The 2012 season was the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

' 37th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and their third under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

. The Seahawks had a three-way quarterback competition with

Tarvaris Jackson Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for both Alabama State and Arkansas. He played professionally for the ...

Matt Flynn Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pitts ...

and rookie

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

. Jackson was traded to the Bills, and Wilson won the job. The Seahawks finished 11–5, an improvement from a 7–9 record in 2011, and it marked Seattle's first winning season since

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. The team was 4–0 during the preseason. Their 11 victories was the third best in franchise history. The Seahawks went undefeated at home for the third time in franchise history, after

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. Additionally, with their victory over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 un ...

in the Wild Card round, the Seahawks won their first road playoff game since

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. However, despite holding a lead with just 30 seconds left in regulation, the Seahawks lost to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the Divisional round by a score of 30–28.

New logo and uniform

On April 3, 2012,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

unveiled the new design for the uniforms and logo for the Seahawks. The new designs incorporate a new accent color, "Wolf Grey", and the main colors are "College Navy" and "Action Green". The uniforms incorporate "feather trims", twelve feathers printed on the neckline and down each pant leg to represent the " 12th Man", referring to the team's fans.

2012 draft class

Notes : The team traded its original first-round selection (#12 overall) to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in exchange for the Eagles' first- (#15 overall), fourth- (#114 overall) and sixth- (#172 overall) selections. : The team traded its original second-round selection (#43 overall) to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in exchange for the Jets' second- (#47 overall), fifth- (#154 overall) and seventh- (#232 overall) round selections. : The team traded its original fifth-round selection (#147 overall) and a

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

fourth-round selection to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in exchange for

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...

. : The team traded its original seventh-round selection (#219 overall) to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in exchange for tackle

Tyler Polumbus Tyler Polumbus (born April 10, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to the ...

. : The team acquired this seventh-round selection (#225 overall) as part of a trade that sent

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Aaron Curry to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Staff

Final roster

* Starters in bold. * (*) Denotes players that were selected for the

2013 Pro Bowl The 2013 Pro Bowl was the National Football League (NFL)'s sixty-third annual all-star game which featured players from the 2012 season. It took place at 2:30 pm Hawaii–Aleutian Time ( UTC−10:00; 7:30 pm Eastern Time) on Sunday, Ja ...

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

:Bold indicates division opponents. :Source: 2012 NFL season results : # Indicates that the Seahawks were the visiting team in the

Bills Toronto Series The Bills Toronto Series was a series of National Football League (NFL) games featuring the Buffalo Bills played at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original series began in the 2008 season and ran through 2012. The Bills were orig ...

Postseason

Standings

Game summaries

Preseason

Week P1: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week P2: at Denver Broncos

Week P3: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week P4: vs. Oakland Raiders

Regular season

Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals

With the loss, the Seahawks started their season 0–1. This would be the last time the seahawks lost a regular season game in Arizona until

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Week 2: vs. Dallas Cowboys

After facing the Cardinals on the road, the Seahawks returned home for a home game against the Cowboys. The game went very well for the Seahawks as the team improved to 1–1. This is also the first win for rookie QB Russell Wilson.

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

The game had a controversial ending when Seattle quarterback

threw a Hail Mary pass to the endzone on the final play that appeared to have been intercepted by Green Bay. However, while one official signaled the interception, the other official signaled a touchdown for Seattle by receiver

Golden Tate Golden Herman Tate III (born August 2, 1988) is an American baseball player and former football wide receiver who is currently a center fielder for the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League (WCL). He played college football at Notre D ...

, based on the rule that a catch with simultaneous possession is ruled a completion for the offense. The play was reviewed and the officials awarded the touchdown to Seattle. The call by the officials, who were replacements for the customary and more experienced officials, was met with outrage by other NFL players and fans around the country who believed Green Bay should have been awarded the interception and thus the game. Many also claimed the officials had missed an offensive pass interference call committed by Tate on Packers cornerback

Sam Shields Samuel George Shields III (born December 8, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Miami. Shields was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He won Super Bo ...

that also would have won the game for Green Bay. The NFL released an official statement the next day that, while acknowledging that pass interference should have been called on Tate, supported the decision to uphold the play as simultaneous possession. With the win, the Seahawks improved to 2–1. With the 49ers' loss to the Vikings the previous day, Seattle and San Francisco were now tied for 2nd in the NFC West behind the 3-0

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. The Seahawks' defense accomplished a noteworthy achievement, sacking Packers quarterback

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

8 times, a career-high; this was even more impressive because all eight sacks occurred in the first half of the game. The game's final play, dubbed the "Fail Mary" or the "Inaccurate Reception", is still viewed as the catalyst for the return of the NFL's customary officials due to the ineptitude of the replacement officials.

