The NFC West has been the most competitive division in the league without question this season. Okay, so the Arizona Cardinals aren't exactly included here, but the division's other West Coast franchises, the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams, certainly are.
To begin the season, the Rams were given the best chances of winning the division and a possible Super Bowl threat. Following them, the 49ers. The Seahawks, however, had gone through significant changes during the offseason, and more questions than answers followed them into the new year.
With one game remaining on the schedule, Seattle has largely answered many questions (though some remain), and, surprise, surprise, the Seahawks could finish the year with the top seed not just in their division but in the entire NFC. That's not it, though, because a key piece of franchise history could also be on the line with one game left, and if accomplished, could make this year's Seahawks' squad a historic one.
Seahawks are on the brink of a franchise record in wins should they beat the 49ers in Week 18
Even in the Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, and the "Legion of Boom" era, no Seahawks team has ever reached 14 wins in the regular season. The Carroll-Wilson era, which saw the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl twice in Wilson's first three seasons, never surpassed 13 wins in a season. In fact, 13 was their most in 2013, their Super Bowl-winning year.
Only once before that did the Seahawks franchise ever reach 13 wins, in 2005, which also happened to be another Super Bowl year, which they eventually lost after Matt Hasselbeck famously declared, "We want the ball, and we're going to score," to kick off overtime, which resulted in the Pittsburgh Steelers winning in the end.
It's almost shocking that Wilson and the "Legion of Boom" teams only reached 13 wins once during their dominant run. The past, of course, is the past, and the present is where the Seahawks have achieved 13 wins again, and are on the brink of hitting that elusive 14th. All they need to do is finish the regular season with a win over their other division rivals, the 49ers.
The 49ers are running hot, capping off a sixth consecutive win Sunday night over the Chicago Bears, bringing their overall record to 12-4. Seattle sits at 13-3, but after Week 18, they could have identical records, which would mean the Seahawks would miss out on their historic shot at 14 wins.
Fourteen wins would make this season even more special than it already has been, given that Seattle was not expected to be this good. On top of the potential historic wins record, the Seahawks have already tied their franchise record for road wins in a regular season with seven, but they can surpass that mark with a win in San Francisco next Saturday.
All of this said, however, while making franchise history would be something to celebrate, nothing will compare to a Super Bowl appearance and a win. That is what the Seahawks have their talons open for, and they surely want to close their grip on the biggest win of the year if they can.