Now that 2018 is officially in the books, the dust is finally beginning to settle. The 2019 season is starting to look a little clearer since we have an idea of how difficult the road to the playoffs will look due to strength of schedule.
On paper, it would seem the Seahawks have one of the easier paths as they currently have only the 25th-hardest schedule.
Seattle’s 2019 opponents had a combined record of 121-132-3 last year. The Seahawks will only have four games against teams that finished with at least 10+ wins – Baltimore, New Orleans, and two games against the Rams. Seattle will also only face five total playoff teams, with the only addition to the previous list of teams being Philadelphia.
However, strength of schedule is not always an entirely indicative stat of how challenging a season may be.
The Seahawks still have to face off against plenty of good teams who simply underperformed last year. Seattle has to host the Vikings again, as well as oddly competitive Tampa Bay and Cincinnati – a team Pete Carroll is 0-2 against as coach of the Seahawks.
Seattle will also have to travel to Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Carolina, where the Falcons and Panthers have always been competitive against the Seahawks.
Things may not seem too difficult on paper, but this is still the NFL. Any team is more than capable of winning on any given Sunday.
