Seahawks playoff picture entering Week 14: Win in LA and they are in
With Seattle’s victory Monday over Minnesota, the dynamics of the NFC playoff picture changed. A look at what Seattle’s view of the playoffs looks like heading into the weekend:
Seahawks current seed: No. 2
The Seahawks may leave something nice in the stocking of the Baltimore Ravens this coming Christmas. Baltimore’s win over San Francisco paired with Seattle’s win over Minnesota vaulted the Seahawks from the NFC wild card all the way up to the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye on the NFC side of the playoffs.
Projected opponent: Highest remaining wild card
This is a year you want to have that bye the first week of the playoffs.
Right now, the teams that would play in the wild-card round are Green Bay, Dallas, San Francisco and Minnesota. As the second seed, Seattle would play the highest-seeded team coming out of the wild-card-round in the divisional round.
A thing to remember is that more than likely the NFC West runner-up will be the fifth seed and will play at the No. 4 seed NFC East champion on the road in the wild-card round. Dallas and Philadelphia have struggled to keep up with the top teams in the NFC and will more than likely host a playoff game with a .500 record.
Scoreboard watching on Sunday
Before Sunday night football versus the Rams on NBC, here’s what Seahawks fans should be paying attention to.
San Francisco at New Orleans: A loss by the Saints puts Seattle closer to grabbing the No. 1 seed in the NFC. However, a win by the Saints and a win by the Seahawks would help stretch the Seattle lead in the division and some other benefits would come the Seahawks way.
Who can clinch a spot this weekend: Seattle can clinch a spot on the NFC side with a win or tie versus the Rams. On the AFC side, there’s a lengthy list of teams that can clinch a spot. Baltimore, Kansas City, Buffalo and New England all have a chance to reach the playoffs with wins and a combination of losses from other teams.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
