NFL insiders predict who Seattle Seahawks will face in divisional round

The NFL playoffs have finally arrived, as Wild Card Weekend kicks of tomorrow afternoon. The Seattle Seahawks will be well resting, awaiting the lowest seed to emerge from this first round of the postseason. So, who will they be facing?

There are four different possibilities based on how the NFC field is structured. Two of them will begin the postseason tomorrow afternoon in the slot normally reserved for the Houston Texans, as the Carolina Panthers host the Los Angeles Rams.

Even though the Panthers upset the Rams at home at the end of November, it seems highly improbable that they'll be able to make lightning strike again in the same spot. According to the Athletic's insider playoff predictions, all 11 of their experts expect a win for LA.

Saturday evening offers another potential divisional round opponent, as the seventh seed Green Bay Packers visit the two seed Chicago Bears. Even though Chicago hasn't beaten Green Bay in the playoffs since Pearl Harbor, The Athletic's insiders are predicting a Bears win by a close 6-5 vote.

Sunday afternoon offers the final potential opponent when the San Francisco 49ers visit the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. This is also a close call, but the experts have the Niners coming out on top, 6-5.

If these predictions are accurate, then the 49ers would be the lowest seed to advance to the next round, and so they would be visiting the Seahawks next weekend.

However, the Packers have better odds to be Seattle's opponent. As the lowest seed in the NFC, if they win then they are next up on the schedule for the Seahawks. For the Rams to take that spot both the 49ers and the Packers would have to lose and LA would obviously have to beat Carolina.

Our best guess is that it will be Green Bay, based on a distinct lack of playoff experience for the Bears and Caleb Williams. However, if it is the 49ers then there's nothing to fear, really.

Week 1 was a defensive slugfest with the Niners barely coming out on top. The rematch in Week 18 was an entirely different story, though. Seattle utterly dominated San Francisco from start to finish, and the 13-3 final score suggests the game was far closer than it actually was.

Even with Fred Warner back in the lineup, the Seahawks should be able to take them down again and advance to the NFC Championship, where we'll assume that the Rams will be waiting for Round 3.

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