Win streak lands Seahawks among true contenders in Week 5 NFL power rankings

At long last, the 2025 Seattle Seahawks are finally starting to get the respect they have deserved all year. The entire offseason the team has been treated to negative projections and debbie-downer takes from the national media, but heading into Week 5 it's now impossible to ignore this team's potential.

All it took was a three-game win streak, an elite defense, an All-Pro start from Jaxon Smith-Njigba and for Sam Darnold to be playing "out of his mind" as head coach Mike Macdonal put it. In any case, they have finally made it into the top-10 teams in the league conversation.

Matt Johnson at Sportsnaut has Seattle up six spots from last week in his latest NFL power rankings, putting them at No. 8.

"Seattle can also feel extremely confident about the rapport Sam Darnold has with Jaxon Smith-Njogba, especially in September. Darnold also desevers credit for his two big fourth-quarter throws against a stout Arizona defense. Now at 3-1, Seattle has provided itself a little margin for error ahead of a tough Week 5 home battle against Tampa Bay."

This week's home game against the Buccaneers (also 3-1) will tell us a lot about where this team is headed. If NIck Emmanwori can make it back into the lineup they'll finally be at full strength - and facing a serious NFC contender that just came close to upsetting the reigning champions.

Even if the Seahawks lose, they have already proven that they're far better than most anaysts projected they would be this season.

Most importantly, the front office's big gamble at quarterback has paid off in a big way. Darnold has been exceptional in every facet of the game and is far outperforming Geno Smith, who leads the NFL in interceptions after four games.

By comparison Darnold has been aggressive but far better at taking care of the ball, only throwing one true turnover-worthy pass through the first month of the season (Jalen Ramsey's pick was a great defensive play, not a miss by Darnold).

If the Seahawks could only get their rushing attack going they'd be pretty much unstoppable - but that's going to be a tall order given how heavy defenses are playing them. Even if that part of the game never gets off the ground, this team looks fully good enough to make a deep playoff run.