The expansion years
Seahawks logo (1976-2001)
The franchise's first win came on
October 17 when they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 at
Tampa Bay. On
November 7 they won their first home game in a 30-13 victory over the
Atlanta Falcons. The 1977 season highlight happened on
October 30 when quarterback
Jim Zorn came back from an injury to throw four touchdown passes in a 56-17 win over the
Buffalo Bills at the
Kingdome. In 1981, when the Seahawks lost five of their first six games on their way to a 6-10 record, Steve Largent had another stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. In the strike-shortened season of 1982, the Seahawks fired their first coach,
Jack Patera, after losing their first two games. Interim coach Mike McCormick would finish out the rest of the season and the Seahawks compiled a 4-5 record.
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The Chuck Knox Era (1983-1991)
After a disappointing 1982 season (which was shortened because of a players' strike), the Seahawks moved interim coach Mike McCormick back into the front office and hired
Chuck Knox as their head coach. In 1983 the Seahawks were battling for a playoff berth with a 6-6 record. Then in week 13, the Seahawks beat the
Kansas City Chiefs 51-48 at the Kingdome to start their winning ways. They would win 2 of the next 3 games to earn their first ever playoff berth. In the wild-card playoffs the Seahawks shut down the
Denver Broncos and their rookie quarterback
John Elway 31-7. The next week at the
Miami Orange Bowl the Seahawks drove 66 yards in 5 plays that ended with a game-winning touchdown for the Seahawks' 27-20 victory over the
Miami Dolphins and their rookie quarterback
Dan Marino. The Seahawks' miracle season ended in the
AFC Championship as they lost to the eventual
Super Bowl XVIII champion
Los Angeles Raiders 30-14. Despite the 1983 season ending on a sour note, it was the first breakthrough season for the Seahawks, because
Curt Warner was named AFC Rookie Of The Year and Chuck Knox was named AFC Coach Of The Year. In 1988,
Ken Behring purchased the club from the original owners, the
Nordstrom Family. A year later he would name former
Los Angeles Raiders head coach
Tom Flores team president and general manager.
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The lost years (1991-1998)
These years would prove to be the most tumultuous of the franchise's history so far. 1991 would be Chuck Knox's last year as head coach of the Seahawks. After finishing with a 7-9 record, he resigned to rejoin the
Los Angeles Rams. Team president/GM Tom Flores replaced him for the 1992 season. Longtime quarterback
Dave Krieg left in 1992 and was replaced by three different quarterbacks (first-round pick
Dan McGwire,
Stan Gelbaugh and
Kelly Stoufer). 1992 would also prove to be the Seahawks worst year ever when they finished 2-14. In 1993 the Seahawks drafted
Rick Mirer in hopes that he would be able to be the franchise's quarterback of the future. But it would not be, as after struggling in Seattle for 3 seasons he was released after the 1996 season. The Seahawks would move to nearby
Husky Stadium on the campus of the
University of Washington for 3 games after an acoustic tile fell inside the Kingdome in 1994. After returning to the Kingdome, the team would finish with a 6-10 record; Tom Flores resigned his coaching position and returned to his general manager duties. He was replaced by
University of Miami coach
Dennis Erickson. In January 1996, team owner Ken Behring announced that he was moving the franchise to Los Angeles. The public was outraged over the loss of their team and grassroots groups formed to pressure the NFL, Behring, and local officials to stop the move. This grassroots effort succeeded in part when a search for a new owner that would keep the team in Seattle convinced
Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen to purchase an option to buy the team. He bought the team in 1997 after funding a special election to get a
Seahawks Stadium approved. One of the reasons behind this was that the other Kingdome tenants, the
Seattle Mariners, were building a brand new stadium and there was no reason why the Seahawks had to continue to use the rapidly aging Kingdome. As a result of the change in ownership and managament, Tom Flores resigned in 1998. The team continued to struggle with .500 finishes and a lack of playoff appearances. Dennis Erickson was fired at the end of the 1998 season after losing to the New York Jets due to a legendary officiating error which led to the Seahawks missing the playoffs and was one of the primary factors in the NFL's reinstatement of Instant Replay. Seahawks fans still call it the "Phantom Touchdown" game to this day.
