Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks are in the midst of some of the most intense periods of two of their most heated division rivalries. On Saturday, the Seahawks downed the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional Round, set to face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Seattle split the regular season series against both San Francisco and Los Angeles, making for two exciting heavyweight tilts in this year’s postseason.
That’s not the only thing on the line against the Rams on Sunday, though—this is the biggest Seahawks game since 2014, being the first time the team has reached the NFC title game in the 11 years since then. In other words, the outcome of Sunday’s game will decide if Seattle will reach the Super Bowl for the fourth time.
In an effort to better understand the impact behind the Seahawks’ impending playoff bout, now is as good a time as any to look back on the franchise’s postseason history against division foes. Without further ado, let’s hop into the DeLorean and flash back to the good, the bad, and the ugly, beginning with 1983.
Appropriately enough, Seattle’s very first playoff game was against a division opponent. Long before the Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48, they had their way with Denver 30 years earlier on wild card weekend.
Heading into the ‘83 season, Seattle had finished above .500 just twice under inaugural head coach Jack Patera, with no postseason appearances to show for it. In an effort to turn things around, the Seahawks fired Patera following an 0-2 start in 1982, eventually hiring former Rams and Bills head coach Chuck Knox in the ensuing off-season.
Though Knox had never advanced to the Super Bowl, he was still successful with his first two teams, reaching the playoffs seven times with Los Angeles and Buffalo between 1973 and 1981. With talented players like wide receiver Steve Largent, safety Kenny Easley, and rookie running back Curt Warner, the building blocks were in place for the team’s first trip to the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Broncos were similarly hungry for some playoff action with third-year head coach Dan Reeves and rookie quarterback John Elway. Since reaching Super Bowl 12 in the 1977 campaign, Denver had failed to advance in the playoffs every single year through a combination of early exits and losing seasons.
In addition to Elway, the Broncos also had some stars on defense, namely former Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Randy Gradishar and two-time All-Pro cornerback Louis Wright, both of whom played vital roles on that ‘77 Super Bowl team.
Both Seattle and Denver finished 9-7 in 1983, although the Seahawks had a superior division record (5-3 vs. 3-5), granting them the AFC’s fourth seed and the right to host the wild-card playoff at the Kingdome. Dave Krieg, who had started in each of Seattle’s last eight regular season games, was penned as the Seahawks’ starting QB. Steve...