Week 4: at St. Louis Rams

With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 2–2. QB Russell Wilson also had his first career game with no passing touchdown.

Week 5: at Carolina Panthers

With the win, Seattle's first of three road wins during the regular season, the Seahawks improved to 3–2.

Week 6: vs. New England Patriots

With the win, the Seahawks improved to 4–2, and with losses by the 49ers and Cardinals, the team moved into a tie for first in the NFC West. This was head coach

's first meeting with the Patriots since he was fired by the organization following the 1999 season. Carroll served as their head coach from 1997–99, the last one before

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

's hiring in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. This game is also infamous among Patriots fans as the genesis of the Richard Sherman/

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

"You Mad, Bro" meme.

Week 7: at San Francisco 49ers

With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 4–3 moving into a 2nd-place tie with the Cardinals in the NFC West.

Week 8: at Detroit Lions

With the loss, the Seahawks dropped to 4–4.

Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings

With the win, the Seahawks improved to 5–4.

Week 10: vs. New York Jets

The Seahawks improved to 6–4.

Week 12: at Miami Dolphins

The Seahawks engaged in a back-and-forth affair, with six lead changes or ties.

touchdowns to Anthony McCoy and

and a 98-yard

Leon Washington Leon Dewitt Washington Sr. (born August 29, 1982) is a former American football running back and return specialist. He currently serves as a coach for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Dra ...

kick return for a touchdown were answered by rushing scores from

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

and Daniel Thomas. With the Seahawks up 21–14, rookie Dolphins quarterback

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he was a wide receiver until his junior year, an ...

found Charles Clay from 29 yards out. Tied 21–21, the Seahawks had to punt with 1:39 to go, and Tannehill drove the Dolphins in range for the winning

Dan Carpenter Daniel Roy Carpenter (born November 25, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing college football for the University of Montana. He has also played for ...

field goal. The game was interrupted briefly with 1:40 to go in the third quarter following a 19-yard Tannehill run; the sprinklers at

Sun Life Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college ...

suddenly switched on, soaking the field for roughly one minute.

Week 13: at Chicago Bears

With their second road win, the Seahawks improved to 7–5.

Week 14: vs. Arizona Cardinals

*Biggest margin of victory in Seahawks franchise history *Biggest margin of defeat in Cardinals franchise history *Russell Wilson threw one touchdown pass before being pulled from the game. *Matt Flynn gets his first playing time for Seattle. *Eight turnovers committed by Arizona, including four interceptions *Wilson became the first rookie quarterback to start and win his first six games at home since the 1970 merger.

Week 15: at Buffalo Bills

;

With its third and final regular season road victory, Seattle rose to 9–5.

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Seahawks won and clinched at least a playoff spot. In order to win the NFC West, the Seahawks needed to beat the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

at home the following week, have the 49ers lose to the

. A Packers loss to the Vikings would give Seattle a first round bye as well. However, a loss or a 49ers win would result in the Seahawks being the #5 seed heading on the road for the Wild Card Round in January.

Week 17: vs. St. Louis Rams

With the NFC West title still up for grabs, the Seahawks finished their season at home against the Rams. Avoiding being swept by their foes, they finished the season with a record of 11–5, and a perfect 8–0 at home. However, with the Niners' win over the Cardinals, the team would end up 2nd in the division and the NFC's #5 seed.

Postseason

Seattle entered the postseason as the #5 seed in the NFC.

NFC Wild Card Playoff: at #4 Washington Redskins

After Redskins quarterback

Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RG3 and RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overa ...

went down with a knee injury in the second half, Seattle outscored Washington 3-0 to win 24-14. Seattle would move on to take on the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons.

NFC Divisional Playoff: at #1 Atlanta Falcons

The Seahawks fell behind, trailing Atlanta 20–0 at halftime and 27–7 with just over 17 minutes remaining. Seattle scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead 28–27 with 31 seconds left to play. But Matt Ryan quickly completed two long passes. A mystery time out, credited to Seattle, was blown by officials just as

Matt Bryant Steven Matt Bryant (born May 29, 1975), nicknamed "Money Matt", is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers in 2000. A ...

kicked and missed a 49-yard field goal try, allowing Atlanta to kick again and giving them the victory.

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catho ...

on the final play was intercepted by

Julio Jones Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falco ...

in the end zone (Wilson's only interception in the game), ending Seattle's season.

References

External links

*
2012 Seattle Seahawks season at ESPN
{{2012 NFL season by team

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Seattle Seahawks seasons