Seahawks-49ers scheduled for Saturday
What's on the line for Seahawks-49ers and what does it mean for Seattle's chances at the 1-seed?
The Seahawks will face the 49ers in a “winner-take-1” game in Week 18 and the NFL has scheduled the matchup for Saturday at 5 PM PT on ABC/ESPN.
If the Seahawks win or tie, they will earn the 1 seed, a bye week in the wild card round, and the chance to stay in Seattle for the entirety of their stay in the NFC playoffs.
If the Seahawks lose, they will be the 5-seed if the Rams lose either of their next two games (Falcons on MNF, Cardinals next Sunday) or the 6-seed if the Rams win out.
Where the 5-seed goes
As a 5-seed, the Seahawks would be on the road to face the winner of the NFC South. That game will be decided on Saturday afternoon; however, if the Falcons win out (yes, the eliminated Falcons), then the Panthers will win the NFC South and Week 18 won’t even matter. Then the Seahawks will be right back in Carolina in two weeks IF they lose in Week 18.
But if the Falcons don’t win out (and they probably won’t beat the Rams) then the NFC South winner comes down to Saturday’s Bucs-Panthers game and the 5-seed could be headed to Tampa Bay. The Bucs have lost seven of their last eight games and could still HOST a playoff game.
Where the 6-seed goes
In the worst case scenario, Seattle could lose in Week 18 and the Rams could win out, dropping the Seahawks all the way to 6. That would send the Seahawks on the road in the wild card round, either to the Eagles or the Bears; if Chicago beats the Lions in Week 18, then they will get the 2-seed and the 6-seed will go to Philadelphia.
Seahawks probabilities
The 49ers opened as 4.5-point favorites. San Francisco is at home and the offense has seemed rather unstoppable recently, although the Seahawks have had an historic day against a couple of teams in the past month and could have the best defense in the NFL.
We know where we’re leaning but it’s not hard to imagine the public national opinion shifting towards the 49ers favor this week. Oh well. The 49ers defense didn’t look good at all against the Bears. (Oh yeah, the 49ers beat the Bears 42-38. I should have mentioned that earlier.)
If the Seahawks beat the 49ers, then the playoff standings look something like this:
Seahawks (bye)
Bears
Eagles
Panthers or Bucs
Rams
49ers
Packers
That gives you Packers at Bears, 49ers at Eagles, and Rams at NFC South winner.
If the 49ers beat the Seahawks, then the playoff standings probably look like this:
49ers (bye)
Bears
Eagles
Panthers or Bucs
Rams
Seahawks
Packers
The Rams will be heavily favored to win their last two games, meaning that if they win out that L.A. will have a better divisional record than the Seahawks and earn the 5-seed if Seattle doesn’t beat San Francisco.
That means the matchups are Packers at Bears, Seahawks at Eagles, and Rams at NFC South winner.
If you want the Seahawks to at least be guaranteed the 5-seed, then root for the Falcons to beat the Rams on Monday Night Football (obviously).
Otherwise, it’s unlikely that Seattle would get the 5 because the Cardinals aren’t showing up at all. It’s possible, however, that Sean McVay will rest his starters next week because L.A. can’t win the NFC West.
Can the Cardinals even beat the Rams backups though?
The mission is simple:
Beat the 49ers, earn the 1 seed.
Anything else and the Seahawks are probably on the road for the entirety of the playoffs.
The game is Saturday night. Subscribe to Seaside Joe (and tell other fans!) and don’t miss any updates:
If no Shaheed, Hawks will have to depend on three WR, all of whom are big and physical, Young, White and Bobo. I trust any of them to come through.
The 49ers are the slipperiest team in the league. Our defense needs to play disciplined and tough. Fortunately, their defense lets others slip past them.
They gave up 24 (Titans), 27 (Colts), and 38 (Bears) recently. If our defense gets a reasonable number of stops, Seahawks win. Our offense should not play scared and should not hold anything back. We should treat this as an early Wild Card game.