How good are the rest of Seattle's opponents in 2025 and which games are the most important?
I’ve just reviewed the rest of the Seattle Seahawks schedule and I’m ready for my bold statement of the week:The entire season rests on how the Seahawks do against the Rams. If Seattle’s sweeps L.A., they’re contending for the all-important number one seed in the NFC. If the Seahawks get swept by the Rams, it could be curtains on the playoffs or a short playoff appearance.
Because I don’t think another team left on the schedule is nearly as good as the Rams are and so Seattle has an opportunity to either win enough games to challenge the Eagles, Lions for #1 or … they lose the division to the Rams and just like Sam Darnold experienced on a 14-3 team last year, go on the road in the wild card round and keep kicking themselves for not winningthat*one game*.
Strength of Schedule is extremely important, it’s just that we don’t know what a real SOS is when the schedules come out. So one month into the season, I am going to recap every team left on Seattle’s schedule and let’s decide together as a human family what we think of these teams now. Also, subscribe:
Remaining Combined Records: 24-24*
*only counted the Rams once but play them twice
Week 5 - Buccaneers (3-1)
Point Totals: 97-97
Injuries: G Cody Mauch (IR), T Luke Goedeke (IR), hurt this week: CB Jamel Dean, WR Mike Evans, RB Bucky Irving, NT Greg Gaines, QB Baker Mayfield, S Tykee Smith
The Bucs had nine “Did Not Practice” players on Wednesday, including all of those guys I mentioned as “hurt this week”. There’s no indication of Mayfield being held out, and Evans is out with a hamstring injury, so Bucky Irving is probably the one to watch.
A fourth round pick last year, Irving has caught 66-of-71 targets (93%), including all 19 passes to him in 2025. He’s a dynamic receiving threat out of the backfield but his success as a runner has plummeted this season, from a 55% success rate to 36.6% and 5.4 YPC to 3.3 YPC. If Irving is out, the team would turn to Rachaad White and he’s just not had a threatening career to date.
Some of the outlier stats for the Bucs:
4th in total yards allowed
2nd in yards per carry allowed
4th-fewest turnovers
3rd-most passing touchdowns
3rd-best third down defense
29th in red zone offense (36%)
26th in takeaways
29th in rushing touchdowns
It wasn’t until last week that Tampa Bay had their first turnover of the season, which was a fumble lost by Irving and an interception by Mayfield, who also fumbled for the third time this year. The Bucs have only forced a turnover in one game this season when they had two takeaways against the Jets, both of which proved critical in barely beating an 0-4 team.
If we’re going to call the Bucs “overrated”, I’m totally down for that. They’re even worse at running the football than the Seahawks are and they ranked 29th in completion percentage (59.7%) for some reason. This team has lost two really important starting offensive linemen and right now they don’t have Evans … possibly no Irving either.
That puts the onus on rookie Emeka Egbuka to save them. Chris Godwin made his return from a dislocated ankle last week (31-25 loss to the Eagles) and struggled, catching 3-of-10 targets for 26 yards. You could argue that’s the worst game of his career.
This is anything but a bakewalk for the Seahawks, but when you see “3-1” you might have something else in mind. There’s the 3-1 type of Lions and then there’s this 3-1 and I think Tampa’s yet to prove itself as a Super Bowl contender in the NFC.
Week 6 - at Jaguars (3-1)
Point Totals: 96-72
Injuries: Mostly avoided
The Jaguars hired an offensive head coach in Liam Coen, but they lead the league in takeaways after forcing 3, 3, 3, and 4 in their four games this season. Teams would kill for that kind of turnover advantage but Jacksonville is barely escaping with wins so that’s unexpected.
Other than beating the Panthers 26-10 in Week 1, the Jaguars lost to the Bengals, beat the Texans by 7, and beat the 49ers by 5. All of those teams are depleted (Jake Browning played most of that game for Cincinnati).
