Seahawks’ playoff position takes a big but manageable hit after Eagles beat Packers
They are no longer atop the NFC, but there’s definitely a path to getting back on top.
It’s Week 11, which means the playoff race is officially in full swing.
After Sunday’s slate of games, it was the Seattle Seahawks sitting atop the NFC with a 7-2 record. The Seahawks needed some help to hold onto the top spot, however, because they’d fall to No. 2 if the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened, and now it’s the Eagles that hold the No. 1 seed due to the conference record tiebreaker: The Eagles are 6-1 in conference play, whereas the Seahawks are 4-2. A Packers win would’ve given the Seahawks some breathing room heading into a crucial matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, but where would the fun be in a cakewalk to the playoffs?
These days, teams don’t want to lose that top seed because it’s the only one that includes a bye week. It’s a big hit, for sure, but the ‘Hawks definitely have a feasible path to get back on top.
Seahawks just need to keep winning, plain and simple
Right now, the Seahawks have the eighth-hardest schedule in terms of remaining strength of schedule, and the Eagles have the 12th-easiest. Both are definitely on opposite sides of the spectrum.
The ‘Hawks still have to play the Rams twice, the Indianapolis Colts, and the San Francisco 49ers. Then they have sneaky games against the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, and Carolina Panthers. Those three teams may not have winning records, but they’ve shown they can beat good teams when things are clicking. Seattle’s only “gimme” is its matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
For the Eagles, it’s the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and Chicago Bears that highlight the rest of their schedule. The key with those games, though, is the fact that two of them are AFC contests, which doesn’t help the conference tiebreaker situation. The Eagles also have games against the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders (twice), and Dallas Cowboys.
Right now, the Seahawks just need to keep winning. That gives them their best chance of keeping up with and potentially surpassing the Eagles. Not only do the Eagles have the conference record tiebreaker, but they also have a better strength of victory and strength of schedule, which would be the next set of tiebreakers since neither team has played enough common opponents to warrant using that tiebreaker, which is actually next after the conference record.
That’ll get cleaned up by year’s end, but the Seahawks do trail the Eagles in their one common opponent so far: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This week will be crucial in terms of this particular playoff battle, as the Seahawks face the Rams and the Eagles take on the Lions. The winner of their respective game will take the No. 1 seed, and the Seahawks could drop all the way to No. 6 if they lose and the Bears beat the Vikings.
Ah, playoff chaos. It’s finally here. And these last two months should be a ton of fun to keep up with.
