The Seahawks are still No. 1 in The Post’s NFL Power Rankings, but it’s a shaky No. 1.
Red flags abound in the wake of Seattle’s past two victories, both of them nailbiters over terrible teams starting replacement quarterbacks (Rams and Buccaneers). The Seahawks even needed overtime to beat winless Tampa Bay at home this week.
Is Pete Carroll’s 8-1 team headed for a fall despite getting off to the best start through nine games in franchise history? It’s a question that’s looking increasingly legitimate, especially with their NFC West mates in San Francisco on a serious roll and getting healthier by the day.
But there is good reason to think the Seahawks’ “slump” is temporary, mainly involving their injury situation. Russell Wilson’s recent struggles have stemmed from a banged-up offensive line that’s been missing tackles Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini, but both starters returned to practice this week and are close to playing again.
Wilson and the Seahawks also are confident they’re going to get wideout Percy Harvin at some point this season (perhaps in the next couple of weeks), and Harvin’s explosiveness has the potential to be a game-changer.
The schedule is also pillow-soft going into a late bye week — Atlanta and Minnesota, who are a combined 3-13 — so there’s no reason to doubt Seattle just yet.
(Last week’s rank in parentheses)
1. Seahawks (1): They’ve been surviving more than winning lately, but 8-1 is still 8-1.
2. Chiefs (2): The fact that they’re 9-0 and lead the league in punts (55) says a lot about the strength of that 9-0.
3. Broncos (3): With John Fox sidelined following heart surgery, Jack Del Rio was promoted to the job of interim top assistant to Peyton Manning.
4. 49ers (4): Jim Harbaugh’s team went into the bye on such a roll that they have to hope it didn’t slow their momentum.
5. Colts (7): Andrew Luck has started just 24 NFL games and already has seven fourth-quarter comebacks and 10 game-winning drives. Wow.
6. Patriots (9): Tom Brady and a healthy Rob Gronkowski can apparently make up for an infinite amount of injuries.
7. Bengals (5): A 40-point win over the Jets is followed by a two-point loss to the Dolphins. And we thought the Jets were unpredictable.
8. Packers (6): They get to find out what life is like without Aaron Rodgers for at least a couple of weeks. The early results weren’t pretty.
9. Saints (8): They still can’t be trusted outside of a dome, which doesn’t bode well for their playoff chances.
10. Lions (10): Their trip to the Bears coming out of the bye this week suddenly got a lot more intriguing with Chicago’s win at Lambeau on Monday night.
11. Panthers (11): Cam Newton is playing great, but don’t overlook a defense that has forced 10 turnovers during a four-game win streak.
12. Cowboys (13): Tony Romo is 22-4 in November, the best of any full-time starter in the Super Bowl era. December and January, on the other hand …
13. Chargers (12): Losing to the Redskins wasn’t a good look going into Sunday’s AFC West showdown at home with the Broncos.
14. Cardinals (14): How is this team winning? They have forced a turnover in every game and multiple turnovers in six of the eight.
15. Bears (15): Marc Trestman and Josh McCown ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
16. Jets (16): In truly mystifying NFL season, they’re still the most mystifying team of all.
17. Titans (18): Nice of you to finally make an appearance this season, Chris Johnson.
18. Eagles (19): If Chip Kelly is such a genius, why wasn’t Nick Foles starting all along?
19. Dolphins (23): The OT win over the Bengals was a pleasant surprise, but their entire season — overshadowed now by the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin fiasco — still feels like it’s on the brink of falling apart.
20. Browns (29): Why did it take them so long to start Jason Campbell after Brian Hoyer’s injury?
21. Ravens (17): They’re playing a lot of close games (just like last year) but not winning many of them.
22. Redskins (24): Just call them the Runnin’ Redskins now that they have rushed for 200 or more yards in three of their past four games.
23. Bills (20): EJ Manuel is finally expected back this week. Too bad it’s probably too late to prevent another lost season.
24. Raiders (21): Seven TD passes allowed to Nick Foles? Really?
25. Giants (25): They get a banged-up Terrelle Pryor and maybe Seneca Wallace or Matt Flynn instead of Aaron Rodgers coming out of the bye. Can you say “4-6”?
26. Steelers (22): After giving up a franchise-record 55 points to the Patriots, how low can this proud franchise go?
27. Falcons (26): Eight turnovers in just the past two games. That’s how you get to 2-6 a year after almost making the Super Bowl.
28. Rams (27): The rest of the schedule is even more brutal than Kellen Clemens’ quarterbacking.
29. Texans (28): Say this for Houston: Their losses are never boring.
30. Vikings (30): At least we won’t have to watch this wretched team in primetime every week next season.
31. Buccaneers (31): They finally got that elusive moral victory against Seattle.
32. Jaguars (32): Justin Blackmon’s suspension means they couldn’t even beat the bye week.