2020 Seattle Seahawks season

2020 Seattle Seahawks season
OwnerEstate of Paul Allen
General managerJohn Schneider
Head coachPete Carroll
Home fieldLumen Field
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Rams) 20–30
Pro Bowlers
7
AP All-Pros
3
Uniform

The 2020 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 45th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 11th season under head coach Pete Carroll. With a win over the Washington Football Team in Week 15, the Seahawks made the playoffs for the third consecutive year. With a Week 17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, they improved upon their 11–5 record from the previous season. For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks started 5–0. After a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2016.

However, in the Wild Card round, the Seahawks were defeated by the rival Rams 30–20. This was the Seahawks first home playoff loss in the Wilson/Carroll era and their first home playoff loss since 2004, which also came against the Rams.

On November 19, 2020, CenturyLink Field was renamed Lumen Field.[1]

On February 6, 2021, Russell Wilson was named Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, the second Seahawk to earn the honor, after Steve Largent.

The Seahawks were the only team in the league to not have a player test positive for COVID-19 during the season. The team used approximately 36,000 tests for players and personnel, and detected close interactions using proximity sensors.[2] Due to the pandemic, home games were played without fans in attendance. Additionally, six of Seattle's eight road games were played without fans.

Draft

[edit]
Main article: 2020 NFL draft
2020 Seattle Seahawks Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 27 Jordyn Brooks LB Texas Tech
2 48 Darrell Taylor DE Tennessee from New York Jets
3 69 Damien Lewis OG LSU from Carolina Panthers
4 133 Colby Parkinson TE Stanford
144 * DeeJay Dallas RB Miami
5 148 Alton Robinson DE Syracuse from Carolina Panthers
6 214 * Freddie Swain WR Florida
7 251 * Stephen Sullivan TE LSU from Miami Dolphins
* Compensatory selection

Notes

Staff

[edit]

On September 11, special teams coordinator Brian Schneider left the team for personal reasons. Assistant special teams coordinator Larry Izzo was promoted to interim special teams coordinator in his absence.

2020 Seattle Seahawks staff

Front office

  • Owner – Estate of Paul Allen
  • Executor/chairwoman – Jody Allen
  • President – Chuck Arnold
  • Executive vice president/general manager – John Schneider
  • Vice president of football administration – Matt Thomas
  • Vice president of football operations – Scott Fitterer
  • Vice president of player personnel – Trent Kirchner
  • Director of college scouting – Matt Berry
  • Director of pro personnel – Nolan Teasley
  • Personnel executive – Alonzo Highsmith

Head coaches

  • Head coach/executive vice president of football operations – Pete Carroll
  • Assistant head coach/defensive line – Clint Hurtt

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Ivan Lewis
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Jamie Yanchar
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Thomas Garcia
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Mark Philipp
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Grant Steen


Final roster

[edit]
2020 Seattle Seahawks roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 15 reserve, 15 practice squad (+2 exempt)

Preseason

[edit]

The Seahawks' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Week Date Opponent Venue Result
1 August 13 Las Vegas Raiders CenturyLink Field Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2 August 22 at Houston Texans NRG Stadium
3 August 27 Los Angeles Chargers CenturyLink Field
4 September 3 at Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium

Regular season

[edit]

Schedule

[edit]

The Seahawks' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.[3]

Divisional matchups: the NFC West played the NFC East and the AFC East.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 at Atlanta Falcons W 38–25 1–0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
2 September 20 New England Patriots W 35–30 2–0 CenturyLink Field Recap
3 September 27 Dallas Cowboys W 38–31 3–0 CenturyLink Field Recap
4 October 4 at Miami Dolphins W 31–23 4–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
5 October 11 Minnesota Vikings W 27–26 5–0 CenturyLink Field Recap
6 Bye
7 October 25 at Arizona Cardinals L 34–37 (OT) 5–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
8 November 1 San Francisco 49ers W 37–27 6–1 CenturyLink Field Recap
9 November 8 at Buffalo Bills L 34–44 6–2 Bills Stadium Recap
10 November 15 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–23 6–3 SoFi Stadium Recap
11 November 19 Arizona Cardinals W 28–21 7–3 Lumen Field Recap
12 November 30 at Philadelphia Eagles W 23–17 8–3 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
13 December 6 New York Giants L 12–17 8–4 Lumen Field Recap
14 December 13 New York Jets W 40–3 9–4 Lumen Field Recap
15 December 20 at Washington Football Team W 20–15 10–4 FedExField Recap
16 December 27 Los Angeles Rams W 20–9 11–4 Lumen Field Recap
17 January 3, 2021 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–23 12–4 State Farm Stadium[A] Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

