Seahawks Silver Linings: The Weak Conference May Save Seattle

Every fan of the Seattle Seahawks carried their own expectations into 2026, the year after a super bowl win. But I feel fairly safe saying that the team is falling short of almost all of them so far. 3-3, with losses to teams heavily limited by injuries, was not on the docket. But the circumstances of the National Football Conference are softening the blow.

The NFC Least And NFC Drouth

First of all, drouth is a rare, but accepted, spelling variant for the word ‘drought’. But more importantly, there are two divisions in the NFC that might, and I mean might, have a single playoff-caliber team between them. They’ll send two at minimum, of course, but both the East and South seem highly unlikely to produce a wild card team.

The top team in the NFC East may be turning to J.J. McCarthy at QB. — New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18) scrambles for yards as New Orleans Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) tackles. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I have no idea who is winning the East, but it’s starting to feel like whoever does it will have a losing record. Which of course means that everyone in the division will have a losing record, making a wild card improbable. The South might have a decent Carolina Panthers squad (I remain dubious), but everyone else looks critically flawed so far.

The North Is An Enigma

The NFC North, however, is compelling. The Vikings are 5-0 with one of the worst offenses in the league, so their success is undeniable but still somewhat fragile. The Packers have come back to life after a miserable start, but I’m still not entirely sold on them given how bad their offensive line and run defense has looked. We’ll come back to that one.

Can Kyler keep things steady on the 5-0 Vikings? — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray (1) and wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) look on against New Orleans Saints. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears and Lions are in similar spots to me, two good offensive squads with no defense. However, the Bears have a chance to improve on that side of the ball (and are showing some signs of such in recent games), while the Lions have a soft schedule that could produce a top record even if they can’t stop a good offense. All four teams are a threat.

Looping Back To The West

Where this really gets interesting is in the NFC West, where the Rams have completely bombed the first third of the season, and at this point must be considered a bad team. They can obviously improve, but their schedule has many speed bumps the rest of the way. If they’re not a wild card team (and the Cardinals aren’t either), then there’s no one else left.

The superteam Los Angeles Rams are now 2-4, with a humiliating loss to the Cardinals at home under their belt. — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) looks to pass in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So, even if you concede the division to the San Francisco 49ers, and you assume that Seattle’s struggles persist, there’s a pretty clear path to the postseason even at 10-7, or possibly 9-8. Remember, the North will beat up on each other, so the odds of all four teams making it in are pretty thin. And no one will want to see this Seahawk team in January, wild card or not.

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