Category Archives: Playoffs

#LARvsSEA, Playoffs

Why we were confident Macdonald would lead Hawks to Super Bowl

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After last season, we said in multiple forums that Mike Macdonald is going to win a Super Bowl within the next three years.

We didn’t necessarily expect it to be this season — we thought this would be more like the 2012 ramp-up year. But the Seahawks won another shootout against the Rams, 31-27, in the NFC title game and Macdonald is now poised to fulfill our prediction even earlier than we really thought he would.

So why were we so confident? How did we know Macdonald had what it took to bring another championship to Seattle?

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#LARvsSEA, Playoffs

Reaction, stats, highlights from Seattle’s NFC title win vs. the Rams

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The Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl after a rousing 31-27 win over the Rams in the NFC title game.

With his defense struggling to contain the Rams for much of the game, Sam Darnold led Seattle with 346 passing yards, three touchdowns (all under pressure) and no interceptions. It was a spectacular performance that silenced any remaining Darnold doubters.

The analysis of the game is still ongoing two days later, and we finally have time to post the CHawk Talk — what everyone is saying about Seattle’s big win.

Here are some of the many highlights from NFL Twitter.

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#LARvsSEA, Playoffs

Bad news for Rams: Hawks are a more complete team now

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It will be Rams-Seahawks Part III for the Super Bowl — and it might end up like 49ers-Hawks Part III.

In Rams-Hawks Part I, Sam Darnold threw four picks and the Hawks lost by two points. In Part II, the defense got shredded and the Hawks had to rally from 16 down to win 38-37 in overtime. That’s a terrible performance on each side of the ball to make these tight games.

It will not be a surprise if Part III is not close – not 41-6, but maybe something like 34-17. Seattle’s offense and defense are not going to give the Rams anything, not like they did in the first two games. The Rams, who struggled to beat Carolina and Chicago, should see the best version of the Hawks, just as the 49ers did. If they do, the Rams might not have a chance.

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#SFvsSEA, Playoffs

Reaction to Seattle’s 41-6 demolition of the 49ers

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Dropping some notable Twitter posts after the big divisional playoff win over the 49ers on Saturday night …

The game

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#SFvsSEA, Playoffs

It’s time for Darnold to stand up and get his first playoff win

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As Sam Darnold and the Seahawks prepare for the rematch Darnold predicted was coming, everyone is wondering whether he and the offense will snap out of the slow-start funk that has plagued them for the past couple of months.

Everyone is wondering how many interceptions he might throw against the 49ers – and how many times the defense might have to bail him and his side out.

He is seeking his first playoff win as a starter, and he needs to play up to the challenge – not force his defense to carry the entire day again.

“Sam’s a great quarterback, a Pro Bowler, and he’s going to play his best football now,” AJ Barner said. “He’s already starting to do that. We’re extremely confident in him and the offensive group as a collective. We’re going to start playing our best football.”

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Playoffs

The Dark Side defense, by the numbers

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With no offense meant to Houston, New England or Denver, the Seahawks have perhaps the scariest defense in the NFL. It was easy to see coming.

In 2024, Mike Macdonald put together a top-10 defense — led by Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Ernest Jones IV.

It was clear he was building the next dominant Seattle unit. John Schneider added DeMarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori, Uchenna Nwosu returned to health — and voila! Seattle ended up as the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL for the first time since the Legion of Boom days.

They call it the Dark Side.

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#SFvsSEA, Playoffs

Deja Niners — and then the Rams (if they can handle Chicago)

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Two weeks ago, we started a trip to Hong Kong/Thailand as the Seahawks were getting ready to play the San Francisco 49ers. As we return from Thailand, it’s like time stood still: The Hawks again are preparing to play the 49ers.

The big difference, of course, is that the Seahawks happily did not have to play in the wild-card round because they smushed the 49ers in that big-deal Week 18 game. The 49ers managed to get by the Eagles 23-19 on Sunday to gain another chance to play in Seattle.

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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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