Seattle Seahawks move into the top-10 in weekly power rankings

Moving into first place in the NFC West improves how the national media views Seattle.

The Seattle Seahawks are finally getting the respect they deserve in the weekly NFL Power Rankings.

Well, sort of.

Most of the polls have them in the Top 10 – which is the correct place to have them, but the actual placement is somewhat questionable.

For example:

In their Week 9 Power Rankings, ESPN has the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 1, the Dallas Cowboys at No. 5, the San Francisco 49ers at No. 7, the Detroit Lions at No. 8, and the Seattle Seahawks at No. 10.

Question: How the _______ are the Lions (who the Seahawks beat in Week 2) and the 49ers (who trail the Seahawks in the NFC West) ahead of the Seahawks?

Note: That’s a rhetorical question – – Rankings are inherently subjective and Seattle often incurs a “South Alaska” penalty on things like this.

Here’s a more serious question . . .

In the write-up on the Seahawks, Brady Henderson said:

Geno Smith began the season exhibiting the accuracy and efficiency that typified the first half of his Pro Bowl season in 2022, but he has since hit a rough patch. After turning the ball over only once in the first four games, he has thrown five interceptions over the past three weeks, which is one more than the number of touchdowns he has thrown in that span. He might not have been the guilty party on one of the interceptions, as DK Metcalf stopped on his route. Another was a tough-luck pick that got tipped high into the air. But two of them came in the red zone on forced throws. Smith still has his trademark accuracy and makes a few “wow” throws each game, but he can play cleaner.

In the write-up on the Niners, Nick Wagoner wrote (in part):

Purdy was the ideal point guard the first five weeks, distributing the ball to his playmakers, making the occasional off-schedule play and, most importantly, taking care of the ball. While those first two attributes have continued, Purdy’s ball security has taken a turn for the worse with all five of his interceptions this season, including four in opponents’ territory, coming over the past three weeks. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Niners have lost all three games.

Question: If the thing you’ve chosen to highlight for both San Francisco and Seattle is the fact that their quarterback has five turnovers in the last three weeks, how the _______ do you put the team that’s gone 0-3 in that span ahead of the team that went 2-1?

Makes. No. Sense.

It isn’t just an ESPN thing though . . .

NFL.com’s Week 9 Power Rankings have the Eagles at No. 1, the Cowboys at No. 6, the Lions at No. 7, the Niners at No. 8, and the Seahawks at No. 10.

Pro Football Talk’s Week 9 Power Rankings are pretty much the same: Eagles at No. 1, Niners at No. 6, Cowboys at No. 7, Lions at No. 8, Seahawks at No. 9.

The Athletic’s Week 9 Power Rankings change things up a bit: Eagles No. 1, Lions No. 5, Niners No. 6, Seahawks No. 7, Cowboys No. 9.

Interestingly, it’s Pete Prisco over at CBS Sports whose Week 9 rankings I agree with the most:

No. 1 = Philadelphia

No. 4 = Dallas

No. 9 = Detroit

No. 10 = Seattle

No. 11 = Santa Clara

If nothing else, Pete is at least smart enough to put the 2nd-place teams behind the 1st-place teams.

Here’s the biggest takeaway from the Week 9 Power Rankings though . . .

The team Seattle plays on Sunday is the best team we’ll have played this year: ESPN and Pro Football Talk have Baltimore at No. 4, while The Athletic, CBS Sports, and NFL.com have the Ravens at No. 2.

Go Hawks!