Tag: NFC playoff picture

Seattle Seahawks’ Week 16 Rooting Guide

Seattle Seahawks’ Week 16 Rooting Guide

The Seattle Seattle Seahawks have a difficult matchup in Week 16, hosting the NFC-best 12-2 Minnesota Vikings. Seattle’s postseason chances are beginning to dwindle. They forfeited control of the NFC West last weekend. As things stand, the Seahawks would benefit greatly from some positive results in other games on Sunday. With that in mind, we’ve compiled your Week 16 rooting guide.

Jets over Rams

The Los Angeles Rams currently own the same record as the Seahawks at 8-6, but are currently in pole position in the NFC West as a result of defeating Mike Macdonald’s club in Week 9. A victory for Seattle paired with a loss for Sean McVay would place the Seahawks back atop the division. Unfortunately, relying on the New York Jets to execute the upset isn’t overly favorable.

Panthers over Cardinals

The Seahawks have already swept the regular-season series with the Cardinals, but they remain in the hunt at 7-7 and one victory behind Seattle. A loss on Sunday to the Carolina Panthers would essentially remove the Cardinals from the conversation. The Bryce Young-led Panthers have displayed sneaky-good improvement in recent showings.

Dolphins over 49ers

The 6-8 San Francisco 49ers need a miracle to catch the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC West, but alas, they remain alive until mathematically eliminated. This weekend, they’re traveling to face the Miami Dolphins. An incredibly disappointing campaign for Kyle Shanahan would reach its merciful end with a loss.

Eagles over Commanders

The 9-5 Washington Commanders are the only wild-card holder Seattle has a realistic chance of catching. After losing three consecutive contests, Dan Quinn’s squad is back on the winning track, capturing victories in three straight outings. The 12-2 Philadelphia Eagles may prove too much to handle, however.

Giants over Falcons

The 7-7 Atlanta Falcons are in a similar position to the Seahawks. They’re currently on the outside looking in, but remain in contention for both their division and a wild-card spot. Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is making his debut start for the Falcons against the New York Giants on Sunday. Head coach Raheem Morris is hoping he can provide a much-needed spark.

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Seahawks win over Vikings in Week 16 would mean more than a victory in Week 17

Seahawks win over Vikings in Week 16 would mean more than a victory in Week 17

The Seattle Seahawks’ postseason hopes suffered a massive setback following Sunday Night Football’s 30-13 Week 15 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Los Angeles Rams took over control of the NFC West division as a result. Seattle’s playoff chances plummeted to 37.2% to win the division, and 35.1% to make the postseason, per Brady Henderson and ESPN Analytics.

Seahawks fans have begun looking ahead to a potentially NFC West division-deciding showdown with the Rams in the Week 18 regular-season finale, but not so fast. Mike Macdonald’s club possesses two important games before that, with the Minnesota Vikings this weekend, and the Chicago Bears in Week 17. According to Brian Nemhauser, a victory over the Vikings would achieve more to increase Seattle’s playoff chances than a triumph over the Bears would.

Defeating the Vikings would give the Seahawks a strength of victory tiebreaker over Rams even if they’re upset by the Bears a week later, per Nemhauser. Beating Chicago and losing to Minnesota would not achieve the same. The Seahawks must approach the Vikings contest this weekend with a win-and-in mindset.

The 12-2 Vikings have won seven consecutive contests. Seattle is facing another must-win situation at Lumen Field. Hopefully they handle that scenario better than they did in Sunday’s Packers embarrassment.

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Seahawks fighting for their playoff lives as Vikings look to win NFC North

Seahawks fighting for their playoff lives as Vikings look to win NFC North

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a costly defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. Seattle was knocked from both their perch atop the NFC West (as the Los Angeles Rams have now taken over due to their head-to-head victory earlier this year) and out of the NFC playoff picture entirely. The Seahawks’ postseason odds plummeted after the blowout loss in prime time.

Seattle’s path forward does not get any easier, as the now 12-2 Minnesota Vikings are coming to town this weekend. The Seahawks’ backs are against the wall and are desperate for a win, but unfortunately for them, the Vikings have plenty to play for as well.

Thanks to the Detroit Lions losing 48-42 to the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota now controls their own destiny for both winning the NFC North… and even earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Yes, that’s right. The Minnesota Vikings with Sam Darnold at quarterback could have a first round bye in the playoffs. Should the Vikes beat the Hawks on Sunday, as well as winning against the Packers in Week 17 (Minnesota won in Lambeau earlier this year) and defeat the Lions in Week 18, they will be the No. 1 seed. Even if the Philadelphia Eagles also finish 15-2, the Vikings still edge them out.

