The Seattle Seahawks are set to play their second and final Monday Night Football game of the year as they travel east to Landover, Maryland. There they will face off against the Washington Football Team. This is Seattle’s second consecutive trip to FedEx Field in as many seasons.
This stadium has been a fairly favorable venue for the Seahawks, as they have won their previous three meetings over the WFT. The most recent was last year, a 20-15 victory which was far more dominant than the final score suggested as Seattle enjoyed a 20-3 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The other two victories were a 24-14 Wild Card win in 2012, Seattle’s second road playoff win in franchise history and a 27-17 victory in 2013 that was also on Monday Night Football.
Tonight’s game is a must-win for the Seahawks. At 3-7, the playoffs seem like a long shot and they are. However, the postseason picture in the NFC is a logjam. If Seattle pulls off a win and improves to 4-7, they will be in a five-way tie at one game out of the No. 7 seed.
One of those five will be the Washington, currently sitting at 4-6. Beating them would improve Seattle’s odds and give them a crucial head-to-head matchup tiebreaker – something the Seahawks have none of at the moment.
The Football Team had arguably the best defense in the league last year. So far in 2021, it hasn’t quite materialized. However, despite a slow start Washington is starting to round into form following two straight wins over the Panthers and Buccaneers. If the Seahawks are to win, they will need to play considerably better on both sides of the ball than they did against Arizona.
Last week against the Cardinals the Seahawks played as poorly as they ever have in the entirety of the Pete Carroll/Russell Wilson era. Despite their horrendous performance, the team trailed by only three points in the fourth quarter and had opportunities to steal one against Arizona.
Call it a hunch, or call it delusional, but I am having a hard time envisioning the Seahawks playing at that level in back to back weeks including three straight for the offense.
Seattle might have already lost a Monday Night game to the Saints earlier this year, but historically the Seahawks own Monday Night Football. This game is Seattle’s last possible chance to right the ship and despite everything my eyes have shown me this season I am still having a hard time betting against Russell Wilson in primetime.
Prediction: Seahawks over Football Team 21-17.
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