2020 Seattle Seahawks season

The 2020 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 45th in the National Football League 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.

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

However in the Wild Card round, the Seahawks were defeated by the 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.

Prior to the start of the 2020 season the Seahawks made a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets acquiring All-Pro safety Jamal Adams and a 2022 fourth-round pick in exchange for two first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, as well as safety Bradley McDougald and a 2021 third-round pick.

The Seahawks were the only team in the league to not have a player test positive for COVID-19 during the season. Due to the pandemic home games were played without fans in attendance.

Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes with 28 over the first nine weeks of the season while Seattle led the league in scoring at 34 points per game over that stretch. But Wilson threw just 12 touchdown passes over the final eight weeks of the regular season while Seattle's scoring dropped to 22.6 points per game. The Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history with 459 surpassing the 452 scored by the 2005 team. At seasons end offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was fired with Carroll citing “philosophical differences”.

The Seahawks defense were on pace to break the NFL record for most yards allowed with 2,356 yards in the first half of the season and were ranked 32nd in pass defense. However, the defense made a turnaround in the second half of the season after acquiring Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap in a trade along with safety Jamal Adams and cornerbacks D. J. Reed and Shaquill Griffin returning from injury. Adams went on to break the single season sack record for a defensive back with 9.5 on the season.

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

Draft
Main article: 2020 NFL Draft
2020 Seattle Seahawks Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
127 Jordyn BrooksLBTexas Tech
248 Darrell TaylorDETennesseefrom New York Jets
369 Damien LewisOGLSUfrom Carolina Panthers
4133 Colby ParkinsonTEStanford
144 * DeeJay DallasRBMiami
5148 Alton RobinsonDESyracusefrom Carolina Panthers
6214 * Freddie SwainWRFlorida
7251 * Stephen SullivanTE/WRLSUfrom Miami Dolphins
* Compensatory selection

Notes

Staff
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
  • Defensive coordinator – Ken Norton Jr.
  • Passing game coordinator – Andre Curtis
  • Linebackers – John Glenn
  • Secondary/nickel specialist – Nick Sorensen
  • Defensive assistant/defensive line – Damione Lewis
  • Defensive assistant/linebackers – Aaron Curry
  • Quality control/defense – Tom Donatell

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
2020 Seattle Seahawks final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


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

Preseason

The Seahawks' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

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

Schedule

The Seahawks' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.[2]

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 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–23 12–4 State Farm Stadium[upper-alpha 1] Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons
Week One: Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
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
Week Two: New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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.[4]

Week 3: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week Three: Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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 QB Dak Prescott in the endzone.

Week 4: at Miami Dolphins
Week Four: Seattle Seahawks at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
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 1st win in the state of Florida.

Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week Five: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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. It also improved QB Russell Wilson to 7–0 in his career against the Vikings.

Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
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. With this heartbreaking loss, Seattle dropped to 5–1 on the season, but still maintained their lead in 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
Week Eight: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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.

Week 9: at Buffalo Bills
Week Nine: Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
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 begin mounting a comeback later in the game, pulling within seven points in the third quarter, they would never lead, and the Bills would pull 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
Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
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
Week Eleven: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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/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
Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
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
Week Thirteen: New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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
Week Fourteen: New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Jets 3 0 003
Seahawks 7 16 14340

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Week 15: at Washington Football Team
Week Fifteen: Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team – Game summary
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
Week Sixteen: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
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
Week Seventeen: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Seahawks 3 3 02026
49ers 0 3 61423

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona[upper-alpha 1]

  • 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 delegated to the 3rd seed.

Division
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
# 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[lower-alpha 1] New Orleans Saints South 12 4 0 .750 6–0 10–2 .459 .406 W2
3[lower-alpha 1] 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[lower-alpha 2] Chicago Bears North 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .488 .336 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[lower-alpha 2] 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[lower-alpha 3] San Francisco 49ers West 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 .549 .448 L1
11[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] New York Giants East 6 10 0 .375 4–2 5–7 .502 .427 W1
12[lower-alpha 4] Dallas Cowboys East 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 .471 .333 L1
13[lower-alpha 5] Carolina Panthers South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .531 .388 L1
14[lower-alpha 5] 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[lower-alpha 6]
  1. New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.
  2. 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. 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. NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.
  5. 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
See also: 2020–21 NFL playoffs
Playoff round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card January 9 Los Angeles Rams (6) L 20–30 0–1 Lumen Field Recap

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

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Notes
  1. 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.[3]

References
  1. "CenturyLink Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders, to be renamed Lumen Field". The Seattle Times. November 19, 2020.
  2. Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  3. 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.
  4. "Patriots vs. Seahawks highlights: Cam Newton's comeback attempt falls short". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
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