They could use a little breather.
NFL schedule makers were not kind to the Seattle Seahawks in the first half of this season, giving them five of their first eight games away from CenturyLink Field – including all three NFC West division foes.
The Seahawks also faced several talented quarterbacks – New England’s Tom Brady, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Carolina’s Cam Newton and Dallas’ Tony Romo in the first seven games – and went 4-0 against them.
So while Seattle players were disappointed with a 13-6 loss on the road at San Francisco on Thursday, they will take solace in the fact that they can get some rest before the team’s final trip of the first half of the season – to Detroit on Oct. 28.
“We stayed in the game,” defensive back Marcus Trufant said. “It was close all the way through. It was a hard-fought game, so I think we can take that with us, even though you do want to get the wins. You try to take a little bit of good from every game and grow from that.”
Most players are using the three days off to get in a mini-vacation or reconnect with family and friends.
After that matchup with the Lions, Seattle will settle into a second-half schedule that includes home games against Minnesota and the New York Jets before a bye in Week 11, the latest Seattle has had a bye week since 2000.
While Seattle finishes with five of its last eight games at home, they also face a potentially more difficult schedule. Seattle’s final nine opponents have a combined record of 31-22 (58.5 percent).
The Seahawks’ first seven opponents have a combined record of 21-20 (51.2 winning percentage).
Seattle is in third place in the NFC West at 4-3, a game behind San Francisco (5-2) and a half-game behind Arizona (4-2).
But the Seahawks are actually further behind because they are the only NFC West team that has not won a game in the division, which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to tiebreakers.
However, something working in Seattle’s favor is that fact that they are 3-3 in the NFC, and have games left against Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago, along with all three NFC West foes at home.
“We know that all of our three losses have been in the division, and we get the opportunity to play them all again back at our place,” Seattle defensive end Red Bryant said. “This is a time for reflection. We get a few days off, watch the tape, make the corrections and then we will press on.”
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com @eric_d_williams blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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