Seattle Seahawks: Is 15-1 Out of the Question?

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Is it?

Recent suspensions and all aside, a 15-1 record is not out of the question for the Seattle Seahawks.

Once again the team finds itself on national television as it takes on the Saints next Monday before departing for two road games. The first road game comes against Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers who own a record of 0-2 versus Seattle with Colin Kaepernick under center. After that showdown, Seattle will travel to the east coast for a test against New York where the Giants will be playing with nothing to lose.

Then the team will finish up at home with winnable games against division-foes Arizona and St. Louis.

Here’s a breakdown of the remaining games and why 15-1 isn’t out of the reach.

New Orleans

This game, and the San Francisco game, will be the Seahawks’ biggest remaining challenges. While the Niners game might be more difficult because it’s played in San Fran, as opposed to Seattle, the Saints game will provide the better test moving forward. If a record of 15-1 is reached (if I had a nickel for every time I said that), Pete Carroll’s squad will, in all likelihood, wrap up home field advantage and a bye in the playoffs. The perks of this are that the team gets to host at least one home game in the postseason. Should they win that game, the Conference Championship game would be played in their stadium the following week. Basically, the road to the Super Bowl will run through that city, or in this case, Seattle. The Saints are the kind of team the Seahawks will need to beat at home in order to advance in the playoffs. Testing themselves against the Saints at home before the playoffs will be excellent preparation for the team.

The Hawks can win the game by shutting down the Saints’ offensive weapons, plain and simple. If there was ever a team to stop Drew Brees and company, it would be the Seahawks. Even with the losses of Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond, Seattle is left with a deep secondary. Jeremy Lane and Byron Maxwell will be tested, but should they play to their potential, the Seahawks will be fine. The team has the personnel to cover Jimmy Graham and receivers like Nick Toon and Lance Moore.

If the Seahawks can execute at home against a playoff-caliber opponent like New Orleans, it will go a long way to show that they can finally take the next step and make it to the Super Bowl.

San Francisco

Oh, how this game will be fun.

You can bet that the 49ers and their fans will be up for this one after two humiliating losses in Seattle. The 49ers only win against Seattle in the last two seasons was a 13-6 yawner with Alex Smith at QB. This happened early last year in the Bay Area and is one of only three games to date in Russell Wilson’s career where he hasn’t thrown a touchdown. The Niners also got 131 rushing yards out of Frank Gore.

Something has to give.

Wilson isn’t going to be held off the scoreboard. Gore isn’t going to get anywhere near 131 yards and the Seahawks aren’t going to be touchdown-less.

The Seahawks’ QB has an 11-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his last six games and will put the pressure on Jim Harbaugh’s defense.

Steven Jackson and Adrian Peterson combined for 70 yards on 30 carries versus the vaunted Seattle defense over the last two games. Good luck Frank Gore. You’re going to need it.

It will be interesting to see how Kaepernick fares against the Seahawks at home for the first time in his career. The game will be close, but expect Seattle’s superb (5-1) road record to help them out in this one.

New York

The NFC East is so bad that, at 4-7, the Giants could still technically win it.

With an offense that is in the bottom ten statistically in most offensive categories, Eli Manning will look to throw, throw and throw. With all the absences in the Pete Carroll’s secondary, Manning could look to try and exploit them.

Despite a sliver of hope in terms of a postseason berth, this should be the Seahawks’ easiest remaining. The fact that it’s a road game could get Seattle acclimated with the city of New York ahead of a potential Super Bowl.

Arizona

One thing we know about Arizona is that they play tough at home, evidenced by last season’s win over Seattle in the desert. Another thing we know about Arizona is that they lay a goose egg on the road. Or at least in Seattle. After a 20-16 win in the desert last season Zona laid said goose egg with a 58-0 loss at Century Link Field. The Cardinals will be pushing for a playoff berth this time around, so don’t expect something as drastic as 58-0, but don’t expect anything too close.

St. Louis

At 6-5, the Rams are still in it, but at this point are probably looking at another lost season. They’ll look to replicate the success they had on the ground versus Seattle in St. Louis with rookie Zac Stacey. The Seahawks will be, and are, up to the task thanks to their much improved run defense (see ridiculous numbers above). The Rams have a tendency to play the Hawks tough, but Seattle will pull this one out. If home-field advantage is already wrapped up, don’t expect the starters to play a lot. Should this occur, it will be close, but still look for a Seahawks’ win.

Is 15-1 too far out of the question? Probably not.

What do you think? Is 15-1 too far out of the question? Give your $0.02 in the comments below.