The Seattle Seahawks took a hit to their playoff chances on Sunday night, falling 28-12 to the Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle is now 10-3 on the season and while the Seahawks’ odds of earning a playoff spot are still very high (over 98% according to FiveThirtyEight) their odds of winning the NFC West (and earning a first-round bye) have dropped below 50%
However, Seattle is still in control of its destiny in the NFC this season.
With three games to go, at Carolina and at home against the Cardinals and of course the 49ers, the Seahawks will likely need to win all three in order to secure the NFC West. A win against the 49ers, assuming San Francisco wins its other remaining games, would give each team a 13-3 record – but Seattle would hold the tiebreaker.
In fact, the Seahawks could still finish with the number one overall seed in the NFC, although that would not only require a loss by New Orleans (who holds a tiebreaker over Seattle) but it would also come down to Green Bay’s final few games. The Packers are also 10-3, and if they finish with an identical record as Seattle, the top seed will be determined by a series of other tiebreakers.
There’s little doubt that tonight’s loss was a blow for the Seahawks, who certainly wanted to leave California with a guaranteed playoff spot.
However, they still have the power to get a top seed and a bye week if they take care of business the rest of the month, starting with their final road game of the season at Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10:00 a.m. PT.
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