Things are about to get very real for the Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have climbed back from the dead - well, the seriously ill - to take over first place in the NFC West on the strength of a four-game run. I'm not so sure those four wins are quite as good as they looked at first glance.

I'm not knocking what the Seahawks have pulled off since the bye week. Four consecutive wins in the NFL is a solid achievement no matter who the competition is. But there's also no way to deny that beating the banged-up San Francisco 49ers, who missed Joey Bosa for half the game, wasn't tainted just a bit. The New York Jets are terrible, so awful that the Hawks' gifts from the special teams couldn't even give away the game.

As for the Cardinals, the Seahawks defense shut them down in the first game like a high school kid shuts down his kid brother in backyard football. The rematch hardly went better for Arizona, as Seattle shredded them on the ground and made Kyler Murray look every inch the little brother. All 5'10" of him. But the teams the Hawks will face to wrap up the season are a step above this last group.

The Seattle Seahawks are taking a big step up in competition to close out the season

The Hawks will square off against an old nemesis to start their push for the postseason. The Green Bay Packers come to Seattle for a 5:20 kickoff for Sunday Night Football. As I mentioned earlier when writing about the Seahawks' problems this week, the Pack hasn't lost to any team with a record of less than 11-2. The 12s should expect a much tougher fight than what the overmatched Cards put up. If the Seahawks match at least some of these expectations, they'll take the victory here.

Things get even worse in Week 16 when the Vikings come to town. Minnesota has just two losses on the season, although it could reasonably be they argued they aren't as good as that record would indicate. The Vikes have a two-point win over the Packers, a one-point win over the Cardinals, and needed overtime to beat the Bears by a field goal. Then again, one of their losses was by just two points to the Lions. And we 12s know first-hand how good Detroit is.

Both of those contests are at home, not that home has been so sweet lately. The Hawks are only 2-4 so far this season at Lumen Field, compared to 6-2 last year. The flip side of that is Seattle's road record so far has been terrific. In 2023, the Hawks went 4-5 away from the Emerald City. 2024 has been much kinder to our road warriors as they've gone 5-1 so far with the only blemish the loss to Detroit.

The Seahawks' first road test appears to be the easiest on the remaining schedule. The Chicago Bears are currently 4-9. Of course, they're in the NFC North, which could send three teams to the postseason. So, are the Bears as bad as their record? Probably so, yes. Three of their four wins came over the Titans, Panther,s and Jaguars, who have combined for a 9-30 record.

The Bears did beat the Rams in Week 4, but that was a Los Angeles team without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Chicago should be the one fairly easy game after all, even though it's a Thursday night game. I mean, Chicago will be playing on short rest too, after facing the Lions at that.

That sets the Hawks up for a season finale showdown versus the Rams. Seattle could very well have the division title wrapped up by then. They could well be better off if that's the case. The Seahawks have improved tremendously since the Week 9 loss to the Rams. They would have won handily, if not for Geno Smith's major miscues. The Rams are healthy now and, just like last year, are making a late push for playoff contention. Handing the Bills just their third loss of their season is enough to make a believer out of me.

All that being said, yes, I believe the Seahawks will pull it off and win the division. Los Angeles certainly has the easier remaining slate, but they'll face both the Niners and Cards, and division games are never easy. Sandwiched between those contests is a road trip to face the Jets. Yeah, it's the NFL and anything can happen, but that's a win for LA. I see the Hawks as needing to win that last game, and yes, I believe they will.

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