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The Mike Holmgren Era (1999-Present)
In 1999 the voters approved the ballot measure to allow the Seahawks to build a brand new stadium to replace the aging Kingdome. With the addition of a new stadium, new head coach and general manager,
Mike Holmgren, a new era began for the Seahawks. Holmgren would lead the Seahawks to a division title and to the playoffs in his first year there. But they lost 20-17 to
Dan Marino and the
Miami Dolphins after leading the game 17-13 in the fourth quarter. For the 2000-2001 seasons the Seahawks moved back to Husky Stadium while their new stadium was being built. The Seahawks drafted RB
Shaun Alexander in 2000 draft as their RB of the future. But QB
Jon Kitna was let go after the 2000 season and a 6-10 record.
Holmgren then traded for
Green Bay Packers backup QB
Matt Hasselbeck and made him the starting QB. But Hasselbeck struggled in the first half of the season compiling a 5-7 record. QB
Trent Dilfer was signed and won his first four games and the Seahawks finished the 2001 season with a 9-7 record but didn't make the playoffs.
Big changes were afoot in 2002. When the Seahawks left Husky Stadium at the end of the 2001 season they were part of the
AFC West but when they moved into
Seahawks Stadium they were now part of the
NFC West. This was because of the addition of the expansion team
Houston Texans and to achieve parity among the divisions. The year would prove to be one of ups-and-downs as Dilfer was injured in Week 7 and Hasselbeck became the staring QB. He would end the season on a 3 game winning streak and Shaun Alexander lead the NFC with 18 touchdowns. But the team finished with a 7-9 record.
Before the 2003 season, Holmgren decided to step down as general manager so that he could concentrate exclusively on improving the team. The Seahawks responded by carrying over the momentum from 2002 by finishing with a 10-6 record and a perfect record at home of 8-0. They went to the playoffs where they would face Holmgren's former team, the
Green Bay Packers. The playoff game would go into overtime but an
Al Harris interception returned for a TD sealed the Seahawks fate and they were out of the playoffs again.
On
September 26,
2004 the Seahawks shutout the
San Francisco 49ers 34-0. This marked the end of the 49ers' league record 27 year streak without a shutout - the last such game being against Atlanta in 1977 (7-0). The 49ers were in a position to score in the 4th quarter, but an interception and a fumble recovery sealed their fate. Some current players were either very young children or not even born when the last 49ers shutout occurred. The Seahawks also won their third division championship in 2004, when they claimed the NFC West title. They have made the playoffs in back to back years in 2003-2004, playing against the
Green Bay Packers and
St. Louis Rams respectively, losing both games.
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The 2005 season
The Seahawks got off to a rocky start on their 2005 campaign but it would end with their first Super Bowl appearence. They lost their first game of the season on the road against the
Jacksonville Jaguars 26-14. Fortunately, they won their Week 2 home-opener against the same team that they beat on the last game of the 2004 regular season, the
Atlanta Falcons (21-18). Then, they won at home against division rival
Arizona 37-12. They then lost on the road to the
Washington Redskins 20-17 after kicker
Josh Brown missed a game winning field goal that sent the game into overtime. The Seahawks rebounded, however, and went on an eleven-game win streak. First, they went to the
Edward Jones Dome to face their fierce division-rival, the
St. Louis Rams. Not only did the Seahawks win 37-31, but they also ended their four-game losing streak against them, which dated back to the late 2003 season). Afterwards, they went home for a Sunday night game against the hapless
Houston Texans. The Seahawks easily won on the power of RB
Shaun Alexander by a score of 42-10. When the
Dallas Cowboys came to town the next week, the game came down to the wire. It wasn't settled until second-year DB
Jordan Babineaux intercepted opposing QB
Drew Bledsoe's pass for 25 yards, setting the stage for kicker
Josh Brown's game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired. The Seahawks won 13-10. After their Week 8 bye, they then traveled to
Tempe, Arizona and finished the sweep of the Cardinals by a score of 33-19. Afterwards, they went home and finished the sweep of their much-hated division rivals, the Rams, by the score of 31-16. When the Seahawks flew to
Candlestick Park to take on the division rival
San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks were leading 27-12 going into the fourth quarter. The Niners started to rally, however, and in the final seconds, the 49ers got within two points with a 1-yard touchdown run by
Maurice Hicks. Fortunately for the Seahawks, the Niners couldn't tie on the two-point conversion and Seattle held on for the win (27-25). A week later, the Seahawks went home and played a close game with the eventual NFC East champion
New York Giants. With the score 21-21, opposing kicker
Jay Feely missed three chances for a winning field goal (one as time expired in regulation and two in OT). The Seahawks won on a 36-yard Josh Brown field goal and the final score was 24-21.
When the
St. Louis Rams lost on
December 4,
2005, the Seahawks clinched their second straight NFC West title after playing only 11 games.
