Fann: 2022 Seahawks Outlook — Where the wins could come from

Sep 1, 2022, 2:15 PM | Updated: Sep 2, 2022, 10:10 am

Seahawks QB Geno Smith walks with coach Pete Carroll during a preseason game against the Bears. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

(Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

BY JOE FANN

Seattle Sports Columnist

The calendar has finally turned to September, which means it’s time for regular season football. With the dog days of training camp and preseason in the rear view mirror, let’s take one final look at the Seahawks schedule before they kick things off on Sept. 12 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

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I’ve put each of Seattle’s 17 games into one of four buckets: games they should win, games they could win, games that would require a decent upset and games that would require a massive upset. At the end I’ll give my official record prediction for these 2022 Seahawks.

For the most part, I think the Seahawks will be more competitive than most national talking heads expect them to be. It would be a major surprise to see this team, even in a rebuilding season, be a doormat for opponents. That might result in competitive losses rather than wins, but this season might not be as hard to watch for Seahawks fans as some are anticipating (emphasis on “might”).

Recalling Geno Smith’s three starts at quarterback in 2021 could be a decent benchmark when trying to forecast what’s ahead. The Seahawks went 1-2 in that trio of games with a pair of narrow defeats to the Steelers and Saints.

Let’s dive in and see where you might agree or disagree with my assessments.

Games the Seahawks should win (3)

• Week 3 vs. Atlanta Falcons

No matter how low expectations might be for this Seaahwks season, losing to the Falcons at home in the first month would be a vibe-crusher. That is, of course, unless you hope Seattle goes 0-17 and claims the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Atlanta’s offense could be fun in spurts with Kyle Pitts and 2022 first-rounder Drake London, but apart from that it’s expected to be another brutal season for Atlanta.

• Week 8 vs. New York Giants

I’ll never forget sitting in the press box at Lumen Field in 2020 while the Seahawks suffered a horrendous loss to the Colt McCoy-led Giants. Anyway, unless the Giants show marked improvement early on in the season, this should be a game Seattle should find a way to win. I’m not buying a major Daniel Jones makeover under the tutelage of new head coach Brian Daboll.

• Week 17 vs. New York Jets

Pretty similar to my thoughts on the Giants: Until I see the Jets take major strides, I can’t predict that the Seahawks will lose to them at home.

Games the Seahawks could win (7)

• Week 1 vs. Denver Broncos

Seattle is a heavy underdog, but I can’t shake this feeling that the Seahawks are going to find a way to spoil Russell Wilson’s debut with the Broncos. This will surely be Seattle’s Super Bowl this season, even though you won’t hear that from anyone in the building.

• Week 4 at Detroit Lions

I’m not totally buying the “Hard Knocks”-inspired hype behind this Detroit team, but I do think the Lions will be competitive behind a standout offensive line, an underrated set of skill players and an ever-improving defense.

• Week 6 vs. Arizona Cardinals

There’s no guarantee the Kyler Murray-Kliff Kingsbury combination will work in Arizona, no matter how much money that franchise throws at them. Worth noting, DeAndre Hopkins will miss this game due to suspension.

• Week 9 at Arizona Cardinals

I’ll happily hold my ‘L’ if I end up being too low on the Cardinals. Seattle should be able to hang with Arizona in both meetings.

• Week 14 vs. Carolina Panthers

This is a winnable game at home against a good-not-great opponent. In Week 14, there’s no guarantee oft-injured star Christian McCaffrey will be in the lineup for Carolina.

• Week 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers

You never know what will happen in divisional matchups, so to simplify things, I put the home games against the 49ers and Rams under “winnable games” and the road matchups into the “would require a decent upset” bucket. The Seahawks have an inferior roster to both teams, but the NFC West can be unpredictable when these teams meet.

• Week 18 vs. Los Angeles Rams

*see above*

Games that would require a decent upset (4)

• Week 2 at San Francisco 49ers

*see above*

• Week 5 at New Orleans Saints

The Saints certainly have the playoff aspirations that the Seahawks do not this season. New Orleans has a better roster and road teams winning at the Superdome is never an easy task. Still, you can’t rule out a multi-interception game from Jameis Winston until proven otherwise.

• Week 12 vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Opinions and expectations for the Raiders will be all over the map, but this is a reigning AFC wild card team that added Davante Adams and Chandler Jones during the offseason.

• Week 13 at Los Angeles Rams

*see above*

Games that would require a massive upset (3)

• Week 7 at Los Angeles Chargers

For my money, the Chargers have the best roster in all of football after adding Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson this offseason. Justin Herbert is also an MVP favorite for a reason.

• Week 10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It has been a bizarre offseason for Tampa Bay, but all you have to do is look at these rosters side by side to see obvious edges across the board for the Buccaneers.

• Week 16 at Kansas City Chiefs

The Seahawks beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead in Week 16 would assuredly ruin a large percentage of remaining survivor pool entries.