Heading into their bye week in Week 10, the Seattle Seahawks were leading the NFC West. Coming out of that, the San Francisco 49ers overtook them at the top of the division, and haven’t looked back. Now, despite a resounding Seahawks’ Week 17 win over the Jets, the Seahawks' playoffs hopes depend on another team helping them out. After the Seahawks-Jets game, Seattle is now a Week 18 win vs. the Los Angeles Rams away from earning a playoff-worthy record. However, the Seahawks' playoff scenarios aren’t as simple as win and get in. They also need some help, which is why every Seahawks fan, player, staff member (and all Aaron Rodgers haters) will become massive Detroit Lions fans next Sunday.
How the Seahawks' playoff hopes end
After four consecutive wins early in the season to move the Seahawks to 6-3, the Geno Smith-led bunch was one of the feel-good stories of the 2022 campaign. However, the team lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into their bye week and are just 2-4 since.
Coming off three consecutive losses, the Seahawks' Week 17 game was crucial. Both teams in the Seahawks-Jets matchup were fighting for playoff spots, but the home team that came out ahead (23-6) was the only team on the field Sunday that looked ready for the postseason.
Seattle knocking off the Jets helped clear up the AFC playoff picture a bit. Once a contest between six teams for the final two spots, the AFC now has two spots (AFC South winner and No. 7 seed Wild Card team) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, or Pittsburgh Steelers.
The NFC playoff picture is even less complicated heading into Week 18. Seeding can change here and there, but there is only one playoff spot left undecided (the No. 7 Wild Card slot), and Seattle, Green Bay, and Detroit are vying for it.
In Week 18, a Seahawks playoffs run ends if the Packers beat the Lions, simple as that.
Even if Geno Smith and company beat the Rams on Sunday, a Packers win means the teams are tied on overall record, division record, and against common opponents. That leaves it to conference record, and the Packers would take that tiebreaker 7-5 to 6-6.
The other Seahawks playoff scenario where the team goes home is a Week 18 loss to the Rams. If that happens, there is no path for the Seahawks to get into the playoffs.
How Seattle makes the playoffs
Seattle fans shouldn’t give up hope yet. There is a decent chance for the team to make the postseason if they can get a win against the lowly Rams next Sunday. Even that will be no easy task, though. While LA’s 5-11 record makes them seem like a pushover, the team is 2-2 with Baker Mayfield under center the last four weeks and can pull an upset if the opposing team doesn’t bring their A-game.
Assuming Seattle does win, the Seahawks' playoff scenarios come down to the Lions.
If Jared Goff and the Lions beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday, Geno Smith and company are in the postseason. That’s because a Seahawks win would give them a 9-8 record on the season, while a Packers loss would drop them to 8-9, putting the NFC West team in the No. 7 seed.
In this case, the Lions would also have a 9-8 record, but when Detroit and Seattle played each other way back in Week 4, the Seahawks came out on top in an absolute thriller.
The teams played at Ford Field in Detroit, and the two offenses put on a clinic. Seattle runners had 33 carries for 235 yards and three touchdowns, while Detroit ran the ball 25 times for 145 yards and two TDs. In the air, both quarterbacks were also excellent. Smith went 23-of-30 for 320 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Goff was even better, going 26-of-39 for 378 yards with four TDs and one INT.
The Lions went down by 16 early in the third quarter but outscored the Seahawks 30-17 down the stretch. However, a 41-yard Rashaad Penny touchdown run just before the two-minute warning would seal the deal for the Seahawks.
And that is where we stand after the Seahawks' Week 17 victory over the Jets. The Packers have a leg-up in the last NFC playoff race, but the Seahawks' playoff scenarios put them in the second-best spot because of a wild Week 4 win.
It just goes to show that every regular season game in the NFL matters immensely.
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