After a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seattle Seahawks encountered a dip in the national media power rankings for the first time in over three weeks. However, following their impressive victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, the Seahawks’ standing is expected to rebound.
Typically, power rankings reflect a straightforward relationship with a team’s success—winning leads to climbing the ranks, while losing results in a drop. The pressing question now is how much ground the Seahawks have regained in these rankings.
Beginning with the lower-tier rankings, both Bleacher Report and Yahoo placed the Seahawks outside the top ten last week. Even with an impressive win against the Jaguars, neither of these platforms moved Seattle into the top ten. Bleacher Report bumped the Seahawks up from 14th to 11th, praising their impressive defensive performance that included seven sacks and 17 quarterback hits. Yahoo, meanwhile, acknowledged the Seahawks’ strong outing, moving them up two spots from 12th to 10th.
In the next set of rankings, both Pro Football Talk (PFT) and ESPN acknowledged the Seahawks’ efforts the previous week, moving them back into the top ten following the victory in Jacksonville. ESPN elevated the Seahawks from 11th to 8th, highlighting Byron Murphy II’s impressive contributions, including two sacks and seven quarterback pressures, bringing his season total to 4.5. PFT also made a significant move, lifting Seattle four spots from 13th to 9th, joking that the team’s recent road prowess might warrant wearing their white jerseys even at home.
NFL.com continues to hold the Seahawks in high regard. Despite their defeat to the Buccaneers, they kept Seattle ranked 5th for the past two weeks. Following the recent win, NFL.com has propelled the Seahawks to 3rd place, just behind the Buccaneers and Lions. This ranking reflects the national media’s growing admiration for the Seahawks, noting head coach Mike Macdonald’s remarkable record on the road, defensive rebounds from a prior weak performance, and the impressive run of quarterback Sam Darnold, alongside standout performances by rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The positivity surrounding Seattle’s performances and their resilience after a loss suggests that the team is positioned well for the remainder of the season. With key players stepping up and the coaching staff effectively leading the charge, Seahawks fans may have much to look forward to as the season progresses.