Seahawks' Slim Playoff Hopes Not Aided By Sunday's Week 15 Results
With active COVID-19 outbreaks wreaking havoc for both teams, the Seahawks didn't face the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday as scheduled with their Week 15 NFC West matchup postponed until Tuesday afternoon.
For Seattle to make the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years, winning each of its final four games will be imperative. Slipping up once wouldn't mathematically eliminate coach Pete Carroll's team from the discussion, but it would take a near-miracle with a lot of help from other teams to earn a wild card at 8-9 overall due to a poor conference record.
Slim postseason hopes be damned, the Seahawks certainly paid close attention as unexpected bystanders to a number of games on Sunday with fingers crossed a few dominos would fall their way. Unfortunately, several games didn't have the desired outcome they hoped for.
Here's a look at several story lines coming out of Sunday's action and what they mean for Seattle's playoff odds heading into Tuesday's critical divisional contest:
1. The Lions - yes, the Lions - stun the Cardinals with 30-12 upset.
Okay, this has absolutely no bearing on Seattle's chances of earning a wild card. The Cardinals could have won by 90 and it wouldn't have mattered. But during a difficult season overall for the Seahawks, fans should take great joy in watching a division rival trip up in embarrassing fashion against a one-win Lions team. Kyler Murray and company didn't just get beat either. They got flat out smoked, falling behind 17-0 at halftime and showing little fight in the second half. After a strong start, legitimate concerns have emerged in the desert with Kliff Kingsbury's squad losing four of its past seven games. Kudos to coach Dan Campbell for his first signature victory in the Motor City.
2. Giants, Panthers put themselves on the verge of elimination with devastating losses.
The Giants and Panthers both entered Sunday desperately needing a win to stay in the wild card conversation and were barely on life support anyway, but neither team answered the call. New York fell flat without starting quarterback Daniel Jones in a 21-6 defeat to Dallas, all but eliminating them from contention with a 4-10 record. Meanwhile, Carolina continued its second half slide after a 3-0 start in a 31-14 loss to Buffalo, falling to 5-9 on the season. Though those two losses don't increase Seattle's playoff odds, the wild card field now looks considerably thinner with two fringe teams ousted from the discussion.
3. The 49ers stay hot, blow out Falcons for fifth win in six games.
This game wasn't going to alter Seattle's playoff probabilities at all in the short term. But sweeping the season series against the 49ers stands out as the lone feather in their cap in regard to potential tie breakers. With their rivals improving to 8-6, San Francisco only needs to win two of its final three games to be guaranteed a better record (10-7) even if Seattle manages to win out. On the plus side, the 49ers have a pair of tough road games remaining against the Titans and Rams, who are both battling for division titles. Those won't be easy wins by any means, but the Seahawks would've preferred to see the Falcons find a way to pull the upset.
4. The Saints march into Tampa Bay and shut out Tom Brady in prime time.
If there's a result that truly hurt the Seahawks playoff chances, watching Brady end up on the receiving end of a shutout for the first time since 2006 takes the cake. Since Carroll's team lost a 13-10 heartbreaker to the Saints in Week 7 minus Russell Wilson, they would lose the tiebreaker if both teams finish 9-8. By upsetting Tampa Bay on the road, New Orleans only needs to win two of its final three games to finish above .500. Making matters even less ideal for the Seahawks, the Saints final three opponents - the Dolphins, Panthers, and Falcons - are all beatable. While it only made a slight difference, New Orleans' Sunday night victory dropped Seattle's playoff odds to just two percent according to FiveThirtyEight.com.
