The Seattle Seahawks will not be playing for a spot in the postseason, but they still have one more game to play. Seattle’s 2024 campaign will conclude against the Los Angeles Rams on the road. The date and time of this Week 18 divisional showdown was TBD based on playoff implications. Now that everything from Week 17 is settled, the game time has been announced.
The Seahawks will take on the Rams at SoFi Stadium at 1:25 pm on Sunday, January 5th. This game will be played only for pride, as Los Angeles sewed up their NFC West title this year on Sunday night. The Rams clinched the division thanks to a strength of victory tiebreaker, and did so once the Washington Commanders defeated the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.
While this game is ultimately meaningless in terms of playoff implications, the Seahawks still have plenty to play for on Sunday. This is their last opportunity to go out on a high note. To earn a 10th victory for the first time since 2020. To be able to snap a three-game losing streak to the Rams. To finally get a chance to end Matthew Stafford’s perfect record against Seattle as Los Angeles’ quarterback.
And, most importantly, a chance to hurt the Rams’ playoff seeding. Right now, LA holds the No. 3 seed in the NFC (which of course was occupied by the Seahawks for several weeks, but no need to keep rubbing salt in the wound). However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hot on their tail to leap them in the standings.
Tampa has every reason to stay engaged in the last week of the regular season, as the Bucs need one final victory to clinch the NFC South for the fourth-consecutive year. (side note, this would match the New Orleans Saints’ record from 2017-2020 for longest championship streak in division history). If Tampa prevails as NFC South champs, and the Seahawks defeat the Rams, then the Bucs will jump into the No. 3 seed.
The Rams would then fall to the No. 4 seed and host either the Vikings or Lions. Both of those teams will finish the regular season with no less than 13 wins, and one could potentially be a 14-win Wild Card team.
No, the Seahawks won’t be competing for a Lombardi this year. They will watch the playoffs from home like the rest of the country. But they still have one more opportunity to stick it to a hated division rival and build momentum going into next year.
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