Field Gulls
Last week, after the Seattle Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers, many national media sites dropped Seattle further down their power rankings lists. However, how will that change now that the Seahawks are coming off of a 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Last week, both NFL.com and Pro Football Talk (PFT) had the Seahawks ranked at 19. However, after defeating the Steelers by double digits, both sites have moved Seattle up into the top half of the league. The biggest move was with NFL.com, moving Seattle up five spots from 19 to 14. NFL.com notes this past week’s win as “statement showing” and eye-opening. The article goes on to note the impressive defensive showing by Seattle, especially without Devon Witherspoon, as well as noting Byron Murphy II’s impressive outing. PFT similarly moved Seattle up three spots, from 19 to 16.
The three other media sites that we reviewed power rankings for last week also moved the Seahawks up this week. ESPN rose the Seahawks two spots from 20 to 18, noting that Sam Darnold is improving in his release time. “Through two games, Darnold’s average time before throw of 2.66 seconds is tied for ninth-fastest in the league.” Last season, Darnold ranked 34th. Bleacher Report, who moved Seattle up from 21 to 20, similarly commented positively on the Seahawks offense, noting Kenneth Walker III’s breakout game as well as calling Jaxon Smith-Njigba a “budding superstar.”
Last week, with a Seahawks ranking of 23, Yahoo Sports had the Seahawks ranked lowest of the five sites we reviewed. However, this week Yahoo Sports has moved Seattle up four spots to 19th. In their ranking of Seattle, Yahoo also mentions the offensive improvement, notably that other receivers have stepped up in addition to Smith-Njigba. Yahoo additionally notes that Seattle could be “a team to keep an eye on” if the offense shows up like they did in Pittsburgh.
Overall, as is to be expected, with a victory in week two, the national media has moved Seattle up in their weekly rankings. After week one, the average power ranking between the five sites (NFL.com, PFT, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and Yahoo) was 20.4. After week two, the average power ranking between these same five sites is 17.4. The overall trend seems to be that Seattle impressed in Week 2. against the Steelers. However, they will need to show consistency on offense before they are considered legitimate playoff contenders. Next week against the New Orleans Saints will be a prime opportunity for Seattle to show that consistency.
