Take a look at how national media views the Seahawks after a third consecutive win.
Welcome to another Seattle Seahawks power rankings update!
After a narrow 26-21 win over the New York Jets, the Seahawks have now rattled off three straight victories and have climbed from the NFC West cellar to the top spot. Unlike the previous two wins, having to rally from 14-0 down to beat a bad Jets squad was not a huge needle mover in terms of Seattle’s status in national media power rankings. If anything, the Seahawks generally held their position from the previous week.
Here’s the latest roundup of notable NFL outlets!
ESPN: No. 13 (Last week: 13)
Week 13 result: Beat the Jets 26-21
Week 13 ranking: 13
First-time Pro Bowl nominee: Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Four wide receivers from each conference are selected to the Pro Bowl, and Smith-Njigba’s 829 receiving yards are the fourth most at that position in the NFC. He’ll likely need to add to his four-touchdown total to earn a nod. But Pro Bowl or not, Smith-Njigba is having a second-year breakout, routinely coming through as a chain mover and a deep threat, as well. He has overtaken Tyler Lockett as Seattle’s No. 2 receiver and actually has outproduced DK Metcalf (763 yards in 10 games). — Brady Henderson
The Athletic: No. 12 (Last week: 12)
Last week: 12
Sunday: Beat New York Jets 26-21
Worst-case scenario: The pass blocking gets Geno Smith hurt
Smith was sacked three more times Sunday, and the Seahawks are 28th in the league in pressure percentage allowed (38.4 percent), according to TruMedia. If Seattle can keep Smith healthy, it may be on to something. He is second in the league in passing yards per game among qualified QBs (270.1), and the Seahawks lead the NFC West by a game. Sunday’s play of the day was 300-pound defensive lineman Leonard Williams returning an Aaron Rodgers interception 92 yards for a touchdown.
Yahoo: No. 13 (Last week: 15)
The Seahawks’ win vs. the Jets wasn’t pretty but they’ve put themselves in a great spot. If they win at Arizona next week, they’ll be up two on the Cardinals in the NFC West with the tiebreaker and just four games to go. Mike Macdonald isn’t out of the Coach of the Year running.
NFL.com: No. 14 (Last week: 14)
In the history of the NFL, has any team won a game with a special teams performance as poor as what Seattle put forth on Sunday? Jason Myers made two long, clutch field goals and the Seahawks blocked a Jets extra-point try. But they also had one of their own blocked, lost a fumble on a kick return (and muffed another) and allowed a 99-yard touchdown return. The Jets had great starting field position all game, and Seattle also coughed up a red-zone possession by being stopped on fourth down. It took a heroic effort, but the Seahawks finally found a way to win this game. Keeping New York off the scoreboard from the 10:40 mark of the second quarter on certainly helped. Leonard Williams’ 92-yard pick-six was the spark Seattle needed. The ‘Hawks won the game in the fourth quarter, turning Breece Hall’s second fumble into a field goal and marching 71 yards (46 of which came thanks to Jets penalties) for the go-ahead TD. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the most convincing victory for a division leader against a down-and-out team in Week 13. But the Seahawks got it done and stayed in first place.
CBS Sports: No. 11 (Last week: 11)
They’ve won two straight to take over first in the NFC West. The defense has made big strides. Now comes a tough one at Arizona.
Sports Illustrated: No. 11 (Last week: 13)
I really liked the Seahawks’ Jake Bobo packages from this weekend, which had the utility wideout motioning into the backfield and emerging as part-blocker, part defender-gobbling wideout. This series of tiny little winks and nods led to a very critical opening score for Seattle in which Bobo cleared out Sauce Gardner and trailblazed a huge swath of land for AJ Barner to score. This one is pretty to watch in slow motion but was set up by Bobo coming in and blocking out of that same look on earlier downs.
For The Win – USA TODAY: No. 12 (Last week: 15)
Leonard Williams had a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown and it wasn’t a pick-six. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald read the Jets offense, knew a slant was coming and dropped a 300-pound defensive tackle into coverage on third-and-goal. It worked. Hooooo, brother, did it work. No one should want to face the Seahawks in January.
The Ringer: No. 10 (Last week: 10)
After a blowout loss to Buffalo and an overtime disappointment against the Rams, I couldn’t see a pathway to the playoffs for Seattle. But head coach Mike Macdonald has found something with this defense, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams has found a new gear over the past month. Now that the run defense is fixed and Williams has provided some needed juice as a pass rusher, I’m confident that this team can ride the momentum into a road matchup with Arizona—and a win would put it in great position to control its fate in the NFC West.
If the Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals for a second time in three weeks, they’d be in strong position to win the division for the first time since 2020. A loss would not only drop them in the hypothetical power rankings, but they’d lose top spot in the division and be in deep trouble in terms of getting back in the playoff hunt.