Facing a grueling schedule and a depleted backfield, the defending champions must navigate high expectations and a league-wide target to secure another double-digit win campaign.
The Seattle Seahawks enter 2026 with something they didn’t have a year ago: massive expectations. After finishing 14-3 and capturing a Super Bowl title, every projection now measures Seattle against championship standards.
A recent post-schedule prediction from Bleacher Report forecasts the Seahawks finishing 11-6 this season, a noticeable step back from last year’s dominant regular-season record. Even so, the projection still places Seattle firmly in playoff territory and among the NFC’s stronger teams.
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"Seattle invents itself with a new offensive coordinator, and its defense continues to play at a high level under Macdonald in another double-digit-win campaign," BR's Moe Moton writes. "Though, as the reigning champions, the Seahawks will be tested as the league's gold standard, which may result in a few more losses than last year."
An 11-win season would hardly qualify as disappointment for most franchises. For the Seahawks, however, it would represent the challenge that often follows championship runs.
Defending titles in the NFL has become increasingly difficult. Opponents spend entire offseasons studying weaknesses, schedules become more difficult, and the margin for error shrinks. Seattle will experience all of that in 2026.
The Seahawks’ slate features several high-profile matchups, including a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots to start the season. Divisional games against improving NFC West opponents also carry more weight after Seattle established itself as the conference’s team to beat.
Still, there are reasons analysts believe Seattle can avoid a major drop-off.
Mike Macdonald returns after guiding the team's best season ever record-wise, and the Seahawks continue to lean on a roster built to compete immediately rather than rebuild. Stability at key positions and continuity within the coaching staff should help offset the pressure of defending a championship.
Even with those advantages, moving from 14 wins to 11 suggests expectations have shifted slightly. Rather than dominating the conference throughout the regular season, projections see Seattle battling through a tougher road before reaching the postseason.
Also losing their starting running back doesn't help, as Kenneth Walker III left to the Kansas City Chiefs. And with Zach Charbonnet being out a good chunk of this season with a torn ACL, it's definitely not going to be easy.
While this season will be difficult, winning 11 games while carrying a target as defending champions would still place the Seahawks among football’s elite.