So yeah, the Seahawks won’t be catching any kind of “break” from an opponent who doesn’t necessarily “need” a win this weekend. Seattle will be getting the best Minnesota has to offer, because the Vikings know how difficult the next two weeks will also be for them.

The Seahawks better hope quarterback Geno Smith’s optimism for being able to play this weekend isn’t misplaced.

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Seahawks’ postseason odds plummet following Packers setback

Seahawks’ postseason odds plummet following Packers setback

The Seattle Seahawks entered Sunday’s primetime contest versus the Green Bay Packers in pole position in the NFC West. Having enjoyed a four-game win streak, Mike Macdonald’s club went into Sunday possessing a 55.5% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Analytics department. Their predictive model gave Seattle a 51.8% chance to win the division title.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks were swept aside 30-13 by the Packers on Sunday Night Football. That setback had a dramatic impact on Seattle’s updated postseason odds. The Los Angeles Rams have moved into first place in the NFC West. Seattle’s latest playoff now stands at 37.2% to win the division, and 35.1% to make the postseason, per Brady Henderson and ESPN Analytics.

It’s rare that a team possesses a better opportunity to win the division than claim a wild-card spot, but that’s the situation the Seahawks find themselves in. As Henderson laid out above, the Washington Commanders currently possess a one-game lead for the third-and-final wild card spot, and have two more NFC wins for tiebreaker purposes. Whereas the Seahawks still possess a potentially NFC-West-deciding showdown with the Rams during Week 18’s regular-season finale.

Macdonald’s attention now shifts to a difficult matchup with the surging 12-2 Minnesota Vikings in Week 16. The Seahawks must stay within one victory of their arch rival Rams to increase their chances of Week 18 being a win-and-in scenario. Seattle must quickly recover from Sunday’s setback to keep their postseason dreams alive.

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Vikings clinch playoff berth, Rams jump into playoff picture

A look at the NFC playoff race with three weeks left in the season.

Week 15 is complete and the NFL playoff race is heating up in the NFC. The Minnesota Vikings officially punched their ticket to the postseason, securing three teams’ places in the playoffs in the conference, joining the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.

Three teams — the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Chicago Bears are all eliminated from playoff contention.

There two changes in the playoff standings in Week 15. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved up from the No. 4 seed to No. 3 and the Los Angeles Rams took over the NFC West lead, knocking the Seattle Seahawks out of the playoff picture currently, and moving into the No. 4 seed.

Let’s have a look at the current standings in the NFC.

NFC playoff standings in Week 16

  1. Detroit Lions, 12-2
  2. Philadelphia Eagles, 12-2
  3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8-6
  4. Los Angeles Rams, 8-6
  5. Minnesota Vikings, 12-2
  6. Green Bay Packers, 10-4
  7. Washington Commanders, 9-5

In the mix are the 8-6 Seahawks, the 7-7 Arizona Cardinals and 7-7 Atlanta Falcons.

The Lions, Eagles and Vikings all have the same record. The Lions hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings to give them the division lead, and they have a better conference record than the Eagles (8-1 vs. 7-2), which gives Detroit the edge for the No. 1 seed.

The Rams hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle, giving them the division lead despite having the same 8-6 record as Seattle.

Tampa leads Atlanta by a game. The Bucs must maintain a better record than the Falcons. Atlanta beat them twice this season and own a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Week 15 results that mattered

  • The Lions had their winning streak snapped as they lost to the Buffalo Bills 48-42.
  • The Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-13 at home.
  • The Bucs beat the L.A. Chargers 40-17, scoring 30 unanswered points after trailing 17-10. Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes.
  • The Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night.
  • The Vikings blew out the Chicago Bears 30-12 on Monday night, allowing the Bears to convert on third down once in 12 attempts.
  • The Packers blew out the Seahawks 30-13 in Seattle.
  • The Commanders survived a 20-19 win over the New Orleans Saints, who after scoring a touchdown as time expired in the game, failed to convert the two-point conversion that would have given them the win.
  • The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win over the New England Patriots, behind 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns by James Conner.
  • The Falcons snapped a four-game skid with an unimpressive 15-9 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Week 16 key games in NFC playoff race

  • The Lions are on the road against the Bears.
  • The Eagles are on the road against the Commanders.
  • The Bucs play the Cowboys on the road.
  • The Rams play the New York Jets on the road.
  • Minnesota is on the road against the Seahawks.
  • The Packers host the Saints on Monday night.
  • The Cardinals play the Panthers on the road.
  • The Falcons are at home against the struggling Giants.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

NFC playoff picture: Rams make big move up the standings in Week 15

The Rams jumped up four spots in the NFC thanks to Week 15’s results, putting them in great shape for the final stretch.

