They're worse than I thought

The Seahawks playoff picture has changed again

The Seahawks playoff odds have more than quintupled based on Week 12’s results. As bad as the hole that Seattle dug themselves into was a few weeks ago, the 49ers and Rams are worse. Even the Washington Moons, by losing their last three games in a row, have given the Seahawks hope of having a wild card berth to fallback on if needed.

Basically, every team that the Seahawks have needed to collapse has partially imploded before the season’s home stretch.

Read Next: What Next Gen Stats had to say about Leonard Williams and Geno Smith against the Cardinals

5-6 Rams

The Seahawks can only “What if?” their 26-20 OT loss at home to the Rams, and they’d be in a very strong position in the NFC if not for that game. Even so, the Rams lost 37-20 to the Eagles and L.A.’s -43 point differential is the fourth-worst in the conference.

Matthew Stafford is the least-mobile starter in the NFL, which is a problem behind a struggling offensive line, especially at guard…

For all the wishes that Seattle should spend whatever it takes to improve at guard, take stock in the three-year, $51 million contract that Jonah Jackson signed with the Rams this past offseason. Jackson was quickly benched but starter Steve Avila, an early second round pick in 2023, had the worst game of hsi career against the Eagles on Sunday night.

The Rams, probably just a coinflip to beat the 4-7 Saints next week, are worse than I thought.

5-6 49ers

If “absence is presence” than the most important players to the 49ers this week were Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Brandon Aiyuk, Talanoa Hufanga, Javon Hargrave, and Charvarius Ward. All of those players were ruled out before San Francisco’s 38-10 loss to the Packers.

The 49ers were less than perfect before those losses, but they played like one of the worst teams in the NFL this week and they face the Bills in six days.

It’s too early to say that the 49ers couldn’t be healthy and be formidable again in a week or two. It’s not too soon to say that they’re worse than I thought. Sorry.

7-5 Moons

Going on record several times to say that “wild card is not an option for the Seahawks anymore” is a calculated risk that I took and that I accept responsibility before because the odds were under 5%. Then the Moons landed.

(Another upside to Seaside Joe being the only person to call the Washington team “the Moons” is Seaside Joe being the only writer who gets to make moon-related puns.)

Not just 3 losses in a row, but a loss to the Cowboys without Dak Prescott and 2 of these losses at home. If Washington misses the playoffs after starting 7-2, it will be one of the worst regular season chokes in recent history, something that Dan Quinn has no familiarity with.

Actually, the Moons excelling with a rookie quarterback and then losing a golden playoff opportunity to the