The Seattle Seahawks are aiming at another deep run, and the path back to the top of the NFC won’t be smooth. The Los Angeles Rams may be getting plenty of the preseason buzz, but Seattle is still built to chase another Super Bowl appearance and a championship. The NFC West alone is a grind, with the Rams, Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers all in the playoff mix.
The Rams are the biggest threat inside the division, but the Seahawks’ schedule also brings a few other NFC teams that could make life miserable. Three in particular stand out as real problems for Seattle’s repeat conference title hopes.
The Dallas Cowboys are one of them. These days, they’re better known for stacking 12-win seasons without playoff success, but Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as head coach last season was a strong one.
Dallas didn’t make the postseason, yet the team looked better than it has in years if you judge it the right way. With uncertainty around their division rivals, the Cowboys have a real shot to be one of the NFC’s top teams next season.
If Schottenheimer can build on that debut, Dallas could be in the mix with Seattle.
The Chicago Bears are another team to watch. Ben Johnson made a splash in his first season as a head coach, winning the division and reaching the playoffs while Caleb Williams had his best year yet at quarterback.
Chicago is expected to win the division again next season, and if Williams keeps trending up, the Bears will be a problem for every NFC contender. They already showed they can hang with elite competition, pushing the Rams to overtime in the playoffs before falling short.
Seattle will get a close look at Chicago next season, which only raises the stakes.
Then there’s the Philadelphia Eagles, a team surrounded by more uncertainty than they’ve had in a while under Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. That’s saying plenty, because there has been noise around this group almost every year of this era.
Even so, the Eagles have reached two Super Bowls and won one. Next season brings a different feel, with no A.J.
Brown and more pressure on Hurts than he has faced before. Sirianni’s job security could also be in question.
Still, Philadelphia remains dangerous because of its defense, and while the Eagles may not be as dominant as they’ve been at times, they still have the pieces to challenge for the NFC. A late-season matchup with Seattle could end up carrying playoff weight.
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The Seahawks want to get something done soon, even as the sides are still working through the final number. Witherspoons camp is expected to push him toward the top of the cornerback market, and Seattle is also juggling future decisions for Nick Emmanwori, Byron Murphy II and Sam Darnold, which only adds to the timing pressure around a player the defense has come to lean on. [Read more 🡒]