In the NFL Spin Zone’s first in-season power rankings, there aren’t too many major surprises. As you’d probably expect, Lou Scataglia’s bottom ten teams all lost in Week 1 of the 2025 season. You don’t find a Week 1 winner until you reach the 22nd-rated Indianapolis Colts. But where does that put the Seattle Seahawks?
Also, not too surprising – the bottom 14 teams are all coming off losing records in 2024. After all, we’re only one week into the new season, so it’s logical that the good teams from last year will all be toward the top of the list while last year’s bottom-dwellers remain at the bottom until they have a few weeks to prove that they are indeed better this season.
For the record, the Houston Texans, at number 18, are the lowest-rated of all the teams that posted winning records in 2024.
Oh crap – I’m wrong. I just double checked. There is another winning team from last year that I totally overlooked. Somehow, I don’t think I’m alone in this. Seems like pretty much everybody is ignoring the fact that the Seahawks finished 10-7 last year. After their Week 1 loss to San Francisco, the Spin Zone has the Hawks ranked 25th.
Is the Seattle Seahawks' NFL Spin Zone power ranking legit?
Scataglia is 100 percent right in saying the Seahawks’ loss to the 49ers is bad. The NFC West figures to be very competitive, and losing any divisional game at home could be devastating. San Fran lost George Kittle early but still managed to make enough plays to pull out the win.
And Seattle’s inability to run the ball or throw to any receiver not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba is cause for major concern. But there is reason to remain optimistic in the great northwest.
Seattle’s defense, which is the strength of the team, held San Francisco to 17 points and 5.3 yards-per-carry. This is the same 49ers team that played most of last season without Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey, yet still managed to be among the league leaders in total offense.
Even with Williams and McCaffrey in the lineup, Kyle Shanahan’s offense scored almost a touchdown less than last year’s average, while gaining almost a full yard per play less as well.
Seattle’s defense is for real this year. They played almost the entire game on Sunday without prized rookie Nick Emmanwori, who recorded a tackle-for-loss on the first series, and then left the game with an injury.
But does Seattle actually deserve a higher Power Ranking? After all, they did lose at home.
So did Atlanta, which is ranked eight spots ahead of the Hawks. And Cleveland, which fell to notoriously slow-starting Cincinnati, but still finished one spot ahead of Seattle. That’s the same Cleveland Browns’ team, just one offseason removed from finishing 3-14.
The 4-13 Raiders (who did win in Week 1) and the 5-12 Bears, who had not played their Monday night game at the time of the rankings, were also ahead of the Seahawks.
That is the most telling takeaway from the current Power Rankings. Most NFL experts entered the season assuming Seattle would not be nearly as good as their 2024 record suggested. They were consistently rated behind the Arizona Cardinals – a team Seattle beat twice last year – in most preseason rankings.
On the one hand, Seattle doesn’t have anything to complain about. They lost at home. If you want a higher ranking, win the game.
On the other hand, losing a close, competitive game to a team many experts think will challenge for the division title this year probably lands you in the low-middle, maybe some around 20 or 21. At 25, Seattle is heading up the bottom quarter of the league.
In Week 2, they go on the road to take on Aaron Rodgers and the 12th-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers. Maybe if they win that, they’ll start to get a little more Power Ranking love.