Seahawks: 1 way 17-game schedule screws over Seattle

The new 17-game NFL schedule is going to screw over the Seattle Seahawks, who will have to travel to Pittsburgh for their extra game.

The NFL appears to be on the verge of confirming a 17-game schedule for the 2021 season, which is a big old pain in the behind for the Seattle Seahawks.

An extra game is the last thing the Seahawks will want this year.

For one, the extra game is expected to be a road trip to Pittsburgh. That’s an extra cross-country trip. Worse still, it’ll come in the final week of the regular season. That means a frigid Heinz Field will await the team.

It goes further than that. The Steelers aren’t the worst matchup Seattle could get. After all, they’ve won their last two matchups with the Steelers, including a 2019 win on the road. . There are more dangerous teams out there they’ll be glad to avoid. The biggest issue is what an extra game will mean for quarterback Russell Wilson.

Another game means more wear and tear on Russell Wilson

The QB was sacked 47 times in 2020. That’s a rate of 2.9 per game with a sack percentage ranking fourth-worst in the NFL. Add another game to the slate and Wilson could end up getting hit that many more times.

The more times Wilson gets sacked, the more danger he’ll be in physically. The last thing Seattle could afford is an injury to their most important player. It’s doubtful that would make him particularly eager to stay in Seattle either.

The Seahawks need to get their offensive line sorted out either way, but this is another thing to worry about on top of all their other concerns going into 2021.

Seattle went 12-4 last year but lost to the Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.