An opener against the Rams.
Thanksgiving at home for Geno Smith and his team against the 49ers.
That’s the first of two games in three weeks against the defending champion they must beat to win the NFC West.
Three games in 12 days, including two against playoff teams from a season ago, at the end of November.
And, finally: No back-to-back road games on consecutive Sundays.
Those are the biggest points of the Seahawks’ 2023 schedule the NFL released Thursday.
The Seahawks begin the season following their NFC wild-card playoff loss against San Francisco at home Sept. 10 for a 1:25 p.m. game at CenturyLink Field against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams, who are rebuilding. It’s the second consecutive year but only the ninth time in 24 years the Seahawks begin a season at home.
Seattle’s first road game is Sept. 17 at Detroit.
The Lions are a trendy pick to win the NFC North this season. They barely missed the playoffs last season and won at Green Bay on the final night to get the Seahawks into the postseason. And Detroit doesn’t have Aaron Rodgers playing for the Packers in its division anymore. He’s now the quarterback for the Jets.
Seattle’s only home game from Week 2 through Week 6 is Sept. 24 against Carolina.
Then there is a Monday night game at the New York Giants Oct. 2 — Seattle’s only Monday night game — and a bye earlier than coaches and players want, in Week 5 the weekend of Oct. 9.
The Seahawks play at Cincinnati on Oct. 15 before their only consecutive home games of the season, Oct. 22 against Arizona and Oct. 29 versus Cleveland.
November is a grind for Seattle.
It starts at rugged Baltimore, a perennial AFC playoff team, Nov. 5. The Seahawks then host Washington Nov. 12.
The game at the Rams in Inglewood, Calif., Nov. 19 begins the gauntlet. Four days later, Thanksgiving at 5:20 p.m., the Seahawks host the 49ers. Seattle’s following game is also on a Thursday, Nov. 30 at Dallas.
The start of December isn’t a picnic, either.
The Seahawks play at San Francisco on Dec. 10 then host the defending NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 17.
Christmas Eve has Seattle at Tennessee. New Year’s Eve, Pittsburgh plays at CenturyLink Field.
The regular season ends at Arizona on the weekend of Jan. 6 or 7, with the league determining the exact date in late December depending on playoff races.
Even without a game in Europe this year, the Seahawks will again lead the NFL in distance traveled. They will fly 31,600 miles this coming season. That’s about 7,000 miles more than the circumference of the world. It’s about 2,000 more than San Francisco.
Seattle will cross 36 time zones in its travel to games. What else is new?
Last season the Seahawks flew 37,016 miles, including the first NFL regular-season game in Germany — against Tampa Bay in Munich in November. Seattle also had road preseason games at Pittsburgh and Dallas in 2022.
At least this year, the Seahawks get two of their three preseason games at home.
By contrast, the Cincinnati Bengals from the middle of the country will fly just 11,942 miles across 12 time zones. That’s the league’s least amount of travel.
