Seattle Seahawks

Lore & Background

The Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976, as an expansion team in the NFC West. From 1977 to 2001, Seattle was assigned to the American Football Conference (AFC) West; the team rejoined the NFC in 2002. From 1976 to 1999, the Seahawks played in the Kingdome, alongside fellow 1970s Seattle sports establishments in the Mariners, SuperSonics, and Sounders. The Seahawks briefly played in Husky Stadium from 2000 to 2001, before moving to Lumen Field, on the former ground of the Kingdome, which they share with Sounders FC and Reign FC. Seahawks fans, then collectively referred to as the '12th man' (now known as the 12s since 2016), set the Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd noise at a sporting event twice during the 2013 NFL season. As the only NFL team in the Pacific Northwest, the Seahawks attract support from a wide geographical area including the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Utah, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia.

In Their Own Story

Midway through the first quarter, the Seahawks drove 57 yards in five plays, featuring a 28-yard reception by Seneca Wallace, and scored with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's 17-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens. Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Lofa Tatupu intercepted a pass from Jake Delhomme and returned it 22 yards to the Panthers 20-yard line, setting up a field goal from Josh Brown. The next time Carolina got the ball, Delhomme was intercepted again, this time by Marquand Manuel, who returned it 32 yards to the Panthers 17-yard line, setting up Alexander's 1-yard touchdown run that increased Seattle's lead to 17–0 on the first play of the second quarter. The Panthers eventually cut the score to 17–7 on Steve Smith's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown with 9:56 left in the first half. The Seahawks scored another 17 unanswered points, including a 39-yard field goal from Brown, a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson, and Alexander's second touchdown. Carolina responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to receiver Drew Carter, cutting the score to 34–14, but by then there was only 5 minutes left in the game.

Reader's Guide

The Seahawks have won 12 division titles and four conference championships, and are the only team to have played in both the AFC and NFC Championship Games. They achieved their greatest success in the 2010s, led by head coach Pete Carroll and the historic Legion of Boom defense, achieving five consecutive 10+ win seasons and appearing in back-to-back Super Bowls. That Seahawks team achieved the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history, blowing out the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl XLVIII. Twelve seasons later, they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks have also appeared in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIX. Since joining the division in the 2002 reorganization, the Seahawks have led the NFC West in division titles, having won the division 10 times, most recently in 2025. From 2011 to 2016, the Seahawks set an NFL record for playing 95 consecutive games without losing by more than 10 points.

Did You Know?

• The Seahawks are the only NFL team to switch conferences twice since the merger.
• Seahawks fans set the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise at a sporting event twice during the 2013 season.
• The Seahawks defeated the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFC Championship Game 34–14.