2023 Seattle Seahawks schedule analysis

On Thursday night, the NFL released the complete Seahawks schedule. Per NFL research, Seahawks opponents had a 148-138-2 record in 2022, making their 2023 schedule tied for the 12th-most difficult in the league. 

Circle the dates: Weeks 12 to 15

The Seahawks' biggest games are all clumped together in the middle of the season, with a four-week stretch against San Francisco (twice), Dallas and Philadelphia. The first of those two San Francisco games is a Thursday night Thanksgiving game. They follow that up by playing another Thursday night game the next week against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 30. Seahawks vs. 49ers is always a fierce rivalry and could involve two NFC West contenders. 

Toughest stretch: Weeks 12 to 15

That four-game stretch is also easily the Seahawks' toughest stretch of the year. Those four teams combined to go 52-16 a year ago and are all legitimate Super Bowl contenders with some of the best rosters in the league. If they get through that going better than 2-2 then they will have earned it. 

Easiest stretch: Weeks 16 to 18

Assuming the Seahawks are able to get through the aforementioned stretch and still have a chance to make the playoffs, they get a pretty big break with their final three games against the Titans, Steelers and Cardinals. The Titans and Cardinals look like teams in full-blown rebuilds that might be among the worst in the league, while they get Pittsburgh at home. None of those teams made the playoffs a year ago. 

No favors with the bye week

The Seahawks are getting one of the league's earliest bye weeks in Week 5, and that could be a problem late in the year. Seattle has a brutal schedule in the middle of the season with Super Bowl contender after Super Bowl contender, with two Thursday night games mixed in there. That would have been a good time to get a week off. Instead, the Seahawks will already have had their rest before the season really gets tough.