The Seattle Seahawks scored an ugly win last night at home over the Houston Texans. The victory improves their record to 5-2, helping them keep pace in an incredibly-crowded NFC playoff race.
Despite the convincing win against a team that came in with the best scoring defense in the league, Seattle’s reputation continues to suffer from the ever-present east coast media bias.
Just observe the most-recent batch of NFL power rankings from ESPN, which has the Seahawks down one spot from last week to No. 9. Their blurbs this week are about unsung standouts, so we got no explanation for the drop.
“As the third receiver in an offense that rarely has three of them on the field at the same time, Horton has had to make the most of limited opportunities. And he has. He has caught only nine passes on 18 targets for 113 yards through seven games, but he has turned three of those receptions into touchdowns.”
If you’re wondering how it happened, the primary culprit is an inexplicable massive jump for the Los Angeles Rams, who rose seven spots somehow after beating a Jacksonville Jaguars team that looked like they never bothered to get off the plane to London. LA is now ranked fifth in the league.
The Kansas City Chiefs rose two spots from No. 9 to No. 7, which is fair enough – but it comes at the expsense of a Seahawks team that can’t seem to get any respect from the national media no matter what they do.
To be fair, it was a pretty sloppy win – including four turnovers from Seattle’s offense, one of which turned into a strip-sack touchdown for the Texans defense.
Then again, if not for that score Seattle would have held Houston out of the end zone entirely up until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks were positively dominant at the line of scrimmage and got sensational performances from Ernest Jones and Ty Okada on the back end.
Considering they did it without two of their crucial secondary starters and a major piece of their edge rush rotation, this game was evidence that at full strength Seattle could very well have the best defense in the NFL this season.
That alone should be enough to land the Seahawks in the top five of any respectable power rankings, but it is what it is. The disrespect makes big wins like this that much more satisfying.
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The Seattle Seahawks are the defending champions following a fantastic run in 2025 which resulted in the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Despite this, they’re not the favorites to win their division in 2026.
Instead, the Los Angeles Rams are the hot team, thanks in large part to the addition of Myles Garrett. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year does give them a huge boost, but the Seahawks know they can still win their division once again.
Here we dive into three reasons to believe that will be the case for Mike Macdonald and his team.
With Klint Kubiak leaving to take the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Fleury is set to take over as the offensive coordinator in Seattle. Fleury spent the past seven years with the San Francisco 49ers and was most recently their run game coordinator and tight ends coach.
He’s expected to feature a run-heavy offense once again, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks aerial attack won’t be a problem for opposing teams. With Sam Darnold entering his second season with the team, he’s going to have far more comfort with his teammates. As Seahawks On SI’s Russell Baxter wrote, he’s also unsatisfied with his performance in the Super Bowl and wants to improve in 2026.
His motivation, along with the presence of Jaxson Smith-Njigba is enough for the offense to be as dangerous as they were last year. Rashid Shaheed having a full offseason with the team is a reason to believe they can be even better.
Losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency was a blow, but the Seahawks made sure to enter the new season with just as much firepower in the ground game. Even with Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL, the Seahawks have a strong unit.
Led by rookie Jadarian Price, Seattle also has Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. There might not be many proven options, but as Seahawks On SI’s Michael Hanich writes, the coaching staff trusts this unit.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury had success leading the rushing attack in San Francisco last year and his defensive background has him favoring a more violent and punishing rushing attack. That will allow the Seahawks to wear teams down with the ground game, even without Walker.
During his first season as head coach, Mike Macdonald led Seattle to the 11th best scoring defense, which was a massive jump from 25th the prior year. They shot up the leaderboard again in 2025, finishing with the No. 1 scoring defense, which is what led the way during their title run.
Macdonald made those improvements by building the defense to his preference. They have trusted veterans on the defensive line and have built a strong nickel defense with defensive back Nick Emmanwori as one of his key pieces.
This offseason, he added another versatile defensive back in Bud Clark, a speedy pass-rusher in Dante Fowler Jr., and a big-bodied cornerback in Julian Neal. Macdonald also allowed Boye Mafe to leave while putting Derick Hall in position to take on a larger load. All these moves have given them a defense that Macdonald can turn into an even better one than we saw last year.
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SEATTLE — Seattle is preparing for one of its busiest weekends of the year as Pride celebrations and the FIFA World Cup converge across the city.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend parades, festivals, concerts, and sporting events Friday through Sunday, with city officials encouraging people to plan ahead for street closures and use public transportation.
Pride weekend begins Friday with the FIFA World Cup Group G match between Egypt and Iran at Seattle Stadium.
ALSO SEE | Seattle Pride festivities to kick off with ‘Seattle Pride in the Park’ at Volunteer Park
Local organizers have designated the game as the tournament’s Pride Match Day, with community celebrations planned throughout the day. The designation has drawn objections from the Egyptian Football Association and the Iranian Football Federation, but local organizers say Pride events will move forward as planned.
Saturday’s events include Trans Pride Seattle at Volunteer Park, one of the nation’s largest transgender Pride celebrations, along with PrideFest Capitol Hill, which will transform Broadway and Cal Anderson Park into a daylong street festival featuring live music, food vendors, artists, and community organizations.
The ticketed Queer/Pride Festival will also continue throughout the weekend on Capitol Hill.
RELATED | FIFA to allow rainbow flags at Egypt-Iran World Cup ‘Pride Match’ in Seattle
The weekend culminates on Sunday with the Seattle Pride Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. along Fourth Avenue in downtown Seattle before ending near Seattle Center. Following the parade, PrideFest Seattle Center will feature live entertainment, food vendors, beer gardens, and community exhibitors through the afternoon and evening.
Seattle Pride traces its roots to 1974 and has grown into one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations, drawing hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Officials are urging attendees to expect heavy crowds and traffic throughout downtown and Capitol Hill, particularly on Sunday.
Organizers recommend using the Link light rail, buses, or other forms of public transportation whenever possible.
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