Rams getting boat-raced by Baltimore moves Seahawks closer to playoff spot. They want more
The Seahawks’ “great place” in the NFC playoff race just got greater.
The Rams getting boat-raced at home Monday night 45-6 by Lamar Jackson and the runaway Baltimore Ravens increased Seattle’s already bullish chances for the seventh time in eight years.
“We’re ready to roll,” Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said.
“And we’re ready to keep getting better.”
Los Angeles is not getting better. The Rams dropped to 6-5. Yet they are still the highest remaining seed outside the top six currently holding a playoff spot in the top-heavy conference.
The Seahawks are 9-2 after their team-record sixth win in six road games this season, 17-9 on Sunday at Philadelphia. Seattle is three games ahead of the Rams with five games remaining in the regular season.
The Seahawks can clinch with wins in their next two games. They likely need just two wins in their final five games to get into the playoffs.
Seattle next plays at home Monday night against Minnesota (8-3), then at the Rams in L.A. Dec. 8. NBC and the NFL may flex Seattle at Los Angeles out of its Sunday night primetime television slot because of the Rams’ latest face plant.
The Vikings are currently hold the sixth and final playoff seed in the NFC. Seattle is the fifth seed right now, the non-division leader with the best record.
There is an unlikely scenario that two wins for Seattle but the Rams winning their last five gets L.A. in the wild card over the Seahawks because of a better division record (4-2 to 3-3). But it’s too late on a travel day that began on the East Coast at 3 a.m. Philadelphia time to consider that.
The Seahawks, of course, have their eyes on a prize far bigger than a mere wild-card spot.
They are a game behind the 49ers (10-1) for first place in the NFC West, and are the only team to beat San Francisco. The Niners have the conference’s best record after swamping Green Bay at home Sunday night. They come to Seattle on the final Sunday of the regular season, Dec. 29.
“I think we have unwavering belief,” Wilson said Sunday in Philadelphia, after ensuring he will be the first quarterback in NFL history to have a winning record in each of his first eight seasons. “We believe in each other. We believe in our system. We believe in what we are doing. To get all of these wins has been a great thing.
“To be 9-2, and to be were we are, to be fighting for first place in our division and in the NFC, it’s a great place to be.
“The great thing is that we are playing great football. But the greater this is, we can play even better.”
All great, for the Seahawks.
“Yeah, we’re just laying low, doing the best we can,” coach Pete Carroll said, trying to keep the Seahawks in the overlooked, underdog role behind the darling 49ers.
“Like Joe Namath once said, ‘Just trying to get along, you know?’”
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 8:10 PM.
