No particular axe to grind, but with the prospect of having to play the entire postseason on the road if we are to make it to the Super Bowl, I thought that it was worth taking a look at our performance on the road this season:
At Denver and at Chicago: Both close losses, both early in the season and before our running game took hold.
At Detroit: Solid win, non playoff team.
At Oakland: Well, it wasn't in the Black Chit Hole, it was in England, and about 75% of the crowd was pro Seahawks. Blow out win over one of the worst teams in the league.
At Arizona: Solid win, but the 12's always represent about 40-45% of the crowd down there. Definitely not a hostile environment.
At LA: Tough loss, in the game until the final series.
At Carolina: Close game, good win against a solid team.
The Santa Clara game tomorrow will be much like the Arizona game. The stadium will be half empty and of those that do attend many will be Seahawk fans. We destroyed this team 2 weeks ago, no reason in the world why we shouldn't do so again.
Taking a look at our potential opponents, both New Orleans and Chicago have dedicated fan bases that will make life difficult on any visitor. Chicago in particular, since you combine a hostile crowd with potentially hostile weather conditions, would be a tough draw. But their offense isn't a lot better than the Vikings, of whom we destroyed.
We match up pretty well with the Cowboys. In the past, their venue hasn't been very intimidating but I've heard that it's becoming more raucous. They have a weapon in Amari Cooper that they didn't have when we faced them earlier in the season. Dak Prescott is the most mobile of quarterbacks that we'd face in the playoffs.
IMO the Rams would be the best draw for us as we've proven that we can hang with them, and they have one of the lamest fan bases in the league. The key will be getting pressure on Goff.
IMO the toughest place to play, and the toughest team for us to beat, would be the Saints.
Comments?