Seahawks: Ranking all 17 games on their 2022 schedule by difficulty
The Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the NFL released their 2022 regular season schedules last night. Despite having finished in fourth place in the brutally-tough NFC West last season, Seattle has one of the most difficult slates this year based on strength of schedule. In addition to playing their usual six games against their division rivals, they’ll also have to face every team in the absolutely-loaded AFC West. For an encore, they’ll be traveling more miles and crossing more time zones than any other team in the league.
Here is how we rank all 17 games on the schedule by difficulty.
Week 3: At home vs. Falcons
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The easiest game on Seattle’s 2022 schedule should come Week 3 at home against Atlanta. The Falcons finished with a 7-10 record last season and have since lost Matt Ryan in a trade, Calvin Ridley to a suspension and Foye Oluokun in free agency. On paper this looks like the weakest team in the NFC and should make for an easy W for most of their opponents.
Week 14: At home vs. Panthers
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Atlanta’s NFC South rivals in Carolina are also pretty thin heading into the 2022 season. The Panthers have won exactly five games three years in a row and their quarterback situation remains a mess. Whether it’s Sam Darnold, Matt Corral or possibly Cam Newton returning – whoever starts for this squad is being dealt a brutal hand.
Week 17: At home vs. Jets
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The Jets have been arguably the saddest team in the AFC outside of Jacksonville over the last 10 years, which is saying something. However, they did have a strong 2022 draft class and filled some of their biggest roster needs. If their second-year quarterback Zach Wilson takes a big leap forward they might be interesting, but even at best this looks like a seven-win team.
Week 8: At home vs. Giants
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The Giants are another team that has gotten high grades for their work in the 2022 NFL draft, which included them getting both the No. 1 OT and the No. 2 EDGE prospects in this class. However, they still have fumble machine Daniel Jones starting at QB, which gives them a low ceiling even with the brilliant Brian Daboll now calling the plays.
Week 4: Away vs. Lions
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The Lions have a long way to go before they’re actually considered competitive. However, you can see the pieces starting to come together, here. Detroit finished just 3-13-1 last year but a lot of those losses were much closer than most analysts expected. Jared Goff’s limited game and his obscene contract remain major burdens for this squad, though.
Week 15: At home vs. 49ers
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The Niners are a pretty solid team on paper and they’ve made it deep into the postseason in two of the last three seasons despite having an inconsistent and mediocre starting QB in Jimmy Garoppolo. However, no matter how good they look against anybody else they still struggle against the Seahawks. Seattle has won the last four matchups in this series.
Week 2: Away vs. 49ers
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Truth is, Seattle’s total domination of this division “rivalry” goes back much further than the last four meetings. The Seahawks have won 15 of the last 17 games overall against the Niners. However, with Russell Wilson now in Denver it’s fair to question if they can continue this run, especially on the road.
Week 5: Away vs. Saints
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Last year the Seahawks lost to the Saints in a Monday night game that turned out to be a critical blow for their chances of making the playoffs. This year that might be the case again, as New Orleans is once again likely to be competing for one of the conference’s two wild card spots. That makes this one of the most-important games on their 2022 schedule.
Week 6: At home vs. Cardinals
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The dynamics in the NFC West have been a lot like a game of rock-paper-scissors over the last few years. The Seahawks consistently beat the 49ers, the 49ers usually beat the Rams, and the Rams tend to dominate the Seahawks. The wild card in this mix is the Cardinals, who are talented but also dysfunctional. Any game between Arizona and its division rivals could go either way.
Week 9: Away vs. Cardinals
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While the Cardinals may not be a Super Bowl contender on paper, playing at their home stadium has proven to be utterly disastrous for this team in recent years. In addition to suffering a disproportionate number of major injuries on that turf surface, Seattle has lost several heartbreaking and close games here, making this one of the most-difficult venues to travel to.
Week 12: At home vs. Raiders
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Like their No. 1 quarterback, these Raiders have been underachievers for most of the last eight years. However, Vegas is finally surrounding Derek Carr with a real supporting cast. By trading for Davante Adams and signing Chandler Jones they have vastly improved their wide receiver corps and pass rush rotation. That should make them a tough out for most teams in 2022.
Week 7: Away vs. Chargers
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If their Week 18 loss to the Raiders is any indication, it will be tough for the Chargers to shed their habit of losing excruciatingly close games. That said, Justin Herbert’s exceptional talent may finally lift this franchise out of their malaise. Since then, they’ve beefed up their interior offensive line and added both monster pass rusher Khalil Mack and shutdown cornerback J.C. Jackson to their defense. LA is in a tough division but they’re for real.
Week 1: At home vs. Broncos
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A few weeks before the big trade, we wrote that this Broncos team was one star quarterback away from being a championship contender. Now that they have Russell Wilson leading the charge, Denver should be about as tough as any team in the AFC and that’s really saying something. Adding Nik Bonitto and Randy Gregory should improve what was an already potent pass rush, making this a well-rounded roster from top to bottom.
Week 10: Away vs. Buccaneers
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The longest road trip of the year for the Seahawks will also come against one of the toughest teams in the league. Tom Brady has led this experienced Buccaneers squad to 24 total regular season wins over the last two years plus a Super Bowl victory. Tampa also boosted their mean defensive front-seven by drafting Houston’s Logan Hall. Throw in a 6:30 am Pacific Time kickoff and this one definitely won’t come easy.
Week 16: Away vs. Chiefs
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The Seahawks beat the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs on Monday Night Football back in 2018, but this time around they won’t have Russell Wilson’s heroics to rely on. Kansas City recently traded their star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins but they still have a historically great passing game. Drafting George Karlaftis and Trent McDuffie should also help defensively. The Chiefs have won at least 12 games four years in a row and there’s no reason to assume they don’t do it again this season.
Week 18: At home vs. Rams
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The video game boss for these Seahawks right now is unquestionably the division rival Rams, who went from giving them serious trouble every season under Jeff Fisher to totally dominating them in almost every meeting under Sean McVay. LA has won eight of the last 10 matchups between these teams, including the last two games in Seattle.
Week 13: Away vs. Rams
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It doesn’t really matter where these teams play. Odds are LA is going to come out on top. Since winning the league championship this past season they’ve added another star receiver in Allen Robinson and remain hopeful to re-sign Odell Beckham. They also still have Yakima’s Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, giving them by far the league’s scariest receiver corps. With Wilson now out of the picture, it’ll be more difficult than ever for Seattle to keep up on the scoreboard with this heavyweight.
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