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At one point, the Seattle Seahawks were 5-2 and seemingly on course for postseason football. On Sunday, despite a 21-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle's season came to an end…and was commemorated with victory cigars?
It was a bizarre scene inside the Seahawks locker room after the win. After all, the season-ending victory came over a Cardinals team that entered the contest with a 4-12 record.
It was also a victory that took a late touchdown and two-point conversion to wrestle the lead away from Arizona. A victory only made possible by two missed field goals in the fourth quarter by Arizona kicker Matt Prater, including a potential game-winner with no time remaining.
And still…cigars? (H/t Tacoma News Tribune's Gregg Bell.)
Cigars—but not playoffs—in #Seahawks’ locker room after last-game rally win at Arizona @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/UTbXSk6jtX
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) January 8, 2024
Seahawks claiming moral victory?
Under head coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks have gone 137-89-1 since 2010. They've won one Super Bowl, lost in another, and made 10 playoff appearances in total.
Perhaps the team was excited about finishing with a winning record (9-8), but it certainly feels like the standard for what deserves a celebration in Seattle has slipped.
Carroll's team actually entered Week 18 with a straightforward path to playoff football. A win over the Cardinals, coupled with a loss by the Green Bay Packers would've done the trick. (Seattle also could've gotten in via more complicated paths by tying against Arizona, but those aren't worth rehashing.)
A charitable interpretation might be that the Seahawks handled their business and wanted to enjoy that while holding out hope that the Packers would deliver for them. But even that's a stretch, as Green Bay led for most of its game against the Chicago Bears. Any hope there was never more than a flicker for Seattle.
But who are we to rain on a celebration? Enjoy the stogies fellas.