Some of the outlier stats:
1st in takeaways
5th in points allowed
1st in interceptions
4th in rushing yards allowed and 8th in YPC allowed
5th in points per drive allowed
1st in sacks allowed
5th in red zone defense
24th in net yards per pass attempt
24th in passing yards allowed
26th in third down offense
29th in third down defense
21st in red zone offense
Trevor Lawrence doesn’t seem very good and the Jaguars are 31st in completion percentage, ranking just below Tampa Bay. Lawrence has thrown 4 interceptions and is 29th in passer rating even though he’s only been sacked three times all season. Travis Etienne leads the NFL with 6.1 yards per carry. Travis Hunter has proven to be a dual threat: He’s a non-factor on both sides of the ball.
The Brian Thomas Jr. stats are craziest of all: 12 catches on 32 targets, a catch rate of 37.5%.I think if you don’t turn the ball over against the Jaguars, you will win.
Week 7 - Texans (1-3)
Point Totals: 64-51
Injuries: RB Joe Mixon NFI, WR Tank Dell IR
The Texans are coming off of a 26-0 win over the Titans and now rank first in points allowed, but Tennessee is ranked 32nd in points scored. Houston might have a great defense or they might have just played the right teams at the right times. In either case, the offense isn’t good enough and there aren’t reinforcements on the way.
Some of the outlier stats
1st in points allowed, 5th in yards allowed
2nd in passing touchdowns allowed
1st in opp. starting field position
29th in points scored, 25th in total yards
30th in first downs
23rd in rushing yards
31st in third down offense
31st in red zone offense
24th in red zone defense
The Texans tried to overhaul their ability to help C.J. Stroud by replacing the OC, trading for Christian Kirk, and drafting two day two wide receivers. The results so far? Kirk has caught six passes for 45 yards and the rookies have combined for 10 targets and 98 yards. Nick Chubb is an afterthought. Nico Collins has had his best games in the last two weeks so he could be picking it up. Overall, looks like the offensive changes didn’t help and potentially they made things worse.
Week 8 - BYE
Hey, so how are you doing? Seen any good movies lately?
Week 9 - at Moons (2-2)
Point Totals: 107-91
Injuries: RB Austin Ekeler (IR)
I’m not going to talk about injuries that don’t seem to impact the future. For example, Terry McLaurin is in danger of not playing this week or possibly the next, but I can’t say if these players will be impacted when they play the Seahawks. Only really looking at long-term injuries. It looks like Jayden Daniels will return this week.
The Moons beat the Giants and Raiders (bad teams) and lost to the Packers and Falcons. They play three of their next four games on the road (LAC, DAL, KC) prior to hosting the Seahawks in Week 9. Up until right now, it doesn’t seem like Dan Quinn’s team has hit its stride and I can’t tell if they’ll be as good as they were last year.
Some of the outlier stats
3rd in red zone offense
2nd in rushing yards and YPC
4th in turnovers
6th in third down defense
6th in YPC allowed
27th in third down offense
31st in takeaways (1 all year)
30th in net yards per pass attempt allowed
Rushing offense seems to work, but can’t quite tell if they can pass the ball until Daniels gets going. Deebo Samuel hasn’t been bad, how long will that last? Defense didn’t force a single turnover until last week and seems they can’t stop the pass.
Week 10 - Cardinals (2-2)
Point Totals: 82-74
Injuries: RB James Conner (IR), RB Trey Benson (IR), DT Walter Nolen (PUP)
Eh, you just saw the Cardinals, I’m not going to spend any time on them.
Some of the outlier stats
6th in points allowed
8th in red zone defense
28th in total yards
28th in passing yards
28th in passing yards allowed
22nd in rushing yards
We’ll see. I’m not that impressed.
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Week 11 - at Rams (3-1)
Point Totals: 100-81
Injuries: CB Ahkello Witherspoon (IR)
We’re not going to say “this is unfair” and “this is so sad” because the Rams get the 49ers this week and the Ravens next week, both of whom are absolutely decimated by injuries. However, does this impact L.A.’s strength of schedule? Undoubtedly.
