Projecting Seahawks 2022 Season: Game-By-Game Predictions

After jettisoning Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner this offseason, Seattle heads into the 2022 season with low expectations. With Week 1 less than four months away, reporter Corbin Smith dishes his way-too-early game-by-game predictions.

The 2022 NFL regular season won't kick off for nearly four months, but with free agency and the draft both in the books, most teams won't undergo any significant changes roster-wise between now and the start of training camp in July.

Keeping that in mind, with the Seahawks currently having a full 90-man roster heading towards OTAs later this month, it's never too early to peek at the schedule and predict how the upcoming season will unfold.

How will Seattle fare in 2022? Here's a quick rundown with running win/loss totals for all 17 of its scheduled games:

Week 1: Broncos 24, Seahawks 17

2022 Record: 0-1

Electricity will be in the air when Russell Wilson returns to Lumen Field to face his former team and while the Seahawks will be ready to throw their best punch, it won't be enough to beat a superior Broncos squad on Monday Night Football. Overcoming a lost fumble from a Darrell Taylor strip-sack in the first quarter, a late touchdown pass from Wilson to K.J. Hamler seals a tight win over Drew Lock in the ultimate revenge game.

Week 2: 49ers 20, Seahawks 10

2022 Record: 0-2

Starting off the post-Wilson era with two straight losses wouldn't be ideal, but even with an untested Trey Lance expected to start for the 49ers, this matchup doesn't look like a good one for the rebuilding Seahawks. With Nick Bosa swarming Lock behind a young, inexperienced offensive line and the run game unable to find much traction, the offense can't get untracked and San Francisco uses a steady dose of its own ground attack to pull away late for a win in its home opener.

Week 3: Seahawks 23, Falcons 16

2022 Record: 1-2

There won't be an easy game on Seattle's schedule, but drawing Atlanta at home will be a nice reprieve after facing two playoff-caliber teams to open the season. Harassing Marcus Mariota early and thwarting the Falcons' ground game, the Seahawks race out to an early two-score lead behind a big day from Rashaad Penny and never look back, holding on for a seven-point win late.

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Week 4: Seahawks 30, Lions 24

2022 Record: 2-2

In terms of toss-up games on Seattle's schedule, a road trip to Motown may top the list. Coach Dan Campbell has an up-and-coming team that could be ready to surprise in the NFC North, but the defense still has holes and struggled last year to slow down the run. Riding Penny and Ken Walker III, Seattle churns out 200-plus yards on the ground, Jordyn Brooks intercepts Jared Goff, and Lock connects with DK Metcalf on a long play action touchdown pass to steal an early road win and improve to 2-2.

Week 5: Saints 26, Seahawks 14

2022 Record: 2-3

Winning in New Orleans will always be a difficult task and assuming Jameis Winston bounces back from an ACL tear, the Saints could be the best team in the NFC South. The Seahawks will hang around early with a touchdown pass from Lock to Tyler Lockett, but two second quarter interceptions doom the visitors and set up easy touchdown drives capped off by touchdown runs by slippery back Alvin Kamara. With the crowd going bonkers, Seattle gets shut out after halftime in an ugly road defeat.

Week 6: Cardinals 27, Seahawks 23

2022 Record: 2-4

Over the past decade, Seattle has actually found great success in Arizona despite all of the injuries that have happened at State Farm Stadium and the absence of receiver DeAndre Hopkins will help the team's chances of pulling a road upset. Unfortunately, not having Wilson this time around will prevent the Seahawks from putting enough points on the board to ultimately win this one as Kyler Murray and Hollywood Brown hook up for a late touchdown to secure victory.

Week 7: Seahawks 31, Chargers 30

2022 Record: 3-4

On paper, the Chargers should electrocute the Seahawks into submission in this matchup with Justin Herbert dicing up the secondary and Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack devouring Lock in the pocket. But there's not a team in the NFL that more consistently finds ways to trip up in winnable games and while they will be in the hunt for an AFC West title, this will wind up being a rare blemish with Penny and Walker scoring three combined touchdowns on the ground and Jason Myers making a game-winning field goal in front of a 12s-heavy road crowd in the closing seconds.

Week 8: Seahawks 20, Giants 14

2022 Record: 4-4

Under new coach Brian Daboll, the Giants should take a step forward in the win/loss column and they have plenty of exciting young talent on both sides of the ball. But with sheets of rain falling from the sky, Daniel Jones and Lock combine to throw for under 250 yards and no touchdowns and Walker enjoys a career day with 145 rushing yards and a pair of scores to outduel Saquon Barkley in a low-scoring affair that likely will be a sight for sore eyes.

