As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks figured to have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL. When their opponents were announced a few months back, we figured the schedule itself was going to be difficult, but the league didn’t do Pete Carroll’s squad any favors when drawing up the final version.
Not only does Seattle have to deal with an early-season Week 4 bye, its first three games are going to be doozies. The Seahawks open up against the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers at home on Thursday Night Football before having to travel to San Diego to take on Philip Rivers and the Chargers. For Week 3, it’s back to the Pacific Northwest in a rematch of the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.
That’s three playoff teams in three weeks prior to the Seahawks Week 4 bye. When you look at the combined performance of these three opponents (30-17-1), it’s difficult enough. Now take into account that Rodgers will be at 100 percent and ready to go when Green Bay travels to Seattle for the season opener, and you have the makings for an amazing battle for the defending champions.
Early bye weeks are not ideal. In this case, it means that Seattle has to play in each of the final 13 weeks of the season. As difficult as that might sound, that back end of its regular season schedule, especially after playing so many games in consecutive weeks, is downright daunting.
With five of their last six games against divisional opponents, the Seahawks are going to be battle tested heading into the playoffs. While that could be a good thing in the end, you have to worry that they might just be worn down when everything is said and done. Adding into that equation is the fact that Seattle will have to take on the San Francisco 49ers twice in less than three weeks with the first game coming in Santa Clara on Thanksgiving night.
Looks like we're spending Thanksgiving's with the @49ers this year. Please have guest room ready. #SeahawksSchedule http://t.co/QTVrz43jlK
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 24, 2014
Talk about a ridiculous stretch of games for the defending champs. Outside of those two against San Francisco, they will also have to travel to Philadelphia and Arizona in the final six weeks of the season while hosting the Cardinals and St. Louis Rams during that very same span. Wild wild west, indeed.
The rest of Seattle’s schedule is no cake walk either. It has to take on the Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
One good bit of news here. Seattle will have near guaranteed victories against the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants of the world. At the very least, it might be able to come out of those games without feeling like it just went 15 rounds with an angry Mike Tyson.
Overall, the Seahawks play 10 games against teams that finished over .500 last season, six of them coming on the road. Its final six games come against teams that finished with a combined 72-40 record last season.
No one ever said it was easy to repeat as champions in the NFL, and the Seahawks will find that out firsthand in 2014.
Photo: Jeff Hanisch, USA Today
