Could Seattle Seahawks be the worst team in the NFL?

This has little to do with how the Seattle Seahawks' 2021 season would pan out and more to do with something that every fan enjoys: NFL season simulation.

Each year, the season is simulated through the Madden video game, as well as the Super Bowl prediction. This season, ESPN's Football Power Index did its simulation of the NFL season...20,000 times.

This ESPN simulation has Seahawks finishing tied for NFL’s worst record https://t.co/OceMfXDa4X

— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) September 6, 2021

Throughout the simulation process, a team's win-loss record usually varies between three games or so. For the Seattle Seahawks, their average win-loss record should fall around nine or ten wins.

In today's playoff format, they would be right in the thick of the January action. The Seattle Seahawks are also projected to be one of nine teams with a probability greater than 60% to make the playoffs. They have the ninth-best odds to make it to the Super Bowl and win. So why are they in discussion for the worst team in the NFL?

It's not common during the simulation for a team to completely fall from the heavens to the rock bottom of the NFL. ESPN honed in on a scenario that could be the case in the 2021 season too.

In that simulation, the Green Bay Packers lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl, which is very likely to occur. It's not like it's the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. However, this specific scenario that ESPN used has the Seattle Seahawks tied for the worst record.

At 5-12, the Seattle Seahawks shared the worst record in the league with the New York Giants, New York Jets, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers. Outside of Seattle, most people won't question those teams ending up at the bottom of the barrel.

For their NFC West division, the San Francisco 49ers won the title, and the LA Rams also made the playoffs. The Arizona Cardinals took a step back with a 6-11 record, though. Still, it's not too far from reality.

The Seattle Seahawks are weird. Their games are close. The endings are dramatic. The probability swings are steep. Here's the data behind it. https://t.co/H2anolNDur

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 8, 2020

According to ESPN's simulation, the Seattle Seahawks will open the season with eight straight losses. Six of those could by one score, and there'll be a 29-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (maybe the 2020 Steelers).

How will the Seattle Seahawks fare this year?

The Seattle Seahawks were the last winless team in the league. But looking at the recent schedules for the Seahawks, that isn't as farfetched as one may think. Over the last three seasons, 33 games have ended by no more than a 7-point difference, including the postseason. The Seattle Seahawks were 21-12 in those games.

Heading into the 2021 season, their defense isn't the same powerful unit it once was, even with Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams. It is possible the Seattle Seahawks' luck runs out, and they may not survive close games this year.

Nonetheless, a 5-12 record is still hard to believe with no injuries (the simulation doesn't account for those) and Russell Wilson 'cooking' on the field. Their offensive line is still the same one Wilson trash-talked last season, though. If you have a few extra dollars, it won't hurt placing it on the under for the Seattle Seahawks' win total this season. Crazy things have happened in the NFL.