Seahawks 2018 schedule includes home game against Packers, road game at Raiders

There are only two weeks left in the 2017 NFL regular season, and for many teams, they’re already looking ahead to 2018. The NFL’s schedule rotation system is pretty easy, so much so that 14 of the 16 games are known well in advance. Here are the teams the Seattle Seahawks will play next season:

Home games

Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia Eagles/Dallas Cowboys

Away games

Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
New Orleans Saints/Carolina Panthers/Atlanta Falcons

Seattle is almost certainly going to host Dallas, who are locked into 2nd place in the NFC East. The only way the Seahawks play the Eagles (again) is if they win the NFC West, and it would take one hell of a turnaround for that to materialize. Given the drama in the NFC South, the Seahawks will not know which one of the Saints, Panthers, or Falcons they’ll face until the season is over.

Yes, the Seahawks and Packers will lock horns for an incredible fifth consecutive year. This will be Green Bay’s first trip to Seattle since the 2014 NFC Championship Game. The road team has yet to come away with the W in the Russell Wilson vs. Aaron Rodgers rivalry.

Also of note on the home schedule are the two AFC West opponents. If Seattle beats both the Chiefs and Chargers, then they’ll have beaten 30 of the other 31 teams under Wilson, with the Cincinnati Bengals as that elusive exception.

The road games are a relief if you fear 10 AM kickoffs, as the Seahawks can only get a maximum of 3. They have not been to Chicago since that game. Yes, that game. Ditto for Detroit, who beat Seattle 28-24 after the Seahawks couldn’t stop the Lions on 3rd down all game and paid the price in the end.

I don’t know if Marshawn Lynch is interested in another season of football with the Raiders, but if he is, then it’s possible the Seahawks will face off against Lynch next year. Maybe that storyline is enticing enough to stick this game on primetime, but that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

The 2018 NFL schedule will be released some time in April, so mark your calendars for the day when you can uh... mark your calendars.