The 2011 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 36th in the National Football League (NFL), their 10th playing home games at CenturyLink Field (formerly known as Qwest Field) and their second under head coach Pete Carroll. It was the first season in over a decade in which the Seahawks came into the season with a new starting quarterback, as incumbent Matt Hasselbeck left for the Tennessee Titans in free agency. The Seahawks equaled their 7–9 record in 2010, but failed to defend their NFC West division title and missed the playoffs. This year was notable for the emergence of the Legion of Boom defensive group.
Until 2021, this was the last season the Seahawks finished with a losing record.
Offseason
2011 NFL draft
Draft notes
Personnel Staff / Coaches Seattle Seahawks 2011 staff Front office Chairman – Paul Allen President – Peter McLoughlin General manager – John Schneider Vice president of football administration – John Idzik Vice president of football operations – Will Lewis Senior personnel executive – Scot McCloughan Director of pro personnel – Tag Ribary Director of college scouting – Scott Fitterer Assistant director of college scouting – Eric Stokes Assistant director of pro personnel – Trent Kirchner
Head coaches Executive Vice president of football operations/head coach– Pete Carroll Assistant head coach/offensive line – Tom Cable
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Darrell Bevell Quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running backs – Sherman Smith Wide receivers – Kippy Brown Tight ends – Pat McPherson Assistant offensive line – Pat Ruel Quality control/offensive line – Luke Butkus Offensive quality control – Dave Canales Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Gus Bradley Defensive line – Todd Wash Linebackers – Ken Norton, Jr. Defensive backs – Kris Richard Assistant defensive backs/safeties – Rocky Seto Defensive assistant – Nate Carroll Defensive quality control – Robert Saleh
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Brian Schneider Assistant special teams – Jeff Ulbrich
Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Chris Carlisle Assistant strength and conditioning – Mondray Gee Assistant strength and conditioning – Jamie Yancher
Final roster
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at San Diego Chargers W 24–17 1–0 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 2 Minnesota Vikings L 7–20 1–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 3 at Denver Broncos L 20–23 1–2 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 4 Oakland Raiders W 20–3 2–2 CenturyLink Field Recap
Regular season Schedule Divisional matchups: the NFC West played the NFC East and the AFC North.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–33 0–1 Candlestick Park Recap 2 September 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–24 0–2 Heinz Field Recap 3 September 25 Arizona Cardinals W 13–10 1–2 CenturyLink Field Recap 4 October 2 Atlanta Falcons L 28–30 1–3 CenturyLink Field Recap 5 October 9 at New York Giants W 36–25 2–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 6Bye 7 October 23 at Cleveland Browns L 3–6 2–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 8 October 30 Cincinnati Bengals L 12–34 2–5 CenturyLink Field Recap 9 November 6 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–23 2–6 Cowboys Stadium Recap 10 November 13 Baltimore Ravens W 22–17 3–6 CenturyLink Field Recap 11 November 20 at St. Louis Rams W 24–7 4–6 Edward Jones Dome Recap 12 November 27 Washington Redskins L 17–23 4–7 CenturyLink Field Recap 13 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–14 5–7 CenturyLink Field Recap 14 St. Louis Rams W 30–13 6–7 CenturyLink Field Recap 15 December 18 at Chicago Bears W 38–14 7–7 Soldier Field Recap 16 San Francisco 49ers L 17–19 7–8 CenturyLink Field Recap 17 January 1, 2012 at Arizona Cardinals L 20–23 7–9 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 2011 NFL season results2011 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: at San Diego Chargers
Week P2: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week P3: at Denver Broncos
Week P4: vs. Oakland Raiders
Regular season
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
With the loss, the Seahawks started the season 0–1.
Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Seahawks were shut out for the first time since 2007 and for the 2nd consecutive game by the Steelers (The teams faced each other in 2007 in which the Steelers became victorious with a 21–0 win.) The team fell to 0–2 on the season.
Week 3: vs. Arizona Cardinals
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 1–2.
Week 4: vs. Atlanta Falcons
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 1–3.
Week 5: at New York Giants
With the win, the Seahawks went into their bye week at 2–3.
Week 7: at Cleveland Browns
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 2–4.
Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 2–5. This would be their last home loss to an AFC opponent until a 25-17 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018.
Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 2–6. This is the last game the Seahawks would lose by double digits until the Week 2 game against the Packers in the 2015 season (including playoffs).
Week 10: vs. Baltimore Ravens
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 3–6.
Week 11: at St. Louis Rams
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 4–6.
Week 12: vs. Washington Redskins
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 4–7.
Week 13: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 5–7.
Week 14: vs. St. Louis Rams
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 6–7 and swept the Rams for the first time since 2009 and embarked on working on another major winning streak against the team. Also, the Seahawks took the trend of winning 13 out of the last 14 games against the Rams dating back to 2005.
Week 15: at Chicago Bears
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 7–7.
Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 7–8 and were swept by the 49ers for the first time since 2006.
Week 17: at Arizona Cardinals
With the loss, the Seahawks finished the season 7–9 and 3rd place in the NFC West.
Notes and references
External links 2011 Seattle Seahawks season at Pro Football Reference 2011 Seattle Seahawks Statistics at jt-sw.com 2011 Seattle Seahawks Schedule at jt-sw.com