The Seattle Seahawks weren't supposed to be this far along in their rebuild, making the playoffs while getting key contributions from so many young players.
Heading into Saturday's wild-card showdown with the San Francisco 49ers, the youthful Seahawks are loose and prepared to continue to prove doubters wrong.
"We've got such a young team, and when you hear about all the stuff that was said about us from the beginning of the year all the way until now, it's like, nobody expected us to be here, nobody expects us to win outside of our building," receiver Tyler Lockett said Wednesday. "We believe that we can win, but nobody else does. Nobody thought that we would be able to do any of the things that we were able to do. Everybody was shocked that we even got into the playoffs.
"So for us it's like, we're just going to go out there and just play free. We're not going to play with any worries. We don't really care what the weather is going to be like. We really don't care about any of that stuff; we're just going to play like we've got nothing to lose."
Seattle's rookies, including Kenneth Walker III, Abraham Lucas, Charles Cross, Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant, Boye Mafe and Dareke Young, have spearheaded the Seahawks' quick turnaround following last year's losing season. Seahawks rookies have started a combined 70 games this season, second-most in the NFL. Only Houston, who secured the No. 2 overall pick, had more rookies start.
It's not just rookies getting their first taste of postseason action. Several other vital veterans, like quarterback Geno Smith and defensive lineman Shelby Harris, are set to see their first playoff action. Thirty-two players on the Seahawks' 53-man roster have no playoff experience entering Saturday.
The inexperience doesn't have Pete Carroll's team clamming up.
"I think everybody is just free," Lockett said. "I honestly think everybody is just more free. You don't have to be uptight. You don't have to be tense. Obviously, we're going into a playoff game, and you can really make it like, 'Oh, my gosh, it's the playoffs,' but it's different when everybody is telling you that you have to win or it's a bust type of season, when people thought we were going to win four games… We really don't have anything to lose. We're just going to go out there and have fun, go out there and play, and I feel like we're getting better each and every week."
The 49ers swept the Seahawks in 2022 for the first time since 2011, outscoring Seattle by 28 total points and winning the turnover margin by four. Teams to go 2-0 in the regular season versus an opponent and face them in playoffs are 13-9 since 1970 in that playoff game (11-6 as the home team).