In the Seahawks' quest for a third-consecutive Super Bowl berth, they'll first have to navigate one of the NFL's toughest regular-season schedules.
According to John Breech at CBSSports.com, Seattle's 2015 strength of schedule ranks fourth in the League. The 16 opponents the Seahawks are slated to face finished the 2014 campaign with a combined record of 142-112-2, good for a .559 winning percentage.
Eight of those 16 games will come against the AFC and NFC North. The AFC North finished with the best combined record among the NFL's eight divisions last year (38-25-1) and produced three playoff teams in the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Pittsburgh Steelers, while the NFC North featured two playoff teams in the Detroit Lions (11-5) and Green Bay Packers (12-4).
The Seahawks are also up against the always competitive home and away matchups with the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks' division combined for a 37-27 record a season ago, second-best in the NFL.
Outside of the 14 games against the AFC North, NFC North, and NFC West, the Seahawks schedule features two more teams that made the playoffs last year - the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. That means eight of Seattle's 16 foes next season will have qualified for the postseason this past year.
The Steelers (.579), Bengals (.563), and 49ers (.561) are the three teams that face a more difficult road to the postseason than the Seahawks.
Here's the Seahawks' opponents for next season. The dates and times of each game will be announced in the spring. And below, check out each team's strength of schedule for 2015, courtesy of CBSSports.com
1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 147-107-2, .579
- Cincinnati Bengals: 144-112, .563
- San Francisco 49ers: 143-112-1, .561
4. Seattle Seahawks: 142-112-2, .559
- Arizona Cardinals:142-113-1, .557
- St. Louis Rams: 141-114-1, .553
T-7. Oakland Raiders: 139-116-1, .545
T-7. Kansas City Chiefs: 139-116-1, .545
- Cleveland Browns: 138-116-2, .543
- Denver Broncos: 138-117-1, .541
- Baltimore Ravens: 137-117-2, .539
- Minnesota Vikings: 138-118, .539
- Chicago Bears: 136-120, .531
- Green Bay Packers: 135-120-1, .529
- Detroit Lions: 135-121, .527
- San Diego Chargers: 132-123-1, .518
- Miami Dolphins: 126-130, .492
- New York Jets: 125-131, .488
- Buffalo Bills: 124-131-1, .486
T-20. Washington Redskins: 122-133-1, .478
T-20. New York Giants: 122-133-1, .478
- New England Patriots: 122-134, .477
- Philadelphia Eagles: 121-134-1, .475
- Dallas Cowboys: 119-136-1, .467
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 118-137-1, .463
- Tennessee Titans: 111-144-1, .435
- Carolina Panthers: 111-145, .434
- New Orleans Saints: 109-145-2, .429
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 108-146-2, .425
- Houston Texans: 106-148-2, .417
- Indianapolis Colts: 106-149-1, .417
- Atlanta Falcons: 104-150-2, .409
