The 2020 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 45th in the National Football League and their 11th season under head coachPete Carroll. With a win over the Washington Football Team in Week 15, the Seahawks made the playoffs for the third consecutive year. With a Week 17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, they improved upon their 11–5 record from the previous season. For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks started 5–0. After a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2016. They scored 28 points or more nine times. They scored 142 points within the first four games.
However in the Wild Card round, the Seahawks were defeated by the Rams 30–20. This was the Seahawks first home playoff loss in the Wilson/Carroll era and their first home playoff loss since 2004, which also came against the Rams.
Prior to the start of the 2020 season the Seahawks made a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets acquiring All-Pro safety Jamal Adams and a 2022 fourth-round pick in exchange for two first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, as well as safety Bradley McDougald and a 2021 third-round pick.
The Seahawks were the only team in the league to not have a player test positive for COVID-19 during the season. Due to the pandemic, home games were played without fans in attendance.
Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes with 28 over the first nine weeks of the season while Seattle led the league in scoring at 34 points per game over that stretch. But Wilson threw just 12 touchdown passes over the final eight weeks of the regular season and Seattle's scoring dropped to 22.6 points per game. The Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history with 459 surpassing the 452 scored by the 2005 team. At season's end, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was fired, with Carroll citing “philosophical differences”.
In the first half of the season the Seahawks defense were historically bad, being on pace to break the all time NFL record for most yards allowed with 2,356 yards and were ranked 32nd in pass defense. However, the defense made a turnaround in the second half of the season after acquiring Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap in a trade, along with safety Jamal Adams and cornerbacks D. J. Reed and Shaquill Griffin returning from injury. Adams went on to break the single season sack record for a defensive back with 9.5.
On November 19, 2020, CenturyLink Field was renamed Lumen Field.[1]
The Seahawks traded their original second-round selection (No. 59) and a compensatory third-round selection (No. 101) to the New York Jets in exchange for the Jets' second-round selection (No. 48).
The Seahawks acquired an additional second-round selection (No. 64) as part of a trade that sent defensive endFrank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs. This selection was traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the Panthers' third-round selection (No. 69) and a fifth-round selection (No. 148).
The Seahawks traded their original third-round selection (No. 91), along with linebackersJacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo to the Houston Texans in exchange for defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
The Seahawks traded their original fifth-round selection (No. 172) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for safetyQuandre Diggs and the Lions' 2021 seventh-round selection.
The Seahawks acquired a new fifth-round selection (No. 162) in a trade that sent tight endNick Vannett to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Seahawks traded their original sixth-round selection (No. 206) to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round selection.
The Seahawks traded their seventh-round selection (No. 241) to the New England Patriots in exchange for tight endJacob Hollister.
Staff[]
On September 11, Brian Schneider left the team due to personal reasons
2020 Seattle Seahawks staff
Front office
Owner – Estate of Paul Allen
Executor/chairwoman – Jody Allen
President – Chuck Arnold
Executive vice president/general manager – John Schneider
Vice president of football administration – Matt Thomas
Vice president of football operations – Scott Fitterer
Vice president of player personnel – Trent Kirchner
In a competitive game on primetime, the Seahawks pulled ahead by the third quarter but the game was decided on the final play; the Patriots had driven to a 1st-and-goal on Seattle's 1-yard line, but in a reversal of fate from Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks defense was able to stuff a rushing play from Patriots quarterback Cam Newton for no gain on the next play. As the Patriots were out of timeouts, the Seahawks managed to hold on for a thrilling win, earning their second straight 2–0 start.[4] This game had to be monitored the entire week due to the bad air quality in the city thanks to fires across Washington and Oregon.
Week 3: vs. Dallas Cowboys[]
Week Three: Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Cowboys
9
6
7
9
31
Seahawks
9
14
7
8
38
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Date: September 27
Game time: 1:25 p.m. PDT
Game weather: Sunny, 63 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 0
Referee: Carl Cheffers
TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
Russell Wilson continued to play at an MVP-caliber level, throwing 5 touchdowns. The Seahawks would once again win a close game after intercepting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the endzone.
Week 4: at Miami Dolphins[]
Week Four: Seattle Seahawks at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
This was the Seahawks' first win in Miami since 1996, when they were part of the AFC West. It also gave Russell Wilson his first win in the state of Florida.
Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings[]
Week Five: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Vikings
7
6
6
7
26
Seahawks
0
0
21
6
27
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Date: October 11
Game time: 5:20 p.m. PDT
Game weather: Rain, 54 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 0
Referee: Tony Corrente
TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya and Terry McAulay
With this win, Seattle improved to 5–0, which was also their first time in doing so in franchise history. Russell Wilson also improved to 7–0 in his career against the Vikings.
Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals[]
Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
ARI – DeAndre Hopkins – 10 receptions, 103 yards, TD
Seattle's unbeaten bid came to an end with their first loss in Arizona since the 2012 season. While Russell Wilson finished with 388 yards and 3 touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett, he also finished with three interceptions, including a costly one in overtime to Cardinals rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons that eventually set up the decisive field goal by Zane Gonzalez. The Seahawks compiled 572 total yards of offense, the most by a losing team all season. Seattle dropped to 5–1 on the season, but still led the NFC West. This was also the Seahawks' first loss under Russell Wilson when leading by 4 or more points at halftime.
Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers[]
Week Eight: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
49ers
0
7
0
20
27
Seahawks
6
7
14
10
37
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Date: November 1
Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
Game attendance: 0
Referee: Craig Wrolstad
TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth and Lindsay Czarniak
The Seahawks returned home after their overtime loss at Arizona, and rebounded with a dominant win over the arch-rival San Francisco 49ers. Russell Wilson finished 27/37 with 261 yards passing and four touchdown passes, including two to DK Metcalf, who also finished with 12 catches and 161 receiving yards. With the 37–27 win, the Seahawks improved to 6–1. This was the last Seattle home game in which the name "CenturyLink Field" was used. After 9 years of using the stadium name, CenturyLink rebranded to Lumen Technologies, effectively changing the name to "Lumen Field".
Week 9: at Buffalo Bills[]
Week Nine: Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
The Buffalo Bills proved to be too much for the Seahawks to handle, as Buffalo's offense tore up Seattle's struggling defense behind 415 passing yards from Josh Allen. While the Seahawks would mount a comeback later in the game, pulling within seven points in the third quarter, they never led, and the Bills pulled away in the fourth. The 44–34 loss dropped Seattle to 6–2 on the season, and the 44 points surrendered were the most in the Pete Carroll era.
Week 10: at Los Angeles Rams[]
Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
SEA – Penalty on J. R. Sweezy enforced in end zone for a safety, 9:12. Seahawks 25–21.
SEA – Jason Myers 41-yard field goal, 2:19. Seahawks 28–21. Drive: 12 plays, 37 yards, 6:53.
Top passers
ARI – Kyler Murray – 29/42, 269 yards, 2 TD
SEA – Russell Wilson – 23/28, 197 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
ARI – Kenyan Drake – 11 rushes, 29 yards, TD
SEA – Carlos Hyde – 14 rushes, 79 yards, TD
Top receivers
ARI – Larry Fitzgerald – 8 receptions, 62 yards
SEA – Tyler Lockett – 9 receptions, 67 yards, TD
Seattle's rushing attack was bolstered by the return of Carlos Hyde from injury, racking up 165 yards. Conversely, the Seahawks' much-maligned defense held Arizona's league-leading rushing offense to 57 yards, over 110 yards below its season average. The same day as the game, CenturyLink Field was renamed Lumen Field.
Week 12: at Philadelphia Eagles[]
Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Seahawks
0
14
3
6
23
Eagles
0
6
3
8
17
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
With the shocking loss, the Seahawks dropped to 8–4 and picked up their final loss of the season. This is also the only time during the regular season where the Seahawks lost a game at home.
Week 14: vs. New York Jets[]
Week Fourteen: New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Jets
3
0
0
0
3
Seahawks
7
16
14
3
40
at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
Date: December 13
Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
Game weather: Cloudy, 43 °F (6 °C)
Game attendance: 0
Referee: Scott Novak
TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
SEA – Jason Myers 43-yard field goal, 8:50. Seahawks 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 30 yards, 4:00.
Second quarter
SEA – Jason Myers 40-yard field goal, 10:52. Seahawks 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards, 4:21.
SEA – Jacob Hollister 10-yard pass from Russell Wilson (Jason Myers kick), 1:45. Seahawks 13–0. Drive: 10 plays, 97 yards, 5:05.
WAS – Dustin Hopkins 48-yard field goal, 0:06. Seahawks 13–3. Drive: 11 plays, 46 yards, 1:39.
Third quarter
SEA – Carlos Hyde 50-yard run (Jason Myers kick), 13:12. Seahawks 20–3. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:48.
Fourth quarter
WAS – Peyton Barber 1-yard run (kick failed), 14:14. Seahawks 20–9. Drive: 14 plays, 96 yards, 5:50.
WAS – J. D. McKissic 6-yard pass from Dwayne Haskins (run failed), 7:16. Seahawks 20–15. Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 3:57.
Top passers
SEA – Russell Wilson – 18/27, 121 yards, TD, INT
WAS – Dwayne Haskins – 38/55, 295 yards, TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
SEA – Chris Carson – 15 rushes, 63 yards
WAS – J. D. McKissic – 13 rushes, 51 yards
Top receivers
SEA – DK Metcalf – 5 receptions, 43 yards
WAS – Logan Thomas – 13 receptions, 101 yards
Despite a close-scoring game, the Seahawks held on to win to clinch a playoff berth. Seattle took sole possession of first place in the division with the Rams' surprising loss to the then-winless New York Jets later that day.
Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams[]
Week Sixteen: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
With the win, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2016. They won all three home games against their NFC West opponents for the first time since 2014 and finished 7–1 at home in the regular season, which is also their best home record since 2016.
Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers[]
Week Seventeen: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Trying to take the first round bye away from the Packers and Saints, the Seahawks did win to get a chance at a bye, but due to the Packers beating the Bears and the Saints' win against Carolina, the Hawks were relegated to the 3rd seed.
^ abNew Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.
^ abChicago finished and clinched the 7th and final playoff spot ahead of Arizona based on better win percentage in common games (against Detroit, the NY Giants, Carolina, and the LA Rams, Chicago finished 3–2, while Arizona finished 1–4).
^ abSan Francisco finished ahead of the NY Giants based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Dallas (see below).
^ abNY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.
^ abCarolina finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
^ abDue to a ban on all contact sports imposed by California's Santa Clara County as a result from rising COVID-19 cases, the Seahawks' Week 17 regular season finale at the San Francisco 49ers was moved from Levi's Stadium to Arizona's State Farm Stadium.[3]