[edit]

Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons

[edit]
Week One: Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 14 0 141038
Falcons 3 9 01325

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 2: vs. New England Patriots

[edit]
Week Two: New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Patriots 7 7 31330
Seahawks 7 7 14735

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

In a competitive game on primetime, the Seahawks pulled ahead by the third quarter but the game was decided on the final play; the Patriots had driven to a 1st-and-goal on Seattle's 1-yard line, but in a reversal of fate from Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks defense was able to stuff a rushing play from Patriots quarterback Cam Newton for no gain on the next play. As the Patriots were out of timeouts, the Seahawks managed to hold on for a thrilling win, earning their second straight 2–0 start.[5] This game had to be monitored the entire week due to the bad air quality in the city thanks to fires across Washington and Oregon.

Week 3: vs. Dallas Cowboys

[edit]
Week Three: Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 9 6 7931
Seahawks 9 14 7838

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Russell Wilson continued to play at an MVP-caliber level, throwing 5 touchdowns. The Seahawks would once again win a close game after intercepting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the endzone.

Week 4: at Miami Dolphins

[edit]
Week Four: Seattle Seahawks at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 10 7 01431
Dolphins 3 6 31123

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

This was the Seahawks' first win in Miami since 1996, when they were part of the AFC West. It also gave Russell Wilson his first win in the state of Florida.

Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings

[edit]
Week Five: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 7 6 6726
Seahawks 0 0 21627

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 5:20 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Rain, 54 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya and Terry McAulay
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

With this win, Seattle improved to 5–0, which was also their first time in doing so in franchise history. Russell Wilson also improved to 7–0 in his career against the Vikings.

Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals

[edit]
Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Seahawks 10 17 07034
Cardinals 7 10 710337

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 5:20 p.m. MST & PDT
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 84 °F (29 °C) (retractable roof open)
  • Game attendance: 1,200
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya and Terry McAulay
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Seattle's unbeaten bid came to an end with their first loss in Arizona since the 2012 season. While Russell Wilson finished with 388 yards and 3 touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett, he also finished with three interceptions, including a costly one in overtime to Cardinals rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons that eventually set up the decisive field goal by Zane Gonzalez. The Seahawks compiled 572 total yards of offense, the most by a losing team all season. Seattle dropped to 5–1 on the season, but still led the NFC West. This was also the Seahawks' first loss under Russell Wilson when leading by 4 or more points at halftime.

Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers

[edit]
Week Eight: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 7 02027
Seahawks 6 7 141037

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth and Lindsay Czarniak
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

The Seahawks returned home after their overtime loss at Arizona, and rebounded with a dominant win over the arch-rival San Francisco 49ers. Russell Wilson finished 27/37 with 261 yards passing and four touchdown passes, including two to DK Metcalf, who also finished with 12 catches and 161 receiving yards. With the 37–27 win, the Seahawks improved to 6–1. This was the last Seattle home game in which the name "CenturyLink Field" was used. After 9 years of using the stadium name, CenturyLink rebranded to Lumen Technologies, effectively changing the name to "Lumen Field".

Week 9: at Buffalo Bills

[edit]
Week Nine: Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 10 101434
Bills 14 10 31744

at Bills Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 8
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 69 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Shawn Smith
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Brock Huard and Jen Hale
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

The Buffalo Bills proved to be too much for the Seahawks to handle, as Buffalo's offense tore up Seattle's struggling defense behind 415 passing yards from Josh Allen. While the Seahawks would mount a comeback later in the game, pulling within seven points in the third quarter, they never led, and the Bills pulled away in the fourth. The 44–34 loss dropped Seattle to 6–2 on the season, and the 44 points surrendered were the most in the Pete Carroll era.

Week 10: at Los Angeles Rams

[edit]
Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 6 0316
Rams 10 7 6023

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 78 °F (26 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: vs. Arizona Cardinals

[edit]
Week Eleven: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Seahawks 7 9 7528

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 19
  • Game time: 5:20 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox/NFLN/Amazon Prime Video): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Seattle's rushing attack was bolstered by the return of Carlos Hyde from injury, racking up 165 yards. Conversely, the Seahawks' much-maligned defense held Arizona's league-leading rushing offense to 57 yards, over 110 yards below its season average. The same day as the game, CenturyLink Field was renamed Lumen Field.

