Seattle Seahawks Climbing List of Teams With Longest NFC Title Game Drought

With the Washington Commanders advancing, the list of teams that have made Conference Championship weekend more recently than the Seahawks grows longer.

Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen hoists the George Halas Trophy after the 2013 NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

There was a time where it appeared that the Seahawks were building a dynasty in Seattle. They emphatically won Super Bowl XLVIII against the Broncos, following the 2013 season. They then won the NFC and made the Super Bowl the following season as well.

And then, of course, they came within a few meager yards of repeating as champions.

Since then, it's been many years of "good not great" or one-and-done playoff caliber teams. Certainly, the Seahawks deserve credit as a franchise that has not bottomed out at any point (11+ losses) in the last 10 years following their meteoric rise. They have been one of the most stable franchises in the NFL, and certainly among the top run organizations in the NFC.

They have not lost 11 or more games since 2009 and only just this season missed the playoffs for a consecutive season for the first time since 2008 and 2009.

However, while Seattle has consistently won no less than seven games per season since their Super Bowl run, they have not reached the NFC Championship Game since the 2014 season. It has now been 10 full seasons since Seattle's last trip to Conference Championship weekend.

This season, the Washington Commanders shocked the football world. They blasted through Detroit and upset the No. 1 seed in the NFC with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at the helm. They now will play in their first NFC title game since the 1991 season.

Now just three NFC teams have a longer NFC Championship Game drought than the Seattle Seahawks.

Last NFC Championship Game appearance:
- Dallas Cowboys, 1995
- Chicago Bears, 2010
- New York Giants, 2011
- Seattle Seahawks, 2014
- Carolina Panthers, 2015
- Arizona Cardinals, 2015
- Atlanta Falcons, 2016
- Minnesota Vikings, 2017
- New Orleans Saints, 2018
- Green Bay…

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 19, 2025

RJ Ochoa's post was originally meant to poke fun at the Cowboys. However, it illustrated a troubling reality for Seahawks fans. More and more NFC franchises are leapfrogging Seattle in their rebuilding or retooling processes.

While the Seahawks have made the playoffs nine times over the last 13 seasons, they have won just one playoff game in the last eight years.

The recent run with Geno Smith illustrates this best. Seattle has been good enough to compete for a playoff spot. They even made the postseason in Smith's first year as a starter in 2022. However, they also have not been good enough to make deep playoff runs. They also have not been bad enough to merit high draft picks consistently.

The Seahawks seem to be stuck somewhere in the middle. One could argue that's the worst spot to be in for NFL teams.

The main questions heading into 2025 are, can they truly get over the hump with Geno Smith at quarterback? Will their new offensive coordinator rejuvenate the run game and help fix issues along the offensive line? Can Mike Macdonald's defense truly become elite next season?

At the present time, Seattle does seem closer to being one of the better teams in the NFC than near the basement. However, other teams have finished worse than Seattle recently and have now figured out how to win multiple playoff games.

What will it take for the Seahawks to make another NFC Championship Game and compete for a Super Bowl? They appear to have some solid foundational pieces on both sides of the ball. Now, it's finding the right blend of coaches and possible new additions on the roster to get Seattle over the hump once again.