Man, 2018 was such a weird time to be a Seahawks fan. Everyone was writing them off. Seriously. You had the "Legion of Boom" basically dissolving before our eyes—Richard Sherman was gone to the Niners, Kam Chancellor had to retire because of that neck injury, and Michael Bennett was traded away. The national media was screaming "rebuild" like it was a dirty word. People honestly expected this team to bottom out and pick in the top five of the draft. But Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson had other plans.
The 2018 Seattle Seahawks football schedule started out looking like those skeptics were right, though. They stumbled out of the gate with two straight losses on the road. Losing to Denver in the opener wasn't a total shock, but that Monday night game against the Bears? It was ugly. Russell Wilson was getting sacked every five minutes.
Turning the tide after a 0-2 start
I remember sitting there thinking, "Okay, maybe the pundits were right." But then Week 3 happened. The Cowboys came to CenturyLink Field, and the Seahawks finally remembered they could run the ball. Chris Carson went for over 100 yards, and suddenly the identity of the team shifted. They weren't trying to be the 2013 Seahawks anymore. They were becoming this gritty, run-first squad that just out-efforted people.
The middle of the 2018 Seattle Seahawks football schedule was a rollercoaster. They went to London in Week 6 and absolutely dismantled the Raiders. 27-3. It was a statement. Then they had the bye week, came back, and beat the Lions. But then they lost two heartbreakers back-to-back: a weird one to the Chargers where they couldn't buy a touchdown, and a 36-31 shootout against the Rams.
👉 See also: Steelers News: Justin Fields and the 2026 Quarterback Reality
At 4-5, the season was on the brink. Honestly, that's when things got fun.
The November-December surge
Starting in Week 11 against the Packers, Seattle went on this absolute tear. They won six of their last seven games. Russell Wilson was playing out of his mind, throwing for 35 touchdowns on the season with only seven picks. And the running game? Chris Carson finished with 1,151 yards. He was the first Seahawks back to break 1,000 since Marshawn Lynch in 2014. It felt like "Seahawks football" again, even without the big names on defense.
One game that stands out is Week 16. The Kansas City Chiefs came to town. Patrick Mahomes was in his first year as a starter, lighting the world on fire. Nobody expected Seattle to win that. But the atmosphere at the Clink was electric. Seattle ground them down, won 38-31, and punched their ticket to the playoffs. It was the ultimate "told you so" to everyone who said they were done.
✨ Don't miss: South Dakota State Football vs NDSU Football Matches: Why the Border Battle Just Changed Forever
Breaking down the 2018 Seattle Seahawks football schedule results
If you're looking for the specific scores, here's how the regular season played out. It wasn't always pretty, but they finished 10-6.
- Week 1: at Denver Broncos (L 24-27)
- Week 2: at Chicago Bears (L 17-24)
- Week 3: vs. Dallas Cowboys (W 24-13)
- Week 4: at Arizona Cardinals (W 20-17)
- Week 5: vs. Los Angeles Rams (L 31-33)
- Week 6: at Oakland Raiders in London (W 27-3)
- Week 7: BYE
- Week 8: at Detroit Lions (W 28-14)
- Week 9: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (L 17-25)
- Week 10: at Los Angeles Rams (L 31-36)
- Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers (W 27-24)
- Week 12: at Carolina Panthers (W 30-27)
- Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers (W 43-16)
- Week 14: vs. Minnesota Vikings (W 21-7)
- Week 15: at San Francisco 49ers (L 23-26 OT)
- Week 16: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (W 38-31)
- Week 17: vs. Arizona Cardinals (W 27-24)
The Wild Card round was a bit of a letdown. They went back to Dallas, but the offensive play-calling was... let's just say "conservative." They kept trying to run into a brick wall and lost 24-22. It felt like a missed opportunity because that team was playing so well down the stretch.
Why that season actually matters now
Looking back, 2018 was the year Bobby Wagner proved he was the best linebacker in the league. He was everywhere. He had 138 tackles and was a First-team All-Pro. It was also the year we saw Michael Dickson, the rookie punter, basically become a folk hero for his drop-kicks and punts that seemed to defy physics.
🔗 Read more: Shedeur Sanders Draft Room: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
People forget that the 2018 Seattle Seahawks football schedule was one of the hardest in the league at the time. They had to transition an entire culture while facing Mahomes, Goff's high-powered Rams twice, and a peak Aaron Rodgers. They didn't just survive it; they thrived. It proved that the "Pete Carroll Way" could work even without a legendary defense.
If you're a student of the game, or just a Hawks fan feeling nostalgic, the big takeaway from 2018 is resilience. They were projected to win maybe 7 games. They won 10. They found stars in guys like Tyler Lockett, who had a perfect passer rating when targeted that year. Think about that. Perfect.
For anyone trying to deep-dive into this specific era, I'd suggest looking at the Week 12 game against Carolina. It was a classic "Russ being Russ" comeback that essentially saved the season. If they lose that game, they probably don't make the dance. It's those small margins that defined the 2018 run.
The best way to appreciate what happened is to go back and watch the highlights of the Chiefs game. It’s a masterclass in home-field advantage and tactical football. 2018 wasn't a championship year, but it was one of the most impressive coaching jobs of the decade.