Category Archives: Playoffs

Playoffs

Playoff chances are minimal and shrinking

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The Seahawks’ chances of making the playoffs have dropped by more than 50% over the past four weeks, and Green Bay and Los Angeles look very capable of keeping them out.

Seattle has a 23% chance of getting in, down from 81% before its current three-game losing streak, per the New York Times’ projections. The Packers (70%), Rams (50%) and Vikings (42%) all have the statistical inside track on the NFC’s two last wild-card spots now (Dallas has the top spot).

Assuming the Hawks lose to the 49ers and Eagles over the next two weeks, they would need to win their final three – at Tennessee, vs. Pittsburgh and at Arizona – to finish 9-8 and have any shot of making it.

But they would have to ace out two of the three wild-card contenders mentioned above. And that could be pretty difficult.

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Playoffs, Week 13: San Francisco

Playoff watch? ‘Don’t count us out yet’

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“Feels good to be back in the winner’s column. Don’t count us out yet.” – DeeJay Dallas

While pretty much no one outside the Seattle locker room expects the team to make the playoffs, they kept their minuscule hopes alive when their offense suddenly reappeared in a typically dramatic win against the 49ers.

Their fourth win of the season – just their first in four games since Russell Wilson returned and their second in the last eight games – bumped their playoff chances to a still laughable 4% (per FiveThirtyEight).

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Playoffs, Week 16: L.A. Rams

Defense is ready for playoffs; will offense be good enough?

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Now that we know the Seahawks’ defense is for real, the big question is whether the offense is going to be able to do enough against any of the top defenses it might encounter in the playoffs.

The 20-9 win over the Rams on Sunday was Seattle’s best win of the season – not just because it clinched the Hawks’ first division title since 2016, but because it proved the defense’s 2020 turnaround was legit.

There certainly are still concerns about Seattle’s offense being able to score against top defenses, but the Hawk defense appears to have found its mojo – now that it has all of its best pieces in place.

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Playoffs, Week 14: At L.A. Rams

Three more wins should net bye, possibly top seed

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Week 14 playoff pictureThe Seahawks are nearly a lock for the playoffs, but they have their sights set on bigger goals — and those might be easier to attain than you think.

The Hawks can clinch a playoff spot Sunday night by beating the Rams, but — believe it or not — that game is not nearly as crucial as it once seemed.

Sure, it would be great for Seattle to run the table against Los Angeles, Carolina, Arizona and San Francisco. But the Hawks probably won’t — and they probably don’t need to.

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Playoffs, Week 17: Arizona

Hawks should be rooting for selves & Rams

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logo-arizonaThere seem to be far too many Seahawks fans calling for Pete Carroll to rest a bunch of guys against Arizona on Sunday. Fortunately, Carroll is much smarter than that.

The Seahawks absolutely should prefer to go to Dallas rather than chilly Chicago in the wild-card round. To do that, they have to beat Arizona, or Minnesota has to lose to the Bears, who are angling for the No. 2 seed.

Dallas would easily be the best postseason matchup for the Seahawks, who then would head to New Orleans if the No. 3 seed (Chicago or L.A.) also won in the wild-card round.

Of course, if the No. 6 seed (Minnesota or Philadelphia) were to win, that would send Seattle to the No. 2 seed. And that’s why the Hawks should be rooting Sunday for the Rams to beat the 49ers (or the Bears to lose).

The Seahawks just don’t want to go to Chicago in mid-January, when temperatures are as frigidly unfriendly as you can get. They surely would prefer to play the division rivals they came close to beating twice earlier this season and probably are well suited to beat in a prospective third matchup in sunny California.

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Playoffs, Schedule, Week 14: Minnesota

Nine wins might be all the Seahawks need

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Minnesota logoThe Seahawks could clinch a wild-card spot in two weeks — and they also would have a good shot at making the postseason even if they lost to both Minnesota and Kansas City.

The Hawks are currently given an 88 percent chance to make the postseason, according to FiveThirtyEight (Football Outsiders calls it 92 percent). There’s a chance that could improve to 100 percent before the Seahawks play Kansas City in Week 16.

If the Seahawks beat Minnesota next Monday and then the 49ers the following week, they would be 9-5 — good enough to lock in a playoff spot if three of these things were to happen: Carolina loses one more, Philadelphia loses one, Washington drops the next two, Minnesota also loses to Miami in Week 15.

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Playoffs, Week 13: San Francisco

10 wins should be enough for playoffs

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Logo -- San Francisco(Updated Nov. 30)

Two-thirds of the way through the season, the Seahawks are right where they need to be: in control of their postseason destiny (which apparently is a surprise to almost everyone but us). If they win out to finish 11-5, they will make it in.

But what happens if they drop a game and land at 10-6? That’s where they would need a couple of things to fall their way — but the odds still would stack highly in their favor.

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Playoffs, Schedule, State of the team

Playoff scenarios as final quarter begins

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No. 2 seed scenarioAmazing what one big win can do for a flagging franchise trying to find its footing.

After the Seahawks had lost two straight home games for only the second time with Russell Wilson, they were on the outside looking in at the postseason picture. But they quickly dug out of the slump with an upset victory over the NFC’s top team, Philadelphia.

Now the Hawks (8-4) suddenly own their destiny again, and Atlanta helped their pursuit of a top-two seed by knocking off the Saints on Thursday night.

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Playoffs, State of the team, Week 11: Philadelphia

Race for top seed: Dallas has tougher road

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logo-philadelphiaThe Seahawks’ watershed win in New England largely has been interpreted as a sign the Hawks are ready to make their usual run through the second half of the season and deep into the playoffs.

But, because the offense has cost the team 2.5 games, the Seahawks find themselves in chase mode in the NFC — not yet in full control of their destiny, not yet the No. 1 seed.

Dallas, led by rookie QB Dak Prescott, holds that position right now — 1.5 games up on the Hawks thanks to an eight-game winning streak. But there is plenty of time to catch the Cowboys — and the remaining slates for each team make it seem very possible, if not likely.

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Franchise history, Playoffs

Until recent years, Hawks had better fortunes off the field

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Hawks value

This weekend marked the 42nd anniversary of Seattle being awarded an NFL franchise — a monumental event that until recent years had proven much more fruitful off the field than on.

The Seahawks had a horrendous first two decades on the gridiron, making the playoffs just four times. But, in the 19 years since Paul Allen purchased the team, they have been in the postseason 11 times — including 10 times in the last 13 years.

They have reached the Super Bowl three times in the past 11 seasons — a feat matched only by Pittsburgh and New England during that time (coincidentally, the Hawks lost to both in the title game).

Allen’s fortunes off the field have been even better. The team is worth almost 10 times what it was when he bought it from Californicator Ken Behring — $1.87 billion vs. $194 million.

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