Bumpus: The Seahawks could go undefeated on the road in 2020

The Seahawks’ 2020 schedule has been released and now, the speculation begins. Who will Seattle beat? Who will they lose to? What will their record be going into the bye?

Seahawks 2020 schedule: Season opens in Atlanta, 4 games in primetime

Michael Bumpus, a former Seahawks and WSU receiver, joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant on Friday and offered his takeaways after examining the 2020 schedule.

Last year, the Seahawks went 7-1 on the road, losing only to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Bumpus thinks that mark could be tied or even broken this season.

“I really like the way their schedule is. And honestly, I think they can go 8-0 on the road this year,” he said. “They were 7-1 last year, and if they can play football like they did last year, I’m looking at this road schedule and they can go 7-1 or 8-0 and turn some heads there. I think this schedule is set up for the Hawks to have a really good year”

The #Seahawks 2020 schedule is out!

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Seattle will travel three times for divisional games against the Arizona Cardinals (Week 7), Rams (Week 10) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 17). Their other five road games all involve some hefty travel, as they start the season in Atlanta against the Falcons and will play at Buffalo (Week 9), at Philadelphia (Week 12 on Sunday Night Football) and at Washington (Week 15).

Their other road game is one that caught Bumpus’ eye, and that’s Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, where the Seahawks could face  quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was the fifth pick in the 2020 draft.

“The first thing I noticed about the schedule was the Hawks are going to go down to Miami and play Tua if he’s healthy,” he said.

Tagovailoa has a rather lengthy injury history from his time at Alabama, and he is recovering from a fractured hip. If he’s healthy and wins the Dolphins’ starting quarterback position, that could make for an interesting contest as he will be coming off games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

“By the time the Hawks get him, if he’s healthy and playing, he’s going to have seen some pretty good defenses,” Bumpus said.

Bumpus thinks that the Seahawks’ schedule is shaped in a way to get off to a fast start.

Seattle opens at Atlanta before coming home for a primetime matchup with the New England Patriots. Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys come to Seattle before the Seahawks travel to Miami and then the Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football before a Week 6 bye.

Seattle played and beat the Falcons and Vikings last season and should be favored to beat both the Patriots, who lost star quarterback Tom Brady in free agency, and the rebuilding Dolphins.

“I think they have a chance to have a really great start to the season. You mentioned playing New England in primetime at home, that’s going to be great to see,” he said. “They go down to Miami, a game they should win. Those first four games, I just see the possibility of them going 4-0. And really, it’s about how you start and how you finish. Obviously you want to win every single game – I don’t think that’s ever going to happen in the NFL – but, if you can get out to a good start and gain some momentum, good things start to happen and I think they have an opportunity to do that.”

Week 3 against the Cowboys, who went 8-8 last season, is a game Bumpus believes will be a good early battle for the Seahawks, especially their defense.

“I think that’s going to be a real test for them with (quarterback) Dak Prescott,” Bumpus said. “I think they got away with (a draft steal) in (receiver) CeeDee Lamb. You add him with (Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper), they might have the top (receiver) trio in the NFL and with (running back) Ezekiel Elliot. So that’s going to be a test, too.”

Listen to the full conversation regarding Seattle’s schedule, which includes discussion about Seattle playing in four primetime games, at this link or in the player below.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Michael Bumpus on Twitter.

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