2023 Seattle Seahawks season

The 2023 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 48th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 14th and final season under the head coach/general manager tandem of Pete Carroll and John Schneider. The Seahawks matched their 9–8 record from the previous year, but unlike 2022, it was not enough to qualify for the playoffs, as they finished in third place in the division behind the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, and in a three-way tie with the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints for the last Wild Card spot, which the Packers claimed on a strength of victory tiebreaker.

Despite a 5–2 start, key injuries to Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf, and Devon Witherspoon, and poor defensive play led to the Seahawks losing five of their next six. While the Seahawks would win two games in a row, a loss to the Steelers cost them control of their own destiny. In total, Seattle played 11 games and went 3–8 against teams that finished with a winning record (Cincinnati being the only one that missed the postseason), culminating in a collapse that cost them an appearance in the postseason.

This was the second time in three seasons that Seattle missed the playoffs, and was the first season since 2009 that Dave Canales was not on the team's payroll, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired him to be their offensive coordinator for one year. Canales would go on to be hired as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers the following year.

On March 26, 2023, the Seahawks resigned longtime linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played for the Los Angeles Rams during the previous season, for a second stint with the team.

On January 10, 2024, three days following the season's conclusion, head coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks mutually agreed to part ways, having served since 2010. Carroll would transition to an unspecified advisory role within the Seahawks organization before subsequently being hired as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders the following year.

The Seattle Seahawks drew an average home attendance of 68,735 in eight home games in the 2023 NFL season, the 18th highest in the league.

Draft

+ 2023 Seattle Seahawks draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 5 Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois From Broncos 20 Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Ohio State 2 37 Derick Hall DE Auburn From Broncos 52 Zach Charbonnet RB UCLA 3 83 Traded to the Denver Broncos 4 108 Anthony Bradford G LSU From Broncos 123 Cameron Young DT Mississippi State 5 151 Mike Morris DE Michigan From Steelers 154 Olusegun Oluwatimi C Michigan 6 198 Jerrick Reed II S New Mexico 7 237 Kenny McIntosh RB Georgia

+ 2023 Seattle Seahawks undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Holton Ahlers QB East Carolina M. J. Anderson DE Iowa State Michael Ayers LB Ashland Jake Bobo WR UCLA Lance Boykin CB Coastal Carolina Cam Bright LB Washington Arquon Bush CB Cincinnati James Campbell Montana State Robert Cooper DT Florida State Noah Gindorff TE North Dakota State John Hall WR Northwood Griffin Hebert TE Louisiana Tech C. J. Johnson WR East Carolina Matt Landers Arkansas Tyjon Lindsey Oregon State Patrick O'Connell LB Montana Ty Okada S Montana State Morrell Osling III UCLA Kendall Randolph G Alabama Chris Smith RB Louisiana Chris Stoll LS Penn State Jonathan Sutherland S Jacob Sykes DE UCLA Jonah Tavai DT San Diego State Christian Young S Arizona

Draft trades

Staff

Final roster

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Minnesota Vikings W 24–13 1–0 Lumen Field Recap 2 Dallas Cowboys W 22–14 2–0 Lumen Field Recap 3 at Green Bay Packers L 15–19 2–1 Lambeau Field Recap

Game summaries Preseason Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Preseason Week 2: vs Dallas Cowboys

Preseason Week 3: at Green Bay Packers

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 10 Los Angeles Rams L 13–30 0–1 Lumen Field Recap 2 September 17 at Detroit Lions W 37–31 1–1 Ford Field Recap 3 September 24 Carolina Panthers W 37–27 2–1 Lumen Field Recap 4 at New York Giants W 24–3 3–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 5Bye 6 October 15 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–17 3–2 Paycor Stadium Recap 7 October 22 Arizona Cardinals W 20–10 4–2 Lumen Field Recap 8 October 29 Cleveland Browns W 24–20 5–2 Lumen Field Recap 9 November 5 at Baltimore Ravens L 3–37 5–3 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 10 November 12 Washington Commanders W 29–26 6–3 Lumen Field Recap 11 November 19 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–17 6–4 SoFi Stadium Recap 12 November 23 San Francisco 49ers L 13–31 6–5 Lumen Field Recap 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 35–41 6–6 AT&T Stadium Recap 14 December 10 at San Francisco 49ers L 16–28 6–7 Levi's Stadium Recap 15 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17 7–7 Lumen Field Recap 16 December 24 at Tennessee Titans W 20–17 8–7 Nissan Stadium Recap 17 December 31 Pittsburgh Steelers L 23–30 8–8 Lumen Field Recap 18 January 7 at Arizona Cardinals W 21–20 9–8 State Farm Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams

