Injuries caught up to the Seahawks in their 27-13 home loss to Arizona, and now we have to hope they don’t cost Seattle a playoff bye — which it could sorely use.
The Hawks, already missing offensive starters Duane Brown, Justin Britt and Will Dissly and backup running back Rashaad Penny, lost Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise against Arizona. That meant an offensive line of Jamarco Jones, Mike Iupati/Ethan Pocic, Joey Hunt, D.J. Fluker and Germain Ifedi — and that five was not good enough against Chandler Jones & Co. Jones had four sacks, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble as the Cardinals held the Seahawks to a season-low 224 yards.
Pete Carroll thinks Carson (hip) and Prosise (arm) are out for the season; Brown, who is having knee surgery, could be back after a couple of weeks (adding more importance to getting a bye).
The defense was without Jadeveon Clowney, Quandre Diggs and Shaquill Griffin (and suspended Al Woods), and Bobby Wagner, Ziggy Ansah and Mychal Kendricks all played injured. That led the Hawks to allow 253 rushing yards — the second-most in Carroll’s 10 seasons in Seattle.
For some (many?) people, it strains credulity that the Seahawks are 11-3 and sitting in the No. 1 position in the NFC with two weeks to go.
Everything was set up for the Seahawks to take command of the NFC, but the offense failed to score and a 28-12 loss to the Rams means Seattle probably needs to win its final three to claim the division title.
The 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 Seahawks are a sickly, battered bunch who still can’t win by more than one score. But they’re also 10-2 and in total control of the No. 2 seed in the NFC — with sights set on No. 1.
By the time the Seahawks host the Vikings on Monday night, they will know whether they are playing for first place in the NFC West and a spot among the conference’s top two.
To beat the 49ers, the Seahawks merely had to give up Jacob Martin, Barkevious Mingo and a couple of 2020 mid-round draft picks. That was the cheap price for keeping the Hawks in the hunt for the NFC’s top seed.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 