (Another running back in the second round? What?), but there is no doubt Charbonnet should make an excellent one-two RB punch for Seattle.
Seattle might try to control the clock, and let the running game and hopefully an improved defense win the game. This is also a potential playoff matchup, so playing closer to the vest might be wise. Then in the playoffs, Seattle will have an idea of what works and what doesn't.
Week 14 - Seahawks at the San Francisco 49ers on December 10th at 1:05 pm PT
Seattle has its second-straight road game in this four-game stretch in Week 14 while also playing the 49ers for the second time in three games. A worst-case scenario for the Seahawks would be to lose on Thanksgiving at home to the 49ers and then lose to the Cowboys the following week. Even if Seattle stumbles a bit earlier in the season, they should be 5-5 entering Week 12. But going 5-7 with another matchup looming with San Francisco would likely doom the season.
Prior to last season, Seattle had dominated the recent series with the 49ers winning 15 of 17 games between 2014 and 2021. But in 2022, the 49ers dominated Seattle in every game and the talent gap seemed wide between the teams. While it is difficult to see how Seattle catches up on paper to the 49ers in one offseason, Seattle only needs a break in one game to make a difference.
To get that break, Seattle needs to trust its young cornerbacks to be great on islands. This would allow what should be a better tackling team, especially at linebacker and safety, to stay in their lanes a bit more. Controlling the running game of the 49ers is the key to beating them and the additions of Bobby Wagner, Devin Bush, and Julian Love this offseason for Seattle should help control San Francisco a bit more.
Week 15 - Seahawks at home versus the Philadelphia Eagles on December 17th at 1:25 pm PT
We will be at the point in the season when the NFL could be flexing some games that aren't yet in prime-time to prime-time. This could be one of them. If Seattle can get two wins in the previous three games, and assuming the Eagles are as successful as most people assume they will be in 2023, this will be a marquee game. Sure, it could still be a national game at 1:25 pm, but better to have these teams face off in prime-time.
It will also be nice for the Seahawks to be back home. While Seattle does finish with four of six games on the road, the last game of this four-game stretch will come as the end of a string of games that sees Seattle playing only two games out of five at home, with three of the previous four on the road. Let's hope a few things aren't true by Week 15.
One of those is that Seattle is simply a tired team. Seattle is a young team and will once again be relying on some rookies to be key players offensive and defensively. By Week 15, those rookies could be hitting the proverbial wall. Five games prior to Week 15 will have been played at least two time zones away from Seattle.
But we also need to hope that the Seahawks are a relatively healthy team when facing the Eagles. Every team goes through some attrition, of course, but Seattle could be tired and unhealthy which likely means a loss. But in a best-case situation, Seattle defeats the Eagles and then faces three winnable games to finish the season after Week 15.