Week 9: Cardinals 34, Seahawks 17

2022 Record: 4-5

While Seattle gave Arizona a run for its money only four weeks earlier, the return of Hopkins coupled with the fact the Cardinals have dominated at Lumen Field does not bode well for Carroll's team. Murray gets off to a fast start with a pair of touchdown tosses to Hopkins and Zach Ertz and the visitors race out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. Lacking the firepower to comeback, the Seahawks get blown out on their home turf and fall back below the .500 mark.

Week 10: Buccaneers 27, Seahawks 13

2022 Record: 4-6

There's a chance this could feel like a home game in Europe with the Seahawks having a strong following in Germany. But while Carroll's squad enters the half trailing only by three points after a DK Metcalf scores on a 40-yard bomb and Sidney Jones picks off Tom Brady late in the second quarter, the G.O.A.T. enacts revenge with touchdown strikes to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, helping the Buccaneers pull away in the second half for a fairly comfortable International Series win.

Week 11: BYE

Week 12: Raiders 33, Seahawks 24

2022 Record: 4-7

Playing at home will give the Seahawks a chance to pull the upset and Lock plays with house money early throwing touchdowns to Lockett and Noah Fant to give his team a 17-14 halftime advantage. But talent ultimately wins out in the league and Derek Carr catches fire out of the break, leading Las Vegas on three unanswered scoring drives to push the lead to 27-17. Seattle's defense manages to hold the opposition out of the end zone down the stretch, but a pair of late field goals seal the team's fate with a third straight defeat.

Week 13: Rams 37, Seahawks 20

2022 Record: 4-8

Back on the road at SoFi Stadium, Bobby Wagner gets his revenge and then some by intercepting Lock and producing 14 tackles in his first game against his former team. On the other side, Matthew Stafford has too many weapons for this game to stay close for long and hooks up with Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson for a pair of first half touchdowns to build a commanding 21-point halftime advantage. While Lock throws a pair of garbage time touchdowns, this game is in the books after three quarters.

Week 14: Seahawks 25, Panthers 18

2022 Record: 5-8

Every time the Seahawks and Panthers get together, weird things seem to transpire on the field, and with both teams expected to be cellar dwellers this year, expect the weirdness to go up another notch. With Lock and Sam Darnold dueling - if you want to call it that - in the rain, Christian McCaffrey proves to be a problem for Seattle and breaks loose for a 65-yard touchdown run. Luckily, Darnold throws a telegraphed interception to Quandre Diggs, who races 54 yards for a pick-six, and a late touchdown run by Penny secures a "scorigami" win.

Week 15: Seahawks 26, 49ers 23

2022 Record: 6-8

After coming up short against their bitter rivals early in the season, Seattle gets off to a strong start under the lights on Thursday Night Football with rookie Boye Mafe strip-sacking Lance deep in San Francisco territory on the opening drive and leading the way to a Penny touchdown run. While the 49ers gash the Seahawks for 173 rushing yards, the inability to finish in the red zone at Lumen Field winds up costing them as a late Myers field goal winds up being the deciding points.

Week 16: Chiefs 38, Seahawks 16

2022 Record: 6-9

Holding onto slim playoff hopes, Seattle stuns the Arrowhead Crowd with a long, methodical touchdown drive to open the game as Lock connects with Dee Eskridge on a bootleg rollout to give his team a 7-0 advantage. After that, however, Patrick Mahomes scorches the Seahawks' secondary with 418 passing yards and four touchdowns and Chris Jones sacks Lock three times, turning this matchup into a Christmas Eve massacre and putting a dagger in Seattle's playoff coffin.

Week 17: Seahawks 23, Jets 20

2022 Record: 7-9

With little left to play for other than draft positioning, Seattle ushers in the new year with a solid performance against an improving New York Jets squad that isn't quite ready for prime time. Jamal Adams stuffs the stat sheet against his former team with a sack and an interception, while Geno Smith checks in for a banged-up Lock and enacts some revenge of his own with touchdown passes to Metcalf and Will Dissly. Zach Wilson nearly leads the Jets back in the closing moments, but a failed fourth down conversion leads to a tough road defeat.

Week 18: Rams 30, Seahawks 20

2022 Record: 7-10

If the Rams have already locked up the NFC West and potentially the top seed in the conference by this point, the Seahawks may be playing against reserves and have a prime chance to eclipse their 2021 record. But for this simulation, Los Angeles still has something to play for and while Seattle puts up a better fight than in Week 13, Kupp and tight end Tyler Higbee prove to be too much to handle down the stretch and a steady effort by Smith is wasted in a 10-point season-ending loss.