NFL Playoff Scenarios: What Seahawks Win Means for NFC West Race

The Seattle Seahawks (9-7) avoided another humiliating defeat Chicago Bears (4-12) on Thursday night in football, where they won 6-3 in a not so watchable game. Still, a win is a win, and the Seahawks are assured of at least a winning season for the third year in a row. Whether they make the playoffs or not is another story.

What the Seahawks win means for the NFC West race

The Seahawks risked elimination with just a loss to the Bears and a win Saturday night Los Angeles Rams (9-6) over Arizona Cardinals (7-8). Seattle can no longer be knocked out of the playoffs just by a Rams win, but it could still be eliminated on Sunday due to the strength of the win tiebreaker.

How Victory’s strength could knock off the Seahawks in Week 17

There are six games this weekend involving teams either the Seahawks or Rams have beaten — just in case San Francisco 49ersa team the Rams have beaten twice. There is a significant difference in overall winning percentage between the Seahawks and Rams, which means…

If four of those six results come true AND the Rams beat the Cardinals, the Seahawks are out and the Rams win the NFC West.

Saturday: Cincinnati Bengals over Denver Broncos

Sunday: Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers

Sunday: Buffalo Bills over New York Jets

Sunday: Washington’s commanders over Atlanta Falcons

Sunday: Cleveland Browns over Miami Dolphins

Monday: San Francisco 49ers over Detroit Lions

If three or fewer of those results materialize, the Seahawks live to see another week, but will still need SOV help to get into Week 18. We’ll cross that road if/when we get there.

If the Rams lose to (or tie) the Cardinals, strength of victory is no longer a factor

This extremely convoluted and not very realistic path to the playoffs for the Seahawks won’t matter if the Rams don’t beat the Cardinals. If the Rams lose, both teams will be 9-7 and it’s winner-take-all in the NFC West for Week 18. A Rams win or tie would be enough to clinch the division for them, whereas a win is the only option for the Rams. Seahawks to reach the playoffs. Seattle would have a division record tiebreaker over the Rams if the NFC West is up for grabs in Week 18.

So the simplest thing to do is to pull for the Arizona Cardinals to win so we don’t pull for several other teams to win over the rest of Weeks 17 and 18. Considering Arizona, LJ Collier, Evan Brown, Joey Blount (ruled out with injury), and DeeJay Dallas on the squad, it’s almost like you’re rooting for the Seahawks anyway.