The Seattle Seahawks recently managed to lock up franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, who will now remain in the Pacific Northwest for the foreseeable future. As a result, the always competitive NFC West franchise can now begin to look ahead to both the 2019 NFL Draft and 2019 regular season — which obviously includes two critical matchups against the reigning NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams.

However, in an unlikely turn of events, the Seahawks will be forced to play the aforementioned Rams not once but twice on a short week. With the 2019-20 schedule recently being released by the league, at least the Seahawks found out their fate against the Rams with plenty of time remaining to prepare properly.

First, the Seahawks will take on the Rams after a four-day week because of a Thursday game following a Sunday outing. The second time around, Seattle will battle Los Angeles after a six-day week, thanks to a Sunday matchup after a Monday Night Football affair.

With the Rams no doubt slated to enter the upcoming campaign as the overwhelming favorites to come out of the NFC West when all is said and done, the Seahawks surely won’t be too far behind. Because Seattle somehow remains competitive year after year no matter who remains on the team’s 53-man roster, the Seahawks cannot be counted out this early on in the process.

It is also worth noting that both the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals could cause a bit of havoc in the divisional standings as well, with each franchise expected to be at least somewhat improved come 2019.