The Rams are not only Seattle’s biggest threat to win the NFC West, they could be the biggest threat for the number one seed.
Some of the outlier stats
4th in total yards
3rd in passing yards and touchdowns
4th in NY/A
3rd. in rushing yards allowed
10th in points allowed
4th in takeaways
8th in third down defense
21st in red zone offense
30th in fourth down defense
The Rams are not really bad at anything other than maybe punting and special teams. They have the NFL’s leader in receiving yards (100 more yards than JSN) and sacked (Byron Young has 5) and Matthew Stafford’s still pretty good; I was wrong about him missing time with injury to this point.
It’s far too soon to say that the Rams have no weaknesses — the offensive line is so-so — but probably the best team left on the Seahawks schedule and they have to play them twice. Seattle getting a sweep here would be huge, but they also have to avoid getting swept.
Yes, that was me writing in February of 2024, days after the 49ers were in the Super Bowl,that the Rams would be the real threat to the Seahawks moving forward.
Week 12 - at Titans (0-4)
Point Totals: 51-120
Injuries: DT T’Vondre Sweat (IR), QB Will Levis, WR Treylon Burks, RB Tyjae Spears
The Titans are bad enough that they could lose every game but I wouldn’t feel too bad knowing that I still had Cam Ward. My very early 2026 draft prediction would be that if Tennessee gets the number one pick, they’ll trade it and get back a lot of help for Ward.
Even so, terrible team right now. Dead last in DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average…it’s just an analytics metric, I wouldn’t worry too much about it) by an incredibly wide margin over 31st Bengals. Another prediction: The Titans fire Brian Callahan (if he loses 14+ games) and hires Kliff Kingsbury, who will be tabbed as Ward’s best coaching QB mentor candidate.
Some of the outlier stats
32nd in points and yards
32nd in passing yards and NY/A
32nd in third down offense
29th in rushing yards and touchdowns
28th in points allowed
27th in NY/A allowed
28th in rushing yards allowed and 25th in YPC allowed
31st in opp. starting field position (35.2 yard line)
27th in red zone offense
The absolute “best” team stat I could find is ninth in red zone defense, but they’ve still given up eight red zone touchdowns because their defense is always being pushed back into the red zone. This is a team that got worse from being the worst team last year.
Week 13 - Vikings (2-2)
Point Totals: 102-80
Injuries: RB Aaron Jones (IR)
Although I’m not looking that far ahead for current injuries, the Vikings are currently dealing with hits to J.J. McCarthy and three starting OL, so I really don’t know what offense to expect in two months. I’m kinda just glad that it won’t be an offense with Sam Darnold; McCarthy’s short-lived run as the starter went poorly.
He could be a lot better with more experience and Jordan Addison returned from suspension last week, nearly scoring on a late 81-yard grab. But my general takeaway from Minnesota’s offseason is that they made a mistake and will regret not placating Darnold with a standard contract offer.
Some of the outlier stats
4th in points per drive allowed
3rd in passing yards allowed
7th in yards allowed
6th in third down defense
6th in red zone defense
30th in third down offense
23rd in total yards
24th in passing yards
27th in turnovers
The Vikings are also 4th in takeaways, but keep in mind that 5 of their 7 came against Jake Browning’s Bengals in Week 3. In fact, allof Minnesota’s good stats came in that one game. I have no idea how good McCarthy will look in two months, or if he’ll even start against Seattle…I can only say that the situation feels a little bit dire right now.
Week 14 - at Falcons (2-2)
Point Totals: 76-86
Injuries: RT Kaleb McGary (IR)
Speaking of confusing quarterbacks, Michael Penix had a passer rating of 40.5 against the Panthers in Week 3 and 126.0 against the Moons in Week 4. I’ll say this about Penix: The ball looks mighty fine when it’s coming out of his hand. His arm might be the best in the league in the near future…or now.
