Last week, after squeaking out a win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Seattle Seahawks barely moved in their average power ranking. However, will the Seahawks finally take over the number one spot after their roller
coaster win over the Los Angeles Rams?
Put shortly, yes. All five national media sites polled (NFL.com, Pro Football Talk, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and CBS Sports) all have Seattle ranked as best team in the NFL. Arguably, with where the Seahawks had been ranked in the weeks leading up to the Rams game, this makes sense. Just last week, the average power ranking for the Seahawks was 3.2, this week it is obviously 1.0.
On top of that, since the first Rams game, the national media basically had the same tune: that the Seahawks are beating the teams that they are supposed to be beating, but what really matters is how they look when they face Los Angeles. Well, now that the “big brother” Rams have been beaten, in a rather dramatic fashion as well, let’s see what the national media has to say about the number one team, Seattle Seahawks.
Bleacher Report (BR), who ranked the Seahawks as 5th last week, jumped Seattle up four spots to number one. Despite the move to number one, BR still notes that there will be skepticism towards the Seahawks being true Super Bowl favorites, mostly in part because of Sam Darnold, and whether he can prove himself in the big game. If Darnold can replicate his late game heroics against the Rams, and pair that with an improved run game, that can be the recipe that Seattle needs to win it all.
ESPN had Seattle ranked as the second-best team in the NFL last week, only behind the Rams. Well, after beating the Rams, it only makes sense to swap the two teams, which is exactly what ESPN did, listing Seattle at one, and the Rams at two. ESPN made note that Grey Zabel has been the Seahawks best rookie this season. In this note, ESPN mentions that Zabel is first among all guards in run block win rate across 15 starts.
CBS Sports, PFT, and NFL.com all moved the Seahawks up to the number one spot as well. In their ranking, PFT stated that Darnold delivered, however he may have to deliver again in Week 18 for the division title and the No. 1 Seed. CBS Sports stated that despite the impressive win, the Seahawks still face a tough road schedule ahead, starting with the Carolina Panthers next week. NFL.com admits to some “sincere hesitation” in ranking the Seahawks number one. Despite how good they are, the NFC West and No. 1 seed is still not locked up. And with the injuries to Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen, and the tough road schedule ahead, it makes it tough to be excited just yet for this team.
Overall, the national media are all fairly ranking the Seahawks as number one. After flirting with the top five over the last month and looking ahead to the “big-brother” Ram, it is only logical to get the number one spot after defeating Los Angeles. However, the national media is also fair to note that the Seahawks cannot celebrate just yet. The No. 1 seed and the NFC West are far from decided, especially with a tough road schedule to finish the season for Seattle (at Carolina Panthers, and at San Francisco 49ers). Seahawks fans would agree as well. Getting the consensus number one spot in power rankings prior to Christmas means absolutely nothing if Seattle cannot make their way to Santa Clara, California for Super Bowl 60. For Seattle, that road to Santa Clara starts in week 17 with a road trip to Charlotte, North Carolina.
