Seattle Seahawks: 5 Burning questions for the 2020 season

1. Can the Seahawks finally get over the playoff hump?

Over the past five seasons, the Seahawks are 50-29-1 during the regular season. Despite turning in several fantastic seasons, Seattle only has one first-place finish in the NFC West since losing Super Bowl XLIX to the New England Patriots. The Seahawks have not gotten past the Divisional Round in the past half-decade either.

Very few analysts consider how long Seattle’s Super Bowl window might be open, but Carroll’s team is surely starting to feel the pressure. At 68 years old, Carroll won’t coach the Seahawks forever. The ages of crucial contributors like Duane Brown, Bobby Wagner, Wilson, and K.J. Wright could also begin hastening the end of Seattle’s regular-season success.

Taking aging players and expiring contracts into account, the Seahawks need something more than a Divisional Round exit in the next three years. Seattle’s loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round this past season was the team’s third second-round loss in the past five years. In the other two seasons, Seattle missed the playoffs (2017) and lost in the Wild Card Round (2018).

Poor drafting, especially in the early rounds, is partially responsible for Seattle’s lateral movement over the past several seasons. The team remains competitive because of an elite group of veterans, but the Seahawks cannot match their draft-day success from the early 2010s. The team needs a breakthrough and soon.