{"id":53853,"date":"2018-11-27T19:58:44","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T00:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=53853"},"modified":"2018-11-27T19:58:44","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T00:58:44","slug":"dont-count-the-seattle-seahawks-out-of-the-playoff-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/11\/27\/dont-count-the-seattle-seahawks-out-of-the-playoff-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Count the Seattle Seahawks Out of the Playoff Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last time the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> and Carolina Panthers<\/a> met in Carolina was the 2015 Divisional playoff round. Carolina, who does historically well at home, won the game 31-24 and advanced to the Super Bowl where they lost to the Denver Broncos<\/a>. The Seahawks came into this 2018 Week 12 game against the Panthers as the underdogs but came out on top with a score of 30-27, thanks to a last minute field goal by Sebastian Janikowski<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Seahawks now sit at the seventh seed in the NFC playoff race, one spot shy of making it into the post-season, with a record of 6-5. With five games remaining on their schedule, and one away game left, don’t count the Seattle Seahawks out of the playoff race just yet.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Seahawks Are Still in the Playoff Race<\/h1>\n

A Few Simple Games and Two Tough Ones<\/h2>\n

The Seahawks have a fairly easy schedule remaining. Weeks 13 (away) and 15 (at home), Seattle faces their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> who currently sit at the bottom of the NFC West. The 49ers haven’t had the best of luck this season, especially after losing their starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a><\/strong>, early in the season. Divisional match-ups don’t always come easy but the Seahawks look to have these games tucked under their belt.<\/p>\n

In Week 14 comes a crucial game against the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>. The Vikings currently sit at the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs but with a record of 6-4-1, it’s anyone’s game. The last time these two teams met was the 2016 NFC Wild Card game when a missed field goal by the infamous Blair Walsh<\/a><\/strong> gave Seattle the game. The last time the Vikings won in Seattle was 2006. While the Vikings don’t seem like a very tough team, they are clearly still in the running and Seattle must win this game in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.<\/p>\n

Week 16 will be a tough game for Seattle when they face one of the best teams in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>. Even though Seattle’s defense is currently tied at six in ESPN’s rankings<\/a>, they\u00a0might find it tough to stop the Kansas City triplets;\u00a0Patrick Mahomes<\/a><\/strong>, Kareem Hunt<\/a><\/strong>, and Tyreek Hill<\/a><\/strong>. Luckily for Russell Wilson<\/a><\/strong> and his grooving offense with Chris Carson<\/a><\/strong> and Tyler Lockett<\/a><\/strong>, Kansas City’s defense is only ranked at 27 by ESPN. For both sides, this match-up will look to be an exciting game.<\/p>\n

Seattle gets to close their season at home against the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> who join the 49ers at the bottom of the NFC West at 2-9. In the past, the Cardinals have done well in Seattle but their team just hasn’t found the consistency they need to be a real threat. After Week 11’s blowout loss by the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>, the Cardinals confidence will be lacking for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n

Two teams close in range ahead of Seattle are the Vikings and the Washington Redskins<\/a>. After losing their starting quarterback, Alex Smith<\/a><\/strong>, in Week 11 to a leg fracture, the Redskins have a good chance of falling down the rabbit hole to finish their season. Seattle would be lucky to knock down the Vikings and have the Redskins lose out.<\/p>\n

Last Word<\/h2>\n

While it would be important for the Seahawks to win out at this point, the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs are two crucial games if the Seahawks want a spot in the playoffs. The Seahawks are in a race with the Panthers (6-5) and Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> (5-6) for an NFC playoff spot while the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> (NFC East division leader), Vikings and Redskins are hoping to keep their spots as the fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds, respectively. Seattle could very well go 5-1 to finish the 2018 season.<\/p>\n

While the Seahawks have been knocked down in rankings since the before the season began, I still stand by my statement that they can go 10-6 at best. There is a lot of football left but the Seahawks can still sneak into the playoffs. They have drastically improved since missing the post-season in 2017.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>