Thanks to a three-game winning streak and seven victories in their last nine, the Los Angeles Rams have risen from the depths of the NFC West to take over first place in the division. It hasn’t been an easy climb, especially after starting the year 1-4, but Los Angeles is back on top of the division for the first time all year.

Though they didn’t get all the help they needed in Week 15, the important thing is they beat the 49ers and the Seahawks lost to the Packers – the two things that had to happen in order for them to take over first place in the division.

The West is far from secured because the Seahawks and Cardinals are hot on the Rams’ heels, making this an exciting final three weeks of the season. Here’s a look at the NFC playoff picture after Week 15’s results.

  1. Lions: 12-2 (NFC North)
  2. Eagles: 12-2 (NFC East)
  3. Buccaneers: 8-6 (NFC South)
  4. Rams: 8-6 (NFC West)
  5. Vikings: 12-2 (wild card)
  6. Packers: 10-4 (wild card)
  7. Commanders: 9-5 (wild card)
  8. Seahawks: 8-6
  9. Falcons: 7-7
  10. Cardinals: 7-7
  11. 49ers: 6-8
  12. Cowboys: 6-8

The Rams moved up four spots from No. 8 to fourth in the conference, all thanks to the fact that they lead the NFC West now. The Seahawks dropped from third to eighth, with all three wild-card teams remaining in the same positions they were a week ago.

The 49ers and Cowboys are all but done, having less than a 1% chance of making the postseason with their records sitting at 6-8.

There’s a fascinating race for the No. 1 seed between the Lions, Eagles and Vikings. The Packers are technically still in it but the NFC will likely go through one of those three teams who are all tied at 12-2. It could come down to Lions vs. Vikings in Week 18, which would determine who gets a first-round bye.

There’s still a lot to sort out in the NFC, especially compared to the AFC where things are much more clear-cut from No. 1 to 7.

Saints’ playoff odds are down to less than 1% after Week 15 loss

According to ESPN’s playoff picture, the Saints have a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs, but they are still technically in the running:

The New Orleans Saints desperately needed a win in Week 15 to keep their playoff hopes not only alive, but feasible. However, the Saints fell to the Washington Commanders on the last play of the game, as they failed to convert a two-point conversion, which led to a 20-19 loss and a now 5-9 record.

This put the Saints in a deep hole that is essentially insurmountable, and while it is statistically possible for them to make the playoffs, it would take scenarios that are well out of their hands in a lot of cases.

According to the updated ESPN model showing the playoff odds for every team, the Saints are the lowest ranked among the still possible teams, with a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs, winning the division, or making the Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Carolina Panthers were all eliminated from contention this week, leaving the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles among the teams that the Saints are competing with.

The path to the playoffs for the Saints is generally a simple one when it comes down to it, but not particularly favorable. They would need to win out, and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lose out first and foremost. Additionally, they would need the Atlanta Falcons to lose at minimum two of their next three games, as the tiebreaker between the Saints and Falcons would go the way of the Falcons regardless of outcome from here on out.

If these three things occur, the Saints would make the playoffs at 8-9 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8-9, as the Saints would win the tiebreaker for divisional record (as they would have to beat Tampa Bay in this three game span regardless) after a tie in the head to head tiebreaker for the season.

So, while this is an extremely improbable scenario, the simplicity of it makes it seem more possible than something like needing four other teams to win or lose specific games like previous seasons. We will see if any of this is still possible after Week 16, as it could all fall apart by then pretty quickly.

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NFC playoff picture: Lions RB David Montgomery could miss rest of season with MCL injury

Lions RB David Montgomery could miss rest of season with MCL injury

The Eagles (12-2) earned an impressive 27-13 win over the Steelers (10-4) in Week 15, and then they received even better news when the Buffalo Bills defeated the Detroit Lions 48-42 at Ford Field.

