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3 numbers that matter as Seattle Seahawks’ JSN chases history

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3 numbers that matter as Seattle Seahawks’ JSN chases history


For a second time this year, Seattle sports fans are watching a local player chase down an unbelievable record.

Record-chasing JSN could be NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiver

This summer it was Cal Raleigh’s race to set a new record for home runs by a catcher. Then he smashed it and advanced to 60, becoming one of just seven players ever to do so.

This fall, Seattle Seahawks fans are watching as third-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn’t just chasing the NFL record for receiving yards in a season that’s stood for 13 years, but also has a chance to do something we’ve never seen before: 2,000 receiving yards in a single season.

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Here are three numbers you need to know as JSN chases the record.

Your first number that matters is: 1,964

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way since you’ll be hearing it repeated frequently for the next six weeks.

Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson set the current record (1,964 yards) back in 2012. He became the first player to touch 1,900 yards in a season, and since then just one player has come close – current Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, who had 1,947 for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

Interestingly, a few players — including Smith-Njigba — have outpaced Johnson at this point in the season. Previous names have, obviously, failed to surpass him. But could JSN?

JSN has 1,313 yards right now, just a bit over the 1,257 yards Johnson had through Week 12. But not did Johnson set the record back when the season was just 16 games instead of 17, but his pace improved rapidly in the second half; he added nearly 500 yards between Week 8 and Week 12 alone.

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Producing at a similar pace to JSN was Tyreek Hill in 2023, who hit the 1,324 mark at the same point in the season for Miami. Perhaps it was a nagging ankle injury in December, but Hill averaged under 100 yards in the final four games of the season and finished with 1,799 yards (seventh place all-time).

Your second number that matters is: 109

Now we’re just doing math. To break Johnson’s record by one yard, JSN would need to average 109 yards per game (108.6) in the final six weeks. Averaging 115 (687 yards for the next six games) would put him at 2,000.

Two of Seattle’s next six opponents are bottom-10 defenses against the pass this year: the 49ers, who rank 26th (240 passing yards allowed per game), and the Colts, who are 28th (245 passing yards allowed per game). They’re 11th and 12th, respectively, in fantasy points allowed to receivers.

Only one of the Seahawks’ remaining opponents is a top-10 defense against the pass: the Vikings, who they play Sunday.

Your third number that matters is: 1

This is less about JSN chasing history and more about one of the weird quirks with this specific bit of history.

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Of the top 10 players in single-season receiving yards during the Super Bowl era, just one has made it to a Super Bowl (ironically, it’s JSN’s teammate Kupp). Johnson’s Lions finished 4-12. Julio Jones’ Falcons didn’t make the playoffs, nor did Isaac Bruce’s 1995 Rams (though both players would eventually make a Super Bowl with those teams).

The 8-3 Seahawks feel like a sure thing for the playoffs, but just how far could they get? Could Smith-Njigba, like his teammate, have the opportunity to chase history and a Lombardi in the same season?

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks make a flurry of roster moves, including Quandre Diggs’ return
• Seahawks sign former Rams RB Cam Akers to active roster
• Rams swoop in to take CB Derion Kendrick from Seahawks
• Seahawks legend Earl Thomas named Pro Football HOF semifinalist
• Pass rush bounces back but Seattle Seahawks looking for more






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Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season

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Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season


Patrick Mahomes and 2025 MVP candidate Drake Maye are set to make trips to Lumen Field to face the Seattle Seahawks next season.

The Seahawks’ nine home and eight road opponents are now set for the 2026 campaign. They will face what on paper will be a tough slate after securing the NFC West title this year, which means they will take on the reigning division champions from the NFC North, NFC South and AFC East in addition to their home-and-home series with their NFC rivals and matchups against each team from the NFC East and AFC West.

The numbers behind Seattle Seahawks’ defensive masterpiece vs 49ers

The full schedule with dates for games has yet to be released. The NFL typically unveils the following season’s schedule in May.

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Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Maye’s New England Patriots coming to town are among the highlights of the Seahawks’ 2026 slate. They could also be in line for a reunion with former coach Pete Carroll, as a trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders is on the docket. However, the Raiders are not expected to keep Carroll for a second season.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is in line to square off with one of his former mentors when Seattle hosts Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers. Harbaugh was the head coach at the University of Michigan when Macdonald was the defensive coordinator in 2021. Harbaugh is also the dad of Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.

Seattle has three trips to the east coast next season where they will face the reigning NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles, reigning NFC South champion Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders. The Seahawks also faced the Panthers and Commanders on the road this season.

Here’s a full look at Seattle’s 2026 home and away opponents.

