'Painful loss' costs the Seattle Seahawks in latest NFL power rankings

There are some legitimate concerns about the Seattle Seahawks coming out of their narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. They can't seem to beat anybody but cellar-dwellers at home, Mike Macdonald's defense is seriously banged up and Jason Myers seems to be having an off-year.

All that being said, they just took one of the best teams in the NFL down to the wire and their quarterback is playing at a level the franchise has never seen before. In the big picture, there's a whole lot more to like than dislike about this team going into Week 6.

However, the tough loss to Tampa cost them a couple of spots in Sportsnaut's latest weekly power rankings. They're down from No. 8 to No. 10 this week.

"The Seahawks’ defense, on a rare off day, couldn’t get a stop and Tampa Bay hit the game-winning field goal. It’s a painful loss for Seattle, but they took one of the best NFL teams right now to the final whistle. Another big challenge is looming, with a cross-country trip to face the Jaguars."

Oct 5, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) meet on the field following a game at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

By comparison, the Bucs are now No. 2 in those same rankings, trailing only the Detroit Lions. That the Seahawks were just one play away from beating them shows how close they are to contending for a championship.

It's also worth remembering that Seattle also came up only one play short of upsetting the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, and they're ranked No. 7 on Sportsnaut's list.

That means there's an alternate universe that's really not all that different from this one wherein the Seahawks are 5-0 right now heading into their road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are arguably the biggest surprise in the league this year - they're ranked one spot higher than the Niners.

It's not going to be easy if their secondary is still down to third-stringers, but Seattle is definitely good enough to beat Jacksonville and any other serious heavyweight in the NFL this year.

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