Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
After a 23-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams in Week 16, the Seattle Seahawks‘ positioning in the playoffs was completely up in the air, and held a major possibility of potentially having to go on the road to face the Green Bay Packers. While the Packers have not been the juggernaut that they have been in previous seasons, facing off against the Packers in Lambeau Field is not what someone wants to do in their playoff push.
With their dominant victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, the Seahawks have positioned themselves in a way that they would not have to see the Packers until the NFC championship game if both teams were able to make it.
Now the only factor determining the Seahawks’ playoff position is the winner of the Packers-Minnesota Vikings game, but the Seahawks seem to be in a positive position despite the outcome. The winner of that game goes on to win the NFC North and take the third seed into the playoffs.
If Minnesota were to win, they would be in a position to host Seattle in a first-round matchup. Seattle previously went on the road to beat Minnesota 38-7 in Week 13 while not allowing an offensive touchdown. In a game where Seattle held the league’s leading rusher, Adrian Peterson to 18 yards on the ground, and put together an outstanding performance in all facets of the game.
If Green Bay were to win, Seattle would go on the road to take on the Washington Redskins who are the NFC East champions and the fourth seed. The Redskins finished the year 9-7, and have been one of the NFC’s hottest teams recently, winning five of their last six and four in a row. While the Redskins are finding their groove at the right time, this would still look to be a favorable matchup for Seattle.
Seattle’s seed in the playoffs is still up in the air as they can either be the fifth or sixth seed, but after their victory today they have put themselves in a good position.
There is no no question that Seattle’s path will not be easy as they will likely be on the road for the entirety of the playoffs, but they will be a team that nobody wants to see throughout the playoffs.
