Commentary: Can Seahawks and fans reassert home-field reputation vs. Cardinals?
It’s easy to lose a national narrative.
It’s harder to conjure a new nightmare.
The firestorm started Oct. 27 when the Seahawks were bombarded in a 31-10 blowout to the Buffalo Bills. It was Seattle’s third consecutive defeat at Lumen Field and its second-worst home loss since 2011. It was also the Seahawks’ 176th consecutive sellout … though the shade of blue in the bleachers became national news.
“Hats off to Buffalo. They came in and beat us at home,” Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith said after the rain-soaked romp. “Their fans travel well. It was really loud in there and kind of felt like we were on the road at times.”
Those 22 words sounded unintentional alarms, as the NFL’s media machine – which snorts sound bites and mass-produces half-baked headlines – settled like the eye of Sauron on Seattle’s contentious crowd.
“The Seattle Seahawks fan base, the 12th man or whatever, it’s not real anymore,” ESPN personality and former Colts punter Pat McAfee declared the following morning.
“Seattle is the home-field advantage place. That’s literally what it is,” McAfee continued, converting Smith’s sound bite into a misguided eulogy. “If you play Seattle (you say), ‘Whew, tough place to play. Loudest place to play. Those Seahawks fans are insane. 12th man? Boy, they win games for you.’ That is literally what it’s built to be like. Allegedly, Geno Smith said Bills Mafia made it feel like they were playing in an away game, and the Buffalo Bills stomped the Seattle Seahawks. I’m not used to this happening with the Seattle Seahawks.”
Never mind the mountain of context that wasn’t included – like rising ticket prices that might have prompted Seahawks fans to sell their seats. Like the combination of rain and ineptitude that induced early exits. Like the lukewarm home-field advantages fading across the league, as teams tout a combined 89-78 (. 532) record this season at their own stadiums. Like the ease of travel (for teams and fans) and access to replay review, both of which have drained the metaphorical moats surrounding a stadium.
The fact is, it’s harder than ever for home fans to win games for you.
Especially when your team is not that talented.
After all, consider how the Seahawks’ quality has corresponded to home success. Seattle went 10-0 at home (including playoffs) en route to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance in 2005. Mike Holmgren’s team went 8-1 at home in 2007 before finally falling to Green Bay on the road in the divisional round. The Legion of Boom enjoyed a 34-6 homestretch from 2012-16, making a playoff appearance each successive season.
In 2017, ESPN reporter Bill Barnwell used data from the previous 27 seasons – specifically a team’s point differential between home and road games – to conclude Seattle had the NFL’s best (and most consistent) home-field advantage.
But after going 7-1 in an empty Lumen Field in 2020, the slide officially started. Seattle is 15-16 at home in the three-plus seasons since, including 2-4 in 2024. The Seahawks have also amassed more penalties (55) and penalty yards (409) than their opponents (47 for 367) in six home games this fall.
Is that due to a deteriorating home-field advantage, an underperforming product or all of the above?
“I just want to, first of all, say thanks to our fans for showing up, being loud,” coach Mike Macdonald said after the Seahawks fell 26-20 in overtime to the Rams on Nov. 3, their fourth consecutive home loss. “The place was electric when we started to make some plays at the end of the half, end of the fourth quarter, taking it to overtime. They were right there with us the whole way.
“I just promise you, we’re doing everything in our power and then some to create a nightmare at home. And right now we’re not doing it. So we’ve got to go to work.”
This week, Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf remarked that “we feed off of their energy in the stadium.” But the work goes both ways.
On Sunday, the 5-5 Seahawks will attempt to avoid their fourth home losing streak of five or more games, after Seattle dropped five in a row in 1992 and 2008 and eight consecutive games in 1980. They’ll also attempt to recapture a lead in the crowded NFC West while hosting the surprisingly streaking Arizona Cardinals (6-4).
For Seahawks fans, this is an opportunity to reassert your reputation – to prove to McAfee or the millions he reaches that the 12s remain real. It’s a chance to show this is still the fan base that birthed the “Beast Quake” in 2011, and earned a game ball from Holmgren after forcing 11 false starts in an overtime win over the Giants in 2005. It’s an invitation to forget the forecast, which calls for more wet weather at Lumen Field.
Still, Seahawks fans can only set the stage.
It becomes a more menacing nightmare if Freddy Krueger comes to play.
“It’s incredibly important,” Macdonald said of the concept of creating a nightmare at home. “You start ranking things about what we’re trying to achieve here, and it’s at or near the top of the list. We’re on a slide here at home, and we’re trying to do a couple things to make it come to life.
“We’re treating this like a home playoff game for us. So, we need the 12s rocking. That’s the vision. That’s what we’re trying to create. Let’s get it started this Sunday.”