Seahawks' remaining schedule will not make it easy to make the playoffs

The Seahawks came up huge on Sunday as they defeated the highly-regarded Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta in a 10 am PT cross-country affair. Seattle, coming off three straight losses, had their backs against the wall as it seemed its season was unraveling very quickly. Atlanta, off three straight wins, was favored by almost every media pundit. The Seahawks didn't care.

Seattle's defense smothered quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons, forcing three turnovers, including a strip-sack touchdown, en route to a relatively stress-free 34-14 win over Atlanta to improve to 4-3. With the win, the Seahawks were back over .500, and with the San Francisco loss later on in the day, Seattle reclaimed its position on top of the NFC West.

But if the Seahawks want to maintain their top spot, they have their work cut out for them. The toughest stretch of the season is upon Seattle, including several divisional games and various matchups against first-place opponents. Let's take a look at this gauntlet Seattle is about to run through.

What does the Seahawks schedule look like the rest of the season?

• Week 8: vs Buffalo Bills
• Week 9: vs Los Angeles Rams
• Week 10: BYE
• Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers
• Week 12: vs Arizona Cardinals
• Week 13: at New York Jets
• Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals
• Week 15: vs Minnesota Vikings
• Week 16: vs Green Bay Packers
• Week 17: at Chicago Bears
• Week 18: at Los Angeles Rams

The silver lining for the Seahawks in this brutal remainder of the schedule is that the three best opponents coming up - Buffalo, Green Bay, and Minnesota - will all be traveling to Seattle. On paper, strictly looking at records only, the remaining several teams don't look great, but don't let that fool you. There are some very good teams the Seahawks will have to travel to face.

Beginning with Buffalo, the 5-2 Bills are in first place in the AFC East, with their only two losses being to the Texans and Ravens. Quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense will present real issues for a Seahawks defense that is still down several key players in the secondary. Seattle stays at home the following week to host the Rams and Sean McVay, who has proven to be a nightmare matchup for the Seahawks. The Rams swept Seattle last season, and they'll always rise to the occasion versus Seattle.

After the Week 10 bye, Seattle travels a short flight down to Santa Clara for their second matchup with the 49ers, who despite their 3-4 record, have looked potent this season, especially in Seattle in Week 7. Like the Rams, the Niners always rise to the occasion against the Seahawks, and like Sean McVay, Niners' head coach Kyle Shanahan has proven time and time again to be a nightmare matchup for Seattle. The Seahawks head back home for a Week 12 divisional game against the Arizona Cardinals, who've looked frisky at times this year, despite their losing record.

As chilly December rolls in, the Seahawks make the long flight to New York to visit Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, a team whose back is currently against the wall, at 2-5. What I've learned from watching this game since the early 2000s is to never, ever count out Aaron Rodgers, especially when his back is against the wall. Seattle then returns west to visit the Arizona Cardinals for the second time in three weeks at the cursed, no-good, very-bad, haunted State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in Week 14.

Seattle then returns home for two straight weeks against two powerhouses in the NFC North, the Packers and the Vikings. Both teams will be fighting for their lives, with a lot to play for, as they share a division with the Detroit Lions and the quietly good Chicago Bears.

Speaking of Chicago, after Seattle's two-week home stand, the Seahawks fly out to the windy city the day after Christmas to take on Caleb Williams and the Bears in Week 17. Chicago is currently 4-2, and Williams looks like he's getting comfortable in the NFL, which is bad news for Seattle.

To cap the season, Seattle heads back west to Los Angeles to face the Rams again in a possibly very consequential game at SoFi Stadium. If Seattle manages to hold their own and put itself in a position to fight for a playoff spot or even the division, it must win this Week 18 game against the boogeyman, Sean McVay.

The fact of the matter is the season won't get any easier. Seattle's remaining schedule will be a gauntlet. It'll be interesting to see when this Seahawks team gets healthy, and how they can stack up against some of the NFL's best. Seattle must stay healthy, or at least relatively healthy, to even stand a chance of running this gauntlet and coming out the other side with a winning record.

I think the floor for this team is seven wins, they can rattle off at least three more wins. However, the ceiling is hard to tell. I think they'll win a few games they shouldn't. They were supposed to lose to Atlanta on Sunday, but Mike Macdonald's team seems to be a resilient bunch with their backs against the wall.