The Seahawks are just 4-5 in their last nine home games vs. NFC West rivals

One of the hallmarks of the Russell Wilson era has been the Seattle Seahawks’ outstanding home record. Seattle won its first 14 games at CenturyLink Field with Wilson starting, then the pesky Arizona Cardinals ended the streak with a 17-10 win in the penultimate week of the 2013 season.

As it pertains to the NFC West, the Seahawks started out with an 8-1 record at home against their divisional rivals from 2012-2014. Their dominance was so profound that the most points they gave up during that nine-game span was the 17 against Arizona.

These past three years have told a different story.

Seattle is now just 4-5 in their last nine divisional home games (and yet, 6-2-1 on the road!). They’ve given up an average of 33 points per game to the Cardinals, who’ve won at CLink for three years running, even though they’ve missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons. The Rams went from 2005-2014 without winning in Seattle, but 2015 and 2017 proved to be different. Three of Seattle’s four wins came against the San Francisco 49ers, who came pretty damn close to beating the Seahawks in 2017 despite starting Brian Hoyer at quarterback and not even clearing 100 yards passing.

Overall, the Seahawks finished a mediocre 4-4 at home, going 1-4 after the memorable win against the Houston Texans. It’s their worst home mark since an identical W-L in 2011, the last time they missed the postseason. Over the last ten home games, last year’s loss to Arizona and the playoff win vs. Detroit included, Seattle is an uninspiring 5-5.

There are many reasons the Seahawks didn’t make the playoffs this season, and their sharp and unexpected decline (or off-year, if you will) at the place known as one of the most difficult venues in the entire NFL is one of them. A 5-3 away record should be more than enough for a team like Seattle to make the playoffs, but when you’re a .500 ball club in your own home? You stay home for January, preparing for the offseason.