Home

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angeles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Chicago Bears
• New England Patriots
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants

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Away

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Carolina Panthers
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Denver Broncos
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Commanders

Find more info on how each team’s opponents are chosen here.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seattle Seahawks GM shares positive updates on Bryant, Cross for playoffs
• Drake Thomas an unlikely hero in Seattle Seahawks’ landmark win
• Seahawks’ season-long commitment to run game pays off in massive win
• Stacy Rost: Seattle Seahawks show their fatal flaw may not matter
• The 5 biggest plays that delivered Seahawks’ win over 49ers






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Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win

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Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win


Santa Clara—When Seattle’s defense stepped on the field for the Week 18 matchup against the 49ers, they had a few goals in mind, winning was of course one of those, but they wanted to show everyone watching they are the best defense in the league.

“We made up our mind that we were going to be the best defense in the NFL,” linebacker Uchenna Nwosu said. “We were going to show the world tonight and that’s what we did.”

As has been the case for the entire season, the Seahawks’ defense was once again a highlight in their 13-3 win. The Seahawks won, in part thanks to a dominant performance by the defense that held the San Francisco 49ers to just three points. The last time Kyle Shanahan’s offense was held to just three points was in his 49ers head coaching debut in 2017. Since then, San Francisco has scored at least 6 points in every game, until Saturday.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the 49ers were riding a three-game streak of great performances by its offense. Throughout all three of those games, San Francisco was averaging 42.3 points per game, 455.3 yards per game and 29.3 first downs per game.

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Seattle’s defense held San Francisco to just 53 rushing yards, which included 21 yards from quarterback Brock Purdy, 127 yards through the air, a lone field goal, and just nine first downs. They also picked off Purdy once, sacked him three times and forced the 49ers to punt four times.

“They’re a tremendous offense,” head coach Mike Macdonald said following the game. “Probably top whatever in the league and have been doing it for a long time. They have great players, they have great coaches, and the numbers back it up. Our guys played great complimentary football today. They really did. I can’t say enough, but I can’t wait to watch the tape. There’s a lot of assists going on in there, guys rushing unselfishly to free somebody else up or to let somebody else have a two-way go so they can cover for them. How we played in the back end, it felt like we were ahead of plays. These guys did a great job. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

Christian McCaffery, one of San Francisco’s top offensive playmakers in both the run and passing game was held to his lowest rushing yards all season with 23 yards through the night and his fourth lowest receiving yards with 34.

Nick Emmanwori who had a team high seven tackles, as well as a tackle for loss and quarterback hit said, “Our front seven is the best in the world. Our D-Line is the best in the world. Got dudes like Jarran Reed, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy. Our edges are dogs. They handle business every week. We’ve got the best run defense I the league. It makes it easy for us on the back end.”



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What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

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What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?


We’ll have to wait one more day to learn who takes the NFC South crown.

The Buccaneers, losers of seven of their last eight coming into today, were able to piece together a tough, 16-14 win in bad weather against the Panthers. It was a calming three hours for the Bucs and their fans, who had seen their team go from theorized Super Bowl contender in the early months of the season to bottomless freefall.

Had the Panthers found a way to win today, the NFC South, and the #4 seed in the NFC, would have been determined. Instead, we’ll have to wait another day, as a matchup between the two NFC South rivals who are eliminated from the postseason entirely will now determine everything. Certainly ironic, but great for drama.

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The New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow to wrap up their respective seasons, and while they’re not playing for much more than pride, both the Buccaneers and Panthers will be watching with great interest. If the Falcons win, today will prove to be little more than a minor setback for Carolina, and they’ll win the division regardless.

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However, should the Saints get the road upset, everything gets flipped. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were seemingly skidding towards a shocking early offseason, would be awarded the division on tiebreakers. Their Week Eight 23-3 victory over New Orleans, at the time seemingly innocuous, would end up salvaging their playoff spot.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans are on hot runs right now, the Falcons winners of three straight and the Saints on a four game streak. It’s a surprisingly compelling game given that both teams are guaranteed losing records on the season.

And this is very relevant to the Seattle Seahawks, because depending on tonight’s result in San Francisco, the NFC South division winner will either possibly, or definitely, be the team they play in their first playoff game.

If Seattle prevails tonight and takes the top seed in the NFC, it is entirely possible that their Divisional Round opponent is whoever comes out on top here. As the top seed, they play the lowest remaining seed, which would be either Carolina or Tampa Bay if all three home teams win on Wild Card Weekend. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s entirely possible.

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On the other hand, if the Seahawks drop their game tonight and end up the #5 seeded NFC squad, then they’re drawing the winner of the NFC South in the first round for sure. Seattle has already played both teams this year, dropping an early-season bout to Tampa Bay 38-35, and just last week handling Carolina 27-10.

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Of course, the Buccaneers were a far better team in that Week Five matchup, and the Seahawks have changed radically over the last three months as well, so it’s a matter of debate which team Seattle matches up better with. I imagine most Seahawks fans would feel good about either opponent, but there’s probably a preference somewhere in there.

Regardless, we’ll be waiting one more day to find out who the opponent will be, by which Seattle will already know if they’re watching the first round of the playoffs on a bye, or facing off against the south’s winner on the road.

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Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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