Analysis: Game-by-game breakdown of the Seahawks’ 2024 season

By the most basic measure – the cumulative win-loss record in 2023 of their opponents – the Seattle Seahawks have one of the easier schedules in the NFL this season.

The Seahawks’ 17 opponents this year combined for just a 141-148 record last season, a 48.8% winning percentage. Only six teams this year face a schedule of opponents who won fewer games in 2023.

To be sure, how an opponent looks heading into the season can change drastically from the team that takes the field in November and December.

As the season begins, let’s look at the road the Seahawks will traverse in 2024.

Sept. 8, vs. Denver: It sure would have been fun to see Russell Wilson again, huh? This game is intriguing enough as is with Mike Macdonald making his regular-season head-coaching debut against a potential future Hall of Fame coach in Sean Payton – and with former Oregon standout Bo Nix getting his first start at QB for the Broncos.

Sept. 15, at New England: The Seahawks won’t get two rookie quarterbacks in two weeks as the Patriots named veteran journeyman Jacoby Brissett to start ahead of Drake Maye – unless something happens in Week 1 at Cincinnati to make Pats coach Jerod Mayo change his mind. Hopefully, as all the key figures are gone from Super Bowl XLIX, the FOX crew will forget it ever happened.

Sept. 22, vs. Miami: The matchup of Macdonald’s defense against Mike McDaniel’s Tua Tagovailoa-led offense makes this one worth the price of admission by itself. The coaching matchup on the other side will be fun, too. Miami’s new defensive coordinator is Anthony Weaver, who spent the last three years with the Ravens, the last two as assistant head coach and defensive-line coach working alongside Macdonald.

Sept. 30, at Detroit: Another year, another trip to the Motor City for the Seahawks. This is their third in a row. Not that the Seahawks have any bad vibes in Detroit. They won the last two years in what might have been the most entertaining game of each season, winning by scores of 48-45 and 37-31.

Oct. 6, vs. New York Giants: The Seahawks will have a short week after a long trip to prepare for the Giants, who stand as one of the harder-to-predict teams heading into the season. That’s in large part because it’s hard to know what they will get out of quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones threw two interceptions lost a fumble and was sacked 10 times last year as the Seahawks beat the Giants 24-3 on a Monday night.

Oct. 10, vs. San Francisco: The hope is the Seahawks are at least 3-2 at this point, but maybe even 4-1, which seems realistic. Here is where the schedule starts to turn with a game against the 49ers on a Thursday night and the start of a rugged stretch. That the 49ers have won the last five against the Seahawks, all by eight points or more, may be as big of a reason as any why Macdonald will be standing on the sideline for this game and not Pete Carroll.

Oct. 20, at Atlanta: This game will serve as a homecoming for Macdonald, who went to high school in nearby Roswell and college at Georgia. Another fun storyline is the matchup with Falcons’ coach Raheem Morris who pulled out of a planned visit to interview for the Seahawks job to instead take Atlanta’s offer. Morris knows the Seahawks well, as he was the defensive coordinator for the Rams the last three years (L.A.’s sweep of the Seahawks a year ago is a big reason for the coaching change at the end of the year).

Oct. 27, vs. Buffalo: By the time this game rolls around maybe we’ll know if the Bills’ Super Bowl window is beginning to close. This game caps a stretch of four-out-of-five on the road for Buffalo, so maybe the Seahawks can take advantage of what might be a road-weary team.

Nov. 3, vs. Los Angeles Rams: While Macdonald and the Ravens defense had their way with most opposing offenses, one they didn’t was the Rams and Sean McVay, who put up 410 yards and 31 points – scoring touchdowns on three drives of 75 yards or longer – before the Ravens won on a punt return in overtime. It’ll be fun to see what each has in store this time.

Nov. 10: Bye. Hard to complain about a bye in the middle of the schedule.

Nov. 17, at San Francisco: A stretch of four out of five games against teams that won 10 or more in 2023 ends with a trip to the Bay Area. The 49ers put up 429 yards on Macdonald’s Ravens defense on Christmas night a year ago in Santa Clara, but Baltimore forced five turnovers en route to a 33-19 win.

Nov. 24, vs. Arizona: On paper, this one looks like one of the surer things on the schedule after the Cardinals went 4-13 in 2023. Arizona was 3-5 when Kyler Murray started at QB, including wins at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. A full season of a healthy Murray – and the addition of receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. – could mean a vastly improved team in the desert.

Dec. 1, at New York Jets: The big question here is will Aaron Rodgers – who turns 41 the day after this game – be healthy? If so, this could be as fun as any game on the Seahawks’ schedule. Rodgers has faced the Seahawks in his career more than any NFL team not in the NFC North, going 7-3 in the regular season against the Seahawks.

Dec. 8, at Arizona: Seahawks and Arizona will get quickly get a rematch in a game that marks Macdonald’s head-coaching debut in the stadium where so much Seahawks history has unfolded. Given that history, something memorable – one way or the other – seems sure to happen.

Dec. 15, vs. Green Bay: The schedule formula spared the Seahawks a trip to Green Bay in mid-December. It’ll be Jordan Love – who is tied with Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence as the highest-paid QBs in NFL history at $55 million a year – making his first appearance at Lumen Field.

Dec. 22, vs. Minnesota: Talk about another hard-to-figure team. The show is Sam Darnold’s to run after rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in August. Darnold, the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, is 21-35 in his career as a starter, 1-1 against the Seahawks – the win coming with Carolina late in the 2022 season.

Dec. 26, at Chicago: Who scheduled this one? The Seahawks will have to make a trip over the Christmas holiday to play a game in Chicago on a Thursday night. It should be a fun one to watch from the couch, as the Seahawks get their first look at Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze as pros.

Jan. 4/5: at LA Rams: This could be a Saturday or a Sunday game to close a stretch of four-of-six on the road for the Seahawks to end the regular season. They just hope their return engagement with the Rams and McVay has something on the line.