Seahawk's Playoff Picture 2.0

With a win by the Rams, the Seahawks (in dominating fashion), and the 49ers, the NFC West looks pretty much the same. The 49ers have a one and a-half game lead on the Seahawks and a three game lead on the Rams. However, the Bears lost today meaning that the Seahawks would be the fifth seed if the season ended today because of the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bears. With only three games remaining in the regular season and two games back of the 49ers, it may seem that the Seahawks are out of the race for the division title, and should focus on the wild card, but that is not true at all. The 49ers have a very tough schedule over the next two games, taking on the Patriots in Foxborough and the Seahawks in Seattle, before finishing with the Cardinals at home. The Seahawks on the other hand, have a much easier schedule remaining, with the Bills in Toronto on the “road” next week, followed by the 49ers and Rams at home. It would not be surprising to see the Seahawks win all three of their remaining games, given that two of them are at home, as well as the fact that they are playing extremely well right now. This would put the Seahawks at 11-5. If the 49ers lose to the Patriots next week, and lose to the Seahawks the week after, they would be 10-5-1, which would mean the Seahawks would win the NFC West and most likely would clinch the number two seed in the playoffs.

It was evident that the Seahawks players had a good time in their win today.

www.bleacherreport.net

If the Seahawks lose one of those last three games, and finish at 10-6, they would most likely not win the division, which would mean they would be fighting the Bears (8-5), Redskins (7-6), Cowboys (7-6), and Vikings (7-6) for the two wild card spots. For any of the three 7-6 teams to be able to challenge the Seahawks for the wild card spot, they would most likely have to win out. The Vikings still have the Texans and Packers left on their schedule, which basically means that they are effectively eliminated. The Cowboys have games against the Steelers, Saints, and Redskins remaining, which also basically means that they are effectively eliminated, as it would be very difficult to win all three of those games. The Redskins however have a fairly easy schedule remaining with the Browns, Eagles, and Cowboys left on their plate. Winning all three of those games would put them at 10-6, and in position to at least challenge for a playoff spot, whether it is for the wild card or their own division.

The Seahawks could soon be updating this sign at their headquarters in Renton...

seahawks.com

All of these scenarios show that the Seahawks are in a pretty good position to make the playoffs and still have a shot at the division title as well. In my last article about the playoff picture, I said the Seahawks season could come down to the week 16 game against the 49ers, and that is still the case. Assuming we beat the Bills next week and the Rams in week 17, a win against the 49ers would guarantee us a playoff spot. Plus, if the 49ers lose any of their other remaining games, winning in week 16 would give the Seahawks the division title. Just remember this. We wouldn’t be having any of this “will they make the playoffs or not” talk if the Seahawks would have taken care of business in the earlier parts of the season. With wins against teams like Arizona, St. Louis, Detroit and Miami, which all should have been wins, the Seahawks would be sitting pretty with a 12-1 record right now. Oh what could have been…
           
All of this being said it has been proven time and time again that anything can happen in the NFL. The Seahawks were shown just that in their loss two weeks ago against the woeful Dolphins. Any number of things could go wrong for the Seahawks, but if they play with the tenacity that they showed today against the Cardinals, they should be in good shape to make a solid run in the playoffs.

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Jackson