Seahawks predicted to host NFC South contender in Monday Night Football matchup

With nine hours to go before the Seattle Seahawks' schedule for the 2025 season is released, we still haven't had any solid intel regarding matchups, prime-time or otherwise. The hottest item is an unsubstantiated rumor from a radio host that claims the Seahawks will begin the year at home against the division rival San Francisco 49ers.

There's no confirmation on that as of yet, or any of the 16 other games on Seattle's schedule this year. However, that doesn't mean we can't predict when we might see the Seahawks in prime-time. According to a prediction by Pro Football Network, one standalone game for Seattle to potentially look forward to is a Monday Night Football matchup at home against Tampa.

PFN on Seahawks-Bucs MNF matchup

"But we’ll go with a sneakier pick: a home Monday Night Football matchup against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had the league’s No. 3 offense last season, according to PFSN, while the Seahawks finished with the No. 6 defense. That strength-on-strength battle could make for a fun game that deserves a national window."

At first glance it doesn't seem like an A-list kind of matchup, but PFN has a point about the dynamic between Mike Macdonald's defense and Todd Bowles' offense, which is led by Baker Mayfield and is loaded at pretty much every position.

Meanwhile, Seattle boasts an equally strong defense that should only get better in Year 2 under Macdonald, coinciding with the additions of DeMarcus Lawrence up front and Nick Emmanwori on the back end.

As for the other side of the ball, Tampa has a typically aggressive defense under Bowles, anchored by former Washington Huskies star Vita Vea. Old man Lavonte David is improbably still roaming around the second level going into Year 13. On the back end the Bucs have studs at safety (Antoine Winfield Jr.) and corner (Jamel Dean). Their major offseason addition was Haason Reddick, which will boost what was an already strong pass rush.

Offensively, the Seahawks' personnel looks radically different than last season. Klint Kubiak has replaced Ryan Grubb at offensive coordinator, Sam Darnold is starting at quarterback instead of Geno Smith, Cooper Kupp is the new WR2 in place of DK Metcalf, Tory Horton has taken the place of Tyler Lockett and it shouldn't take long for Elijah Arroyo to rise to the top of the tight end room.

The big question of course is if the Seahawks did enough to improve what was by far the league's worst interior offensive line. Grey Zabel gives them one big upgrade there, but they needed at least two, arguably three. If the iOL is not significantly better than last season, Vea, Reddick and company will likely wind up eating Sam Darnold's lunch.