The win dropped Detroit to 12-2 on the season, keeping Philadelphia within striking distance of the No. 1 seed. Because Philadelphia’s two losses came to NFC teams, the Eagles would need to win out and have the Lions lose to the Bears, 49ers, or Vikings in their next three games. The Vikings would need to lose to either the Bears, Seahawks, Packers, or Lions down the stretch for Philadelphia to earn the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage.

The news that star running back David Montgomery could miss the remainder of the season with an MCL injury adds more uncertainty to the Detriots’ stretch run.

On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Lions would be without starting defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s loss to Buffalo, ending his season.

Schefter reports that starting cornerback Carlton Davis III suffered a fractured jaw in Sunday’s loss. Davis will undergo surgery and be sidelined indefinitely. Head coach Dan Campbell said the Lions also lost cornerback Khalil Dorsey to a season-ending ankle injury during Sunday’s game.

The injuries are the latest setbacks for the Lions’ defense, with 13 defensive players on the injured reserve list entering Sunday’s game. That includes star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who suffered a fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6.

The loss to the Bills snapped the Lions’ 11-game winning streak. The Lions (12-2) are still in the top spot in the NFC playoff bracket, holding the tiebreaker over the Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) based on winning percentage in conference games, with three games to go.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was 23-34 passing for 362 yards (10.6 avg), two touchdowns, and a 122 passer rating; Allen also had ten strong carries for 69 yards (6.9 avg) and two touchdowns.

Buffalo running back James Cook had 14 carries for 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Bills wide receiver Ty Johnson exploded for five catches for 114 yards.

While the Detroit defense struggled on the day, the Lions offense exploded. Jared Goff, who passed for 494 yards and five touchdowns, went 38-59. Amon-Ra St. Brown exploded with 14 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Detroit’s dynamic duo at running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, was held to 8 carries for 31 yards and a touchdown, while David Montgomery was held to five carries for four yards.

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Eagles stay within striking distance for No. 1 seed with Bills 48-42 win over the Lions

Eagles stay within striking distance for No. 1 seed with Bills 48-42 win over Lions

The Eagles (12-2) earned an impressive 27-13 win over the Steelers (10-4) in Week 15, and then they received even better news when the Buffalo Bills defeated the Detroit Lions 48-42 at Ford Field.

The win dropped Detroit to 12-2 on the season, keeping Philadelphia within striking distance of the No. 1 seed. Because Philadelphia’s two losses came to NFC teams, the Eagles would need to win out and have the Lions lose to the Bears, 49ers, or Vikings in their next three games. The Vikings would need to lose to either the Bears, Seahawks, Packers, or Lions down the stretch to earn the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was 23-34 passing for 362 yards (10.6 avg), two touchdowns, and a 122 passer rating; Allen also had ten strong carries for 69 yards (6.9 avg) and two touchdowns.

Buffalo running back James Cook had 14 carries for 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Bills wide receiver Ty Johnson exploded for five catches for 114 yards.

While the Detroit defense struggled on the day, the Lions offense exploded. Jared Goff, who passed for 494 yards and five touchdowns, went 38-59. Amon-Ra St. Brown exploded with 14 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Detroit’s dynamic duo at running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, was held to 8 carries for 31 yards and a touchdown, while David Montgomery was held to five carries for four yards.

Seahawks vs. Packers could be playoff preview

Seahawks vs. Packers could be playoff preview

The Seattle Seahawks are hosting the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday Night Football in Week 15. It’s a massive game between two playoff contenders to help further decide the standings in the NFC. In fact, if the playoffs started today, the Seahawks and Packers would meet in the wild-card round, as pointed out by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter via social media.

The Seahawks have won four consecutive contests, including three triumphs over their divisional rival San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals (sweeping the regular-season series). Mike Macdonald’s ongoing win streak has catapulted his club to the top of the NFC West standings. Seattle would host Green Bay at Lumen Field in a wild-card game if the current postseason seedings were confirmed. The Packers can’t win the NFC North because the Detroit Lions are an NFL-best 12-1.

The Packers enter Sunday’s contest nearly as red-hot as the Seahawks. They’ve claimed three victories in their last four outings, including a 38-10 blowout victory over the 49ers. They also dominated the Chicago Bears 30-17. Green Bay’s lone defeat since November 3rd was a narrow 34-31 setback to the Lions in Week 14.

Things can change, but Seattle’s Week 15 contest versus the Packers qualifies as a potential postseason preview.

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