Week 12: at Philadelphia Eagles

[edit]
Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 14 3623
Eagles 0 6 3817

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 13: vs. New York Giants

[edit]
Week Thirteen: New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 14317
Seahawks 3 2 0712

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 51 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth and Lindsay Czarniak
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

With the shocking loss, the Seahawks dropped to 8–4 and picked up their final loss of the season. This is also the only time during the regular season where the Seahawks lost a game at home.

Week 14: vs. New York Jets

[edit]
Week Fourteen: New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 3 0 003
Seahawks 7 16 14340

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Week 15: at Washington Football Team

[edit]
Week Fifteen: Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 3 10 7020
Washington 0 3 01215

at FedExField, Landover, Maryland

Game information

Despite a close-scoring game, the Seahawks held on to win to clinch a playoff berth. Seattle took sole possession of first place in the division with the Rams' surprising loss to the then-winless New York Jets later that day.

Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams

[edit]
Week Sixteen: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 3 039
Seahawks 0 6 7720

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: December 27
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 45 °F (7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

With the win, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2016. They won all three home games against their NFC West opponents for the first time since 2014 and finished 7–1 at home in the regular season, which is also their best home record since 2016.

Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers

[edit]
Week Seventeen: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 3 3 02026
49ers 0 3 61423

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona[A]

  • Date: January 3, 2021
  • Game time: 2:25 p.m. MST/1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C) (retractable roof open)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Shannon Spake
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Trying to take the first round bye away from the Packers and Saints, the Seahawks did win to get a chance at a bye, but due to the Packers beating the Bears and the Saints' win against Carolina, the Hawks were relegated to the 3rd seed.

Standings

[edit]

Division

[edit]
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Seattle Seahawks 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 459 371 W4
(6) Los Angeles Rams 10 6 0 .625 3–3 9–3 372 296 W1
Arizona Cardinals 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 410 367 L2
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 376 390 L1

Conference

[edit]
NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Green Bay Packers North 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10–2 .428 .387 W6
2[a] New Orleans Saints South 12 4 0 .750 6–0 10–2 .459 .406 W2
3[a] Seattle Seahawks West 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .447 .404 W4
4 Washington Football Team East 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 .459 .388 W1
Wild cards
5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 .488 .392 W4
6 Los Angeles Rams West 10 6 0 .625 3–3 9–3 .494 .484 W1
7[b] Chicago Bears North 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .488 .336 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[b] Arizona Cardinals West 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .475 .441 L2
9 Minnesota Vikings North 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 .504 .366 W1
10[c] San Francisco 49ers West 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 .549 .448 L1
11[c][d] New York Giants East 6 10 0 .375 4–2 5–7 .502 .427 W1
12[d] Dallas Cowboys East 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 .471 .333 L1
13[e] Carolina Panthers South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .531 .388 L1
14[e] Detroit Lions North 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .508 .350 L4
15 Philadelphia Eagles East 4 11 1 .281 2–4 4–8 .537 .469 L3
16 Atlanta Falcons South 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .551 .391 L5
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. ^ a b New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.
  2. ^ a b Chicago finished and clinched the 7th and final playoff spot ahead of Arizona based on better win percentage in common games (against Detroit, the NY Giants, Carolina, and the LA Rams, Chicago finished 3–2, while Arizona finished 1–4).
  3. ^ a b San Francisco finished ahead of the NY Giants based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Dallas (see below).
  4. ^ a b NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.
  5. ^ a b Carolina finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.
  6. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

[edit]
See also: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

Schedule

[edit]
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card January 9, 2021 Los Angeles Rams (6) L 20–30 0–1 Lumen Field Recap

Game summaries

[edit]

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (6) Los Angeles Rams

[edit]
NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (6) Los Angeles Rams at (3) Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 17 01030
Seahawks 0 10 3720

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Due to a ban on all contact sports imposed by California's Santa Clara County as a result from rising COVID-19 cases, the Seahawks' Week 17 regular season finale at the San Francisco 49ers was moved from Levi's Stadium to Arizona's State Farm Stadium.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "CenturyLink Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders, to be renamed Lumen Field". The Seattle Times. November 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Belson, Ken (February 5, 2021). "The N.F.L. Had Over 700 Coronavirus Positives. The Seahawks Had None". The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Wagoner, Nick (December 19, 2020). "San Francisco 49ers to finish season in Arizona after Santa Clara County extends COVID-19 restrictions". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Patriots vs. Seahawks highlights: Cam Newton's comeback attempt falls short". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
[edit]
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