Coming into Week 13 Seattle was on an unfortunate slide, losing two straight and looking like a shell of their previously established identity. Combined over that two-game skid the Seahawks were outrun by the opposing team 444 yards to just 104 by Seattle. Knowing how imperative it is for the Seahawks to play fundamentally sound football this disparity had to be one of Seattle’s greatest focuses coming into the week.
Luckily for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks, the Rams come in on a downward spiral looking to get a win simply to change the current narrative of their season. The game wasn’t pretty by any means but division games rarely are. What matters is Seattle was able to walk away victorious thanks to Geno Smith’s first game-winning 4th quarter drive since 2014, now let’s break down the good, the bad and the ugly for the Seahawks.
Also, for the record, literally, Seattle is 7-5. Because the Commanders and Giants tied on Sunday, Seattle would be in the playoffs if the season ended today due to Washington being 7-5-1. But Seattle also has one more game to play the rest of the way than do the Commanders.
What went right for the Seahawks in Week 13
Geno Smith and the Seahawks passing attack
Another dominant and efficient game from Geno Smith and the entirety of the Seahawks’ offense. Seattle won despite Bobby Wagner having an out-of-body experience while on the field on Sunday, despite the offensive line looking somewhat lackluster at times during the game, and despite once again getting out-rushed by the opposing team 171-90. Despite all of those factors, Geno Smith played up to his nearly routine superstar standard.
On multiple occasions, Smith faced an intense pass rush from the Rams, and time after time Geno would stand in the pocket until the last moment and deliver a strike to his targets while under heavy pressure. Geno Smith is simply keeping the Seahawks in games thus far. On Sunday, he finished his day by completing 28 of his 39 passes for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns. If Geno can continue his elite-level play then the Seahawks not only have a chance to make the playoffs but a shot at making some real noise during the postseason.
What went wrong for the Seahawks in Week 13
The entire Seahawks run defense
Over their past three games, the Seahawks have rushed for a combined 194 yards. Meanwhile, over the same three games, Seattle has allowed opposing offenses to rush for a combined 615 total rushing yards. Allowing 205 rushing yards per game on average over the past three games is a major problem.
Teams are noticing Seattle’s struggles in this aspect and are taking advantage of it to not only move the ball and score points but also to control the pace of the game and make Geno Smith patiently await his turn on the sidelines. Jordyn Brooks and the Seahawks’ defensive front need to put a stop to the abundant running lanes. If that doesn’t change, it could lead to Seattle potentially squandering the terrific opportunity they have worked so hard to be in.
Game summary
This game on Sunday was an ugly and hard-fought nail-biter, something I expect a recurrence of once Seattle hosts the 49ers on Thursday night football in a couple of weeks. So in retrospect, it does feel good to not only walk away victorious but also there’s something special in seeing Geno Smith lead the team down the field for the game-winning drive. This game was a crucial one for Seattle, to stop a two-game skid, crush a division rival’s distant playoff dreams, and keep pace with the 49ers who are leading the Seahawks in the division by 1 game. Although the game may not have been pretty, it was indeed the win that Seattle needed to get moving in the right direction once again.
How the playoff picture is currently looking for the Seahawks
For the time being, I would like to focus on the teams closest to Seattle in the playoff picture. We shall take a look into the remaining strength of schedule and try to make some sense of where Seattle is most likely to be seeded by the time January comes around. The most-likely seeding scenarios for the Seahawks are either the 7th, 6th, or even possibly the number 3 seed if Seattle can overtake the 49ers in the division.
Currently, with how things sit the Seahawks are either tied or are within 1 game of 3 teams in the hunt. Those teams would be the Washington Commanders, the New York Giants, and the San Francisco 49ers. Let’s take a deeper inspection of how every team fares going forward.
San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
The 49ers and Seahawks are no strangers to dueling for playoff seeding. As division rivals, these two teams find themselves jostling for the division lead most seasons. But the slope got a bit slipperier for the 49ers on Sunday as their starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot. Jimmy G is expected to undergo season-ending surgery.
Despite losing their quarterback, the 49ers were still able to stunningly beat the Dolphins 33-17. The question remains how will San Francisco’s 3rd string QB, Brock Purdy, fare down the stretch? Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ offense will have to figure out a way to stay dangerous as their remaining games on the schedule still pose some daunting challenges.
Remaining games:
At home versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
At the Seahawks
At home versus the Washington Commanders
At the Las Vegas Raiders
At home versus the Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants (7-4-1)
The New York football Giants are currently half of a game ahead of the Seahawks for the 6th seed in the Playoffs bracket. Luckily for Seattle, they own the tiebreaker with the Giants from their previous triumph over the team back in October. Three of the last five games for the Giants are against division opponents. Considering the Giants are in one of the best divisions in all of football thus far, that may not bode very well for their playoff aspirations.
Remaining games:
At the Philadelphia Eagles
At the Washington Commanders
At the Minnesota Vikings
At home versus the Indianapolis Colts
At the Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders (7-5-1)
The only team on the aforementioned list that has a bye week still remaining is the Washington Commanders. The Commanders might be one of the hottest teams in football going 6-1-1 in their last 8 games. That being said, the remaining four games for the Commanders are no cakewalk.
As three of the last four games for the Commanders are against teams with winning records, the good news is three of the four games are also at home for the Commanders who thus far have not looked particularly potent while at home. Only time will tell if the Commanders can right the ship at home and make a push for the postseason.
Remaining games:
Bye Week
At home versus the New York Giants
At the San Francisco 49ers
At home versus Cleveland Browns
At home versus Dallas Cowboys
What this all means for the Seattle Seahawks moving forward
Seattle has fought tooth and nail to be where they are currently in the standings. Everyone wrote Seattle off before the season even started. But Geno Smith and Pete Carroll luckily never wrote back as the Seahawks may have one of the most advantageous positions of anybody heading down the stretch.
The Seahawks have four of the last five games at home in Seattle. The Seahawks play the banged-up 49ers for the division lead just two weeks from now and have by far the easiest remaining strength of schedules of all the previously discussed teams. Seattle might just have a shot at not only shocking the league by getting into the playoffs but heck, the Seattle Seahawks after all is said and done might actually be hosting playoff football games in Seattle for the first time since 2020.
I am predicting the Seahawks will win 4 of their next 5 to finish the season 11-6, which by my calculations and predictions should place Seattle as the 3rd seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Remaining games:
At home versus the Carolina Panthers
At home versus the San Francisco 49ers
At the Kansas City Chiefs
At home versus the New York Jets
At home versus Los Angeles Rams