Predicting the first loss on the Seattle Seahawks schedule for 2021

The Seattle Seahawks schedule sets up nicely for winning the NFC West, but who is most likely to hand Russell Wilson and the Seahawks their first loss in 2021?

It seems as if the Seattle Seahawks are going all-in this upcoming season. Despite having only three picks in the NFL draft, Seattle did get better overall and will hope to build off the success found towards the end of the 2020 season.

One thing that Seattle has right is the quarterback position. Russell Wilson will return to the Emerald City and the hope is with the addition of new offensive lineman, so will his protection. Add in Dwayne Eskridge and the return of Carlos Dunlap, two positions of need were addressed for both the short and long-term goals.

When will the first loss come for Seattle? That could either come early if the Indianapolis Colts are rapidly improved by Week 1 with the Carson Wentz or maybe all the way in Week 10 to the Green Bay Packers.

Let’s find a common ground for now and meet somewhere in the middle. A shortened week against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5 might be enough to pull Pete Carroll’s squad off the beaten path and into the loser’s column for the first time in 2021.

A shortened week for the Seahawks plays in the Rams favor

Although both franchises will be on a short week thanks to Thursday Night Football, the difference comes with the opponent from the Week before. The Rams will play host to the unknown Arizona Cardinals while Seattle heads to Santa Clara to face the San Francisco 49ers.

There’s an argument to be made that if injuries didn’t hamper both sides of the ball, the 49ers would have been in prime contention to finish first in the NFC West. They only improved this offseason with the return of Nick Bosa and George Kittle, but also kept names like Jaquiski Tartt and K’Waun Williams.

They also will rely on the run game with the additions of Aaron Banks and Trey Sermon from the draft.

Even if Seattle squeaks by the 49ers, it’s going to be a battle. The 49ers still have a high-end secondary and overall dominant run defense. That will put pressure on Wilson to rely on the big plays rather than chewing down the clock. Defensively, Seattle also will need to make sure its run defense is playing up to par.

Los Angeles took a hit in free agency with the departures of Troy Hill and John Johnson III, but they upgraded at the most important position with Matthew Stafford. If he is the quarterback Detroit Lions believed he was, coming to Sean McVay’s offense will be the missing piece for both sides in the race for a Lombardi Trophy.

The last two times D.K. Metcalf has gone up against Jalen Ramsey, the former top-five pick has bested the rising pass-catcher. Metcalf only recorded a combined eight catches for 87 yards and never found the end zone. Can he find it in 2021?

All factors aside, Seattle has back-to-back divisional games that could decide playoff seeding. If they get past San Francisco, a short week against Los Angeles won’t end pretty.