Some of the outlier stats
2nd in yards allowed, 2nd in passing yards allowed
3rd in NY/A allowed
7th in takeaways
8th in third down offense
26th in red zone offense
24th in red zone defense
25th in points scored, 30th in passing touchdowns
Bijan Robinson won NFC Offensive Player of the Month, gaining a league-best 584 yards, including 270 receiving, which is 15th overall. That’s a back who is 5th in rushing yards. I can’t say that the defense is carrying the offense because Atlanta’s defense had one great game (against McCarthy) and three bad ones. The offense has had a couple of good games.
I don’t buy the Falcons. I don’t buy Raheem Morris. I might buy Penix.
Week 15 - Colts (3-1)
Point Totals: 123-83
I think what’s scary about the Colts is that they would have already been a good team if they hadn’t drafted Anthony Richardson. Every single receiver on the team last year had great numbers with Joe Flacco and terrible ones with AR. That’s why even a middling QB like Daniel Jones can look really good in Indianapolis: They already had the structure in place! Richardson just stinks!
However…Super Bowl contenders? I don’t think so.
Some of the outlier stats
2nd in points per drive, 4th in total points, 3rd in yards
1st in NY/A
8th in turnovers and 7th in takeaways
32nd in red zone defense (8 of 9 trips=TDs allowed)
25th in red zone offense
21st in points per drive allowed
Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL with 414 rushing yards and 103.5 per game. Tyler Warren is on track to gain 1,000 yards as a rookie. Undeniably good offense, but you have to wonder when the Colts will stop on a “dime” and the defense is below-average.
Week 16 - Rams (3-1)
Already did ‘em. Seen any good TV shows lately?
Week 17 - at Panthers (0-4)
Point Totals: 75-95
Injuries: C Austin Corbett (IR), G Robert Hunt (IR), RB Jonathan Brooks (PUP), G Chandler Zavala (IR), WR Jalen Coker (IR)
I know every game counts, but just think about this anyway: If not for a 30-0 win over the Falcons, the Panthers season totals would be 45 points and 95 points allowed. That’s a 32-15 average. The Panthers franchise has been broken for 10 years.
Some of the outlier stats
5th-fewest passing TDs allowed
6th in red zone offense (7 TD in 10 trips)
10th in takeaways
26th in points, 24th in yards, 24th in points per drive
27th in NY/A
23rd in YPC
27th in YPA allowed
This is a team that has one player over 100 rushing yards (Chuba Hubbard) and one player over 100 receiving yards (Tetairoa McMillan), and a QB averaging 5 yards per pass attempt. Clearly not all of their first round picks are bad (Tet, Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn) but the puzzle never fits together. If the Panthers get the number one pick, they might draft yet another QB…but why is it different this time?Week 18 - 49ers (3-1)
Point Totals: 80-75
Injuries: TE George Kittle (IR), G Ben Bartch, T Spencer Burford, DT Kevin Givens, WR Brandon Aiyuk (PUP), S Malik Mustapha (PUP), DE Nick Bosa (IR)
The Niners play TNF without Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings. If the team ends up falling out of contention by Week 18, which seems very possible, the Seahawks aren’t going to see the real 49ers. Most players will be on IR or resting. As much as the 49ers kind of feel like a “gimme” in Week 5, they’ll be a true gimme in Week 18 unless they dig themselves out of a very concerning hole.
Some of the outlier stats
2nd in passing yards
6th in points per drive allowed
5th in total yards and yards allowed
3rd in third down offense and 2nd in third down defense
27th in red zone offense
23rd in points
29th in turnovers
31st in YPC
They beat Seattle by 4, New Orleans by 5, and Arizona by 1; they lost to the Jaguars by 5. Mac Jones looks better than Purdy, but he doesn’t look good necessarily. Trent Williams may be having the worst season of his career. Christian McCaffrey too. But if you need a rooting interest on Thursday Night Football, pick the 49ers.
Seaside Joe 2404