Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice believes his former team will make it to the playoffs.
Following the Seahawks’ 26-21 victory over the New York and the Arizona Cardinals’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13, Seattle moved into sole place as the NFC West division leaders at 7-5.
Although the Seahawks have a tough remaining schedule with their next three games being against teams with at least a .500 record, Rice — who won a Super Bowl with Seattle during the 2013 season — says Seattle should make it in as either the division winner or as a wild card team.
“It could be either,” says Rice in a one-on-one interview when asked if they’ll make it to the playoffs prior to the win over the Jets. “They could be the NFC West winner for sure. Like I said, the division is up for grabs. I don’t think anybody’s played great. They always compete well against each other. I think they have the pieces. As long as the receivers, running backs and defense stays healthy, they’ll be just fine.”
The Seahawks have remaining divisional games against the Cardinals in Arizona next week and against the Los Angeles Rams on the road in the season finale. While it’s clear that the NFC West is jumbled and up for grabs for all four teams, Rice is excited to watch the Seahawks continue to grow under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald.
“I feel like the division is up for grabs,” says Rice. “Never doubted them over the last 14 years, what they do and how they compete and facing adversity and things like that. I believe there’s definitely a chance to make a wild card and get into the playoffs. I’m excited for the future to see where they go once Mike Macdonald gets all his pieces. I think he’s a great coach. The guys are buying in, they’re flying around and making mistakes, but they’re making them fast. That’s definitely something you want to see.”
The Seahawks have a ~41% chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN Analytics. Their predictive model now has Seattle as the slight favorite over Arizona to win the NFC West at ~38%.
Seattle's remaining strength of schedule (at ARI, vs GB, vs MIN, at CHI, at LAR) is eighth-hardest. pic.twitter.com/iNzeXLJsjQ
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) December 2, 2024
The Seahawks have been “up and down” as Rice says, starting out the year 3-0 before losing five of their next six games. However, they have bounced back to win their last three games, including a thrilling win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11 when Geno Smith scored the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining.
“Obviously, at the beginning of the year when they started off 3-0 — which I thought was very impressive with the new coach and someone who doesn’t have all of the pieces that he would like, basically you would consider it a rebuilding season,” says Rice. “But they found a way to fight. They went on that stretch where they lost five out of six. I think they still have the pieces. I’m just excited to see them continue to throw the ball downfield. That’s my big thing — establishing the run and throwing the ball downfield.”
One of the biggest reasons for the team’s success has been the steady play of Geno Smith. The Seahawks have been a winning team since he took over as the starting quarterback during the 2022 season, leading them to a surprise playoff appearance before guiding them to a 9-8 record last year.
Although Smith has had a middling season with 13 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, he’s played strong as of late, posting at least a 64.5% completion rate over his past three games — all wins. Furthermore, he has 3,035 passing yards and 300 completions, both the second-best marks in the league.
“He’s done a great job,” says Rice of Smith. “He doesn’t have a strong line. Some of those guys are very young and I think that’s taking a toll on what he’s able to do and potentially some of the play calling and getting the ball out fast. I always complain about them not throwing the ball downfield. That could be the receiver in me, but I always want to see a ball downfield and when they do, they make big plays. I think Geno has done a great job.”
Rice further compliments the 34-year-old quarterback as a leader and believes he’ll be back as the Seahawks’ starter for the 2025 season during the final year of his deal.
“He’s a great leader, he’s not complaining about what he has,” says Rice. “He’s going out there and he was still leading the NFL in passing at one point, making good decisions and leading in completions as well. We’ll see what happens. I’m not sure if they will bring him back, but I don’t know who they would draft at this point either. There’s nobody that stands out in college football and if they did, I don’t think it’s fair for them to be thrown in immediately. We’ve seen that over the last few years, these great quarterbacks coming out of college and they get thrown into the mix right away, and it’s not good at all for them or the organization.”
Sidney Rice Speaks Highly Of Seahawks’ Three-Headed Receiving Core
A large reason why Smith has been able to produce monster passing numbers is because the Seahawks have arguably the best trio of receivers in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Both Metcalf and Lockett have been Pro Bowlers while Smith-Njigba — a 2023 first-round draft pick — has stepped up as the team’s leading receiver with 70 catches for 829 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The second-year receiver ranks within the top 10 in receptions, receiving yards and targets.
“I think they’re a fantastic, fabulous receiving core,” says Rice of the Seahawks’ three-headed trio. “I just wish they had more opportunities. Obviously, you have to protect so he has the time to get the ball downfield. I think those guys are great and that’s the main reason I complain when they do lose or when they don’t look good and they don’t throw the ball past 10 yards for the whole game. Because those guys are so impressive at what they do. If you just give them the opportunity to get downfield, there’s no way you can cover them one-on-one. I’ll take my chances on any of those guys throwing the ball up.”
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Metcalf is arguably the most physically imposing receiver in the league and has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since entering the league in 2019. He racked up an All-Pro season during the 2020 campaign and has been a Pro Bowler in two of the past four years. He’s having another solid campaign with 50 catches for 763 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Rice compares Metcalf to Terrell Owens, a Pro Football Hall of Fame selection who led the league in receiving touchdowns in three different seasons.
“Probably Terrell Owens,” Rice says when asked who he would compare Metcalf to. “He’s not as tall as Calvin (Johnson), but he’s just as big. Both freaks of nature as you mentioned and it’s kind of unfair that they run that fast and that they’re that big.”
Sidney Rice On Seahawks Parting Ways With Pete Carroll And Russell Wilson’s Success With Steelers
While the Seahawks have obviously moved on, they made a tough decision in parting ways with the best coach in franchise history, Pete Carroll. Carroll coached the Seahawks for 14 seasons and led them to a Super Bowl title and back-to-back playoff appearances. However, he had struggled in leading the team in recent years, failing to lead them past the divisional playoffs since the 2014 season and winning just three playoff games during his last nine seasons as head coach.
Furthermore, the trademark defense that led the Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances had vanished in recent years, ranking 25th in points allowed during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Rice — who played under Carroll from 2011 until 2013 — says he was “surprised” that the Seahawks moved on from Carroll, but understands why the organization wanted to make a change.
“I think everybody was surprised,” says Rice. “Everybody was surprised — Pete had a great run. He had a great 14 years here. Still dearly loved by the fans, the former players that he had and the community as well. But there comes a point where people want change and I guess that’s what happened. I’m not in control of it, but I don’t think change is bad. We’ll just give Mike Macdonald the pieces he wants — like I said — and hopefully we can get back to that championship-caliber defense that we had when we went to the back-to-back Super Bowls.”
Another longtime face of the franchise, Russell Wilson, is having success with his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. After failing during his two-year stint with the Denver Broncos, Wilson has found new life as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, leading them to a 9-3 record and the division lead in the AFC North. Wilson has lost just one game since taking over as the starting quarterback in Week 7 and has 10 touchdowns against just three interceptions for a 104.3 passer rating.
Rice — who played with Wilson during the 2012 and 2013 seasons — isn’t surprised at all of his former quarterback’s success in his 13th season in the league.
“No, I’m not surprised at all,” says Rice. “Russ was put in an unfortunate situation out in Denver as well, just as soon as they hired Sean Payton. I was like, ‘This is not going to go well.’ I knew it immediately. Sean’s style of coaching is completely different compared to Pete Carroll, which Russ had during his previous 10 years. He’s been put back into a situation that fits his style of play and what he does. He’s surrounded by a lot of weapons, a great offensive line and a great defense as well. That’s where Russell thrives.”
