The Seattle Seahawks have released their full schedule for the 2023 season.
We will be breaking the schedule down more in depth in the coming days. For now, here are a few big-picture takeaways now that we know the road ahead.
1
A Week 1 trap game?
Looking past a team with Aaron Donald sounds like a great way to get embarrassed. Yes, the Seahawks have several months to prepare – and they are 3.5-point favorites for this one. Nevertheless, Seattle can’t go in expecting to face the same Rams team we saw last year. It’s a vastly different roster and this time around they’ll have Matt Stafford starting at quarterback – a very different experience than facing Baker Mayfield and the guy whose name we can’t even remember who started for them in the first matchup last year. They can definitely beat this team, but Pete Carroll has to be ready for Sean McVay to pull out all the stops.
2
3 prime-time matchups
Going in we were expecting the Seahawks to get four prime-time games. While they only came out with three, we did predict a couple of the matchups. As expected, they’ll be facing the 49ers at home on a Thursday night – only it’ll be the Thanksgiving nightcap. The following Thursday night they will visit the Cowboys. Their other prime time game this season will be on Monday night against the Giants in Week 4.
3
4 early kickoffs
Week 2 will feature the first of four early start times for the Seahawks (10:00 a.m. Pacific). This will be a rematch of last year’s shootout with the Lions, once again at Ford Field in Detroit. Later, they’ll visit the Bengals in Week 6, the Ravens in Week 9 and the Titans in Week 16. These early kickoffs used to be a huge problem early in the Pete Carroll era, but the Seahawks have improved over the years and now it’s not such a big deal.
4
A rough stretch after the bye
Seattle has an early bye (Week 5) and they’ll need every second of the rest they get to prepare for a rough stretch that comes after. The first opponent they’ll face is the Bengals, possibly the toughest-team they’ll play this season and certainly the one with the best QB. Next it’s the Cardinals, followed by the Browns and Ravens. Arizona isn’t expected to be any good this year, but it’s still a division rival that’s given them trouble at home. The other three matchups are very-much loseable games in their own right, as well.
5
The even harder part
As rough as that post-bye stretch looks there’s a far more difficult run a little later on in the schedule. Beginning with their Week 11 game on the road against the Rams, they’ll be playing three games in 12 days, including the prime-time matchups against San Francisco and Dallas. After that, they’ll visit the 49ers, then will come back home to host the Eagles. That critical four-game stretch (Niners, Cowboys, Niners, Eagles) may well determine how this season goes.
6
A softer finish
The good news is the schedule has a relatively soft finish to it. Seattle’s final three games are against the Titans, Steelers and Cardinals – none of which are expected to be real contenders this year. If the Seahawks can finish the year 3-0 it might enough to sneak them into position to host a playoff game.