The Seahawks were favored to win the matchup against the division rival Los Angeles Rams, as they were looking to return to competition following an injury-plagued season the year prior. Seattle had managed an improbable season in 2022 as quarterback Geno Smith managed to play a major factor in the team returning to the postseason, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year in the process, in addition to sweeping the Rams. The Rams' roster had also shown notable signs of decline with such offseason departures of players including Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp. Seattle started the first half strong as the Rams' offense found minor difficulties in converting on first downs despite managing a touchdown from rookie running back Kyren Williams to finish the first quarter leading at 7–3. Seattle quickly responded with a touchdown catch from DK Metcalf, and a field goal to lead the game 13–7 by the half. During the first quarter, Metcalf began trading insults with the Rams' sidelines, leading him to land an illegal hit on Los Angeles' cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon after the play, infuriating Sean McVay after no flag was thrown. The Rams' secondary responded strongly in the second half, shutting out the Seahawks for the remainder of the game. Rams rookie receiver Puka Nacua managed an impressive performance for his rookie debut, making 10 catches for 119 yards. The Rams' running backs had also managed an impressive showing as Kyren Williams and Cam Akers combined for 81 yards and three touchdowns. The Rams' defense managed to lock Seattle's passing game as they failed to convert a first down within Rams territory for the remainder of the game. Two fourth-quarter field goals from Rams kicker Brett Maher would secure the victory 30–13 for the Rams, and the Seahawks fell to 0–1 on the season.

Week 2: at Detroit Lions

Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 4: at New York Giants

The win ensured the Seahawks of remaining perfect at MetLife Stadium, having never lost to the Giants and Jets, their NFL co-tenants.

Week 6: at Cincinnati Bengals

The Seahawks traveled to Cincinnati to face the reigning AFC North Champions on the road. Despite their defense holding Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense to three points from the end of the second quarter onwards, the Seahawks offense failed to find the end zone on all but their first red zone trips. As a result, the Seahawks were narrowly defeated 13–17 and fell to 3–2 on the season, while also failing to capture their first win in Cincinnati since 1993.

Week 7: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 9: at Baltimore Ravens The loss to the Ravens was the second worst loss for the Seahawks under Pete Carroll, only eclipsed by a 42–7 loss to the Rams at home back in 2017. The Seahawks would later hire the Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to be their head coach the following season.

Week 10: vs. Washington Commanders

Week 11: at Los Angeles Rams

Seattle entered their second matchup against the rival Rams boasting a 6–3 record while the Rams struggled mightily as they limped into the game following three straight losses. Despite a lone touchdown to start the game; the Seahawks' offense became increasingly overwhelmed by the Rams' defense as they only managed two additional field goals to end the first half. Nearing the end of the third quarter; Geno Smith suffered a brutal tackle from Aaron Donald, that injured his elbow, forcing Seattle to play Drew Lock who played very poorly. Both sides continued to grow increasingly hostile with each other after rookie Cornerback Devon Witherspoon dealt a violent Suplex tackle on Rams wide receiver Austin Trammell. The Rams steadily cut the lead down to 2 points headed into the end of the fourth quarter, even managing a critical interception thrown by Lock. The Rams later took the lead by 1 point following a field goal, prompting Smith to return to the game for a possible drive despite his injured elbow. Desperate to regain the lead, Smith managed two desperate first down conversions to set up Jason Myers for a 55-yard field goal; as they attempted to retake the lead. A timeout was later called by Rams head coach Sean McVay in an effort to ice Myers' kick; proving to be successful when he missed the field goal as it sailed wide-right; ending the game in a crushing fashion as the Seahawks fell to the Rams in a sweep.

Week 12: vs. San Francisco 49ers Thanksgiving Day games

Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 14: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

With the Seahawks down 13–17 with just 1:52 left in the game, Drew Lock, who was starting place for the injured Geno Smith led a 92-yard touchdown drive concluding with a 29-yard touchdown throw to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with just 0:28 left. The Seahawks picked off Jalen Hurts on the next drive to seal the win and improve to 7–7. With the win, the Seahawks increased their winning streak over the Eagles to eight—including the teams' 2019 postseason meeting.

Week 16: at Tennessee Titans

Week 17: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 18: at Arizona Cardinals

Standings Division

Conference

References

External links

2023 Seattle Seahawks season

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