Historically, What Would 3-0 Start Mean For Seattle Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks have won three straight games to start a season just seven times. They've made the playoffs the last five, including a Super Bowl victory.

Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy after beating the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks have a rare chance to move to 3-0 on Sunday when they host the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. A win would be the first time Seattle has earned three-straight victories to begin a season since 2020.

Historically, how important is a 3-0 start (or better) for the Seahawks? Seattle has achieved that record just seven times since the franchise’s creation in 1976. It’s meant a playoff berth in each of the last five occurrences.

Here’s how each of those seasons panned out for Seattle, in order.

1986

3-0 start, finished 10-6 (missed playoffs)

The first of two straight times Seattle began 3-0 and missed the playoffs was also the first time it ever did so.

The Seahawks beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots in Weeks 1–3 before losing to the Washington Commanders (known by a different name then) in Week 4.

Seattle got to 5-2 before losing four straight. It then won five in a row to close out the season, defeating the then-division rival Denver Broncos 41-16 in the final game of the regular season.

Still, the Seahawks finished third in the AFC West behind the Chiefs and Broncos, while Denver trudged on to Super Bowl XXI and lost to the New York Giants.

1998

3-0 start, finished 8-8 (missed playoffs)

Twelve years after the first occurrence, this was the least amount of games Seattle has won in a season following three consecutive wins to start the campaign.

Following the strong start, Seattle lost three in a row and never strung together more than two consecutive wins. Once again, the division-rival Broncos went to the Super Bowl — this time defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19.

Seattle had three different starting quarterbacks during the season, however, in Warren Moon, Jon Kitna and John Friesz. That inconsistency could halt any team’s season.

2003

3-0 start, finished 10-6 (lost to Green Bay Packers in Wild Card)

Oct 26, 2003; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) scrambles against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals beat the Seahawks 27-24. / Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Seattle got off to a hot start through six games, even. The Seahawks began 5-1, only losing to the Packers in Week 5.

It was an up-and-down season from there, as Seattle went 5-5 over its final 10 games. Now in the NFC West, the Seahawks still finished second in the division behind the St. Louis Rams (12-4).

The Packers handed Seattle its second crushing loss of the season in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, defeating the Seahawks 33-27 in overtime.

Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw a pick-six to Green Bay defensive back Al Harris in the extra period for the game-winning score — immortalizing his infamous “we want the ball and we’re going to score” statement during the coin toss.

2004

3-0 start, finished 9-7 (lost to St. Louis Rams in Wild Card)

Seattle began its season 3-0 for the second straight year, but they finished with a worse record. The Seahawks lost their next three, but still won the division in the sub-par NFC West. Every team in the division had a negative point differential.

The Rams finished one game below Seattle at 8-8, but eventually ended the Seahawks’ season in a 27-20 Wild Card win. St. Louis held star running back Shaun Alexander — who rushed for 1,696 yards and 16 touchdowns in the regular season — to just 40 rushing yards on 15 carries.

The Seahawks went 13-3 the next season, despite a 2-2 start, and made their first Super Bowl appearance against the Steelers.

2006

3-0 start, finished 9-7 (lost to Chicago Bears in Divisional round)

With the Seahawks in their Super Bowl hangover, the 2006 season looked eerily similar to the 2004 campaign. Seattle finished with the same record, once again finished one game ahead of the Rams in the division standings and made the playoffs but missed the Super Bowl.

It’d be easy to argue the Seahawks had more productive seasons in the early 2000s when not beginning 3-0. They at least had better season results.

After defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, Seattle suffered another heartbreaking overtime playoff loss in the Divisional round, losing 27-24 to the Chicago Bears.

2013

4-0 start, finished 13-3 (beat Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII)

Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) holds up the ball after making an interception against the Denver Broncos in the first half in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. / Anthony Gruppuso-Imagn Images

This is the one that matters. The best start in franchise history, at the time, resulted in the best season the Seahawks have ever had.

Seattle emphatically won its first Super Bowl, crushing the Broncos 43-8 and avenging the lost seasons spent in the AFC West during the franchise’s first 25 years of existence. The Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers on their way to the final game of the NFL season.

Even after a Week 5 loss, Seattle went 11-1 over its first 12 games. It will likely be a long time before that start is surpassed. It was the most dominant season in franchise history led by the Legion of Boom defense and a potent rushing attack spearheaded by Marshawn Lynch.

Seattle returned to the Super Bowl the following year, but lost, going 2-1 in its first three games. That’s all we’ll say about that.

2020

5-0 start, finished 12-4 (lost to Los Angeles Rams in Wild Card)

The 2020 season was resurgent for Seattle, posting its best-ever start. Then the Seahawks lost three of their next four.

Sitting at 8-4 down the stretch, Seattle won four straight to close out the season as the defense found its groove — holding three of those four opponents to under 16 points. But the offense never returned to its early-season potency where it scored 30 or more points in four of the first five games.

The Rams, playing spoiler once again, ended Seattle’s hopes of another deep playoff run by knocking off the Seahawks, 30-20, in the Wild Card round.

Seattle hasn’t won double-digit games in each of the three full seasons since. However, the Seahawks also didn’t even start 2-0 from 2021–23 — something the current team has already accomplished.