On
December 5,
2005, the Seahawks shut out the
Philadelphia Eagles 42-0 with three defensive touchdowns (two interceptions, one fumble return) to tie the largest margin of victory mark in
Monday Night Football history and set the mark for the greatest margin of victory in an MNF shutout, as well as setting the NFL record for scoring the most points with under 200 yards of offense. A fourth interception return by Michael Boulware fell just short of tying another Seahawks NFL record of four defensive scores in a single game, set during a 45-0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in 1984. When the game had finished, the Seahawks had handed the Eagles their 3rd worst defeat in team history (Seattle also handed the Eagles their 5th worst defeat in 1998, the last time the Seahawks played in Philadelphia).
On
December 11,
2005, following a 42-0 rout of the Eagles on MNF, the Seahawks defeated the San Fransisco 49ers 41-3, making their margin of victory for the two-week period 80 points (team record), and marking the first time in team history that the Seahawks had recorded three forty point or better games in a season. With some starters playing less than three quarters for the second game in a row, the victory put the Seahawks at 11-2 with three games remaining, just one win shy of their franchise record 12 wins (12-4 overall) in 1984. At least four team records were set during this game, including the lowest yards ever allowed by a Seahawk defense at 113, the biggest two game margin of victory, the first time the team has posted three forty point wins in a season, and the franchise record for wins in a row at 9.
After smashing the Niners, the Seahawks traveled to
The Coliseum to face the
Tennessee Titans. Coming into the second half, the score was tied at 14. After the third quarter, the Seahawks trailed 24-21. However, they wouldn't be denied as QB
Matt Hasselbeck threw a game-winning 2-yard pass to WR
Darrell Jackson, to end up with a 28-24 victory.
On
Christmas Eve, the Seahawks beat the Colts 28-13 setting the franchise record for wins in season with 13. Shaun Alexander scored three touchdowns in the game and tied
Priest Holmes for the NFL record for touchdowns in a season with 27. The victory also clinched the top seed in the NFC playoffs for the Seahawks assuring them of a home playoff game during the weekend of January 14-15, 2006 against the lowest remaining NFC seed (which turned out to be the
Washington Redskins). Interestingly enough, the Colts-Seahawks game set records well before kickoff. The game featured the highest scoring and winningest teams against each other, and each looking to set a franchise record for most wins in a season. In addition, the schedule makers set a record with the first regular season game where the teams combined for at least 25 victories.
On January 1, 2006, despite losing to the
Green Bay Packers 23-17,
Shaun Alexander broke
Priest Holmes's record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season, with his 28th touchdown coming in the 2nd quarter of the game. He also ended the season with the league's most rushing yards for the season with 1,880 yards. Four days later, he was named the 2005 NFL MVP.
After having the first round bye in the playoffs, the Seahawks hosted the
Washington Redskins in the Divisional Playoff Round.
Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion in the first quarter, but the Seahawks managed to prevail by a final score of 20-10. The win ended the franchise's 21-year playoff victory drought.
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Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
<TABLE class=wikitable><TBODY><TR bgColor=#efefef><TH>Season</TH><TH>W</TH><TH>L</TH><TH>T</TH><TH>Finish</TH><TH>Playoffs</TH></TR><TR><TD>
1976</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th NFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1977</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>4th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1978</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1979</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1980</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1981</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1982</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>10th AFC Conf.</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1983</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>Won
Wild Card playoffs (
Denver)
Won
Divisional playoffs (
Miami)
Lost
Conference Championship (
Los Angeles Raiders)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1984</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>Won
Wild Card playoffs (
Los Angeles Raiders)
Lost
Divisional playoffs (
Miami)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1985</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1986</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1987</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>Lost
Wild Card playoffs (
Houston Oilers)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1988</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1st AFC West</TD><TD>Lost
Divisional playoffs (
Cincinnati)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1989</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>4th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1990</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1991</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>4th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1992</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>14</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1993</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1994</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>5th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1995</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1996</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>4th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1997</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1998</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
1999</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1st AFC West</TD><TD>Lost
Wild Card playoffs (
Miami)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2000</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>4th AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2001</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd AFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2002</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3rd NFC West</TD><TD>--</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2003</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2nd NFC West</TD><TD>Lost
Wild Card playoffs (
Green Bay)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2004</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1st NFC West</TD><TD>Lost
Wild Card playoffs (
St. Louis)</TD></TR><TR><TD>
2005</TD><TD>13</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1st NFC West</TD><TD>Won
Divisional playoffs (
Washington)
Will play in
NFC Championship Game</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>