The Seattle Seahawks face a pair of very difficult games in the next two weeks. Even at 6-8, they still have a path to the playoffs. Whether that matters or not is an entirely different question.
The Seahawks put themselves in the position entering the toughest stretch of their schedule at just 6-4. After their thrilling comeback win over the Browns, they were riding high at 5-2. The loss to the Ravens is excusable, although the score certainly wasn't. Losing to the Rams for the second time this season cannot be excused. It left the Hawks at 6-6, and now facing the two toughest teams on their schedule in back-to-back weeks. They face a very tough path to the playoffs at just a 35 percent chance, according to one analysis reported by John Breech for CBS Sports.
The prospects of the Hawks beating either the 49ers this Sunday or the Eagles on the following Monday night game are about as slim as winning the Pulitzer. Well, okay, they aren't quite that bad. The Niners have already lost to a pair of 6-6 teams, while the Iggles lost to the freaking Jets. Any given Sunday, indeed. But as inconsistent as the Seahawks have been, it's difficult to see them winning either game.
The Seattle Seahawks could still make the postseason with a strong finish
Geno Smith will clearly have to have another game as strong as he did versus the Cowboys for the Seahawks to have a chance against either the 49ers or the Eagles. Pete Carrol and his coaching staff will have to pull a rabbit or three out of their hats as well. Perhaps bring Coby Bryant back to slow down Christian McCaffrey, as Michael Bumpus suggested. Or, you know, just go with the guy who's already on the field and let Devon Witherspoon shadow him on third down, and trust Tre Brown to handle things outside the numbers. One way or another, the defense has to show up this time.
Clearly, one upset over the next two weeks would make a huge change in the playoff chances for the Seahawks. The way they've been playing though, they'd be just as likely to knock off the Eagles, then lose two of their last three to miss the postseason party. But let's assume that Seattle enters week 16 at 6-8. That brings up two separate but equally important questions. How likely would it be for the Hawks to run the table to reach 9-8? And, would that record get them into the playoffs, as it did last year? I have more questions than answers, but let's take a look anyway.
The road gets easier for Seattle in Week 16. Easier, not easy.
Let's look at the chances of them matching last year's record first. After they close out the Murderers' Row section of their schedule, the Hawks will face the last two teams of their AFC Central tour, the Titans and the Steelers. So far, the Hawks struggled against the division. They lost to the Bengals in a baffling game that now serves as a microcosm of their season. As noted, The Hawks barely pulled off the win versus the Browns. Seattle will then finish their season on the road at Arizona.
At 7-6, the Steelers are the class of that group. Or they were until they somehow lost to the dogmeat Patriots. They've been well-coached by Mike Tomlin, but they haven't been much more consistent than the Seahawks (see Patriots loss ). Pittsburgh owns a win over the Ravens, but they also lost badly to Arizona just four days before losing to the Pats. It's certainly a winnable game, but so was Dallas.
Tennessee is 4-8 and has lost four of their last five games. As they face the Dolphins and Texans before they host Seattle, they'll likely be just 4-10. An early-season 27-3 win over the Bengals was the only game they've played in which they resembled anything close to a dangerous team. All signs point to a Seahawks win over the Titans. Sadly, we all know how badly those signs can mislead us, don't we, 12s?
So the Seahawks could very well reach the season finale versus the Cardinals with their playoff chances at stake. Arizona does have a pretty dismal record at 3-10. Still, they did just handle the Steelers and handed the Cowboys one of their three losses. But they'll face much the same brutal schedule as Seattle before that final game. They'll sandwich games against San Francisco and Philadelphia around a trip to Chicago, so they'll likely be pretty banged up when they try to play spoiler to Seattle's postseason hopes.
Those losses to the Rams could have sealed the Seahawks fate
That isn't exactly breaking news, I know, but I already admitted I wasn't getting a Pulitzer anytime soon. Los Angeles is also 6-6, but with two of the wins coming over Seattle, the Hawks have to finish a game ahead of their division rivals. Luckily, that may not be as difficult as it may seem.
The Rams also face two very solid teams in their last five contests. They too will face the 49ers, in their case in the last game of the season. The Ravens are certainly a reasonable substitute for the challenge of facing the Eagles, so it won't be a cakewalk for the Rams, either. We'll know more about their chances quickly, as they visit Baltimore this Sunday.
The three matchups they'll face between those challenges are a bit easier than what the Seahawks will face, and two of those games will be at home. The Commanders and the Saints will visit Hollywood - okay, Inglewood - and then the guys with curlicues on their helmets will travel to New Jersey to play the Giants. The best of those teams is probably the 5-7 Saints, led by Derek Carr. I use the term "led" loosely. In most seasons, I'd be concerned that the 49ers would be starting people they pulled out of the stands in that Week 18 game, but they'll likely be battling the Eagles to the last snap for home-field advantage. That certainly plays out in favor of the Seahawks' chances.
So the Hawks will likely need some outside help, again, to make the postseason for the second year in a row. In 2023, the Lions were kind enough to gift the Seahawks a last-minute reprieve. Not that I'm complaining, but Seattle didn't exactly show much gratitude in their visit to Detroit this year. If Seattle drops to 6-8, they do have a path to the postseason. But it's one very rocky road. They'd do much better to blaze their own trail and steal a win in these next two weeks.