Seahawks’ playoff road history not a pretty view

RENTON, Wash. – While they are one of the hottest teams going into the postseason, there’s a lot of past playoff futility for the Seattle Seahawks to overcome – nearly three decades’ worth.

Seemingly unbeatable at home, the road – especially in the postseason – has been a different tale for the Seahawks. It’s been 29 years since Seattle last won a playoff game on the road.

They’ve lost eight straight road playoff games since winning at Miami on Dec. 31, 1983, when only nine players on their current 53-man roster were even born.

On Sunday, Seattle (11-5) travels to the East Coast to take on another hot team, the Washington Redskins (10-6). The Seahawks have won five in a row, and seven of their last eight; Washington brings a seven-game winning streak into the game.

There was a reason Seattle coach Pete Carroll hoped his team could get at least one home playoff game – the Seahawks have some forgettable road playoff losses.

After beating Miami in the ’83 playoffs, the Seahawks were routed 30-14 by the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC championship game despite beating the Raiders twice in the regular season.

Seattle was routed at Miami in 1984 and in 1987 fell 23-20 at Houston in overtime after rallying to tie the game in the final minute of regulation. Seattle won the AFC West for the first time in 1988, only to get top-seeded Cincinnati in the playoff opener and a 21-13 loss.

After a lengthy drought with just one playoff appearance, the Seahawks started their run of success in the middle of 2000s with a wild-card berth and an overtime loss to Green Bay in 2003. There was another overtime loss in 2006, this time at Chicago, and losses to Green Bay (2007) and again to the Bears (2010) to complete the eight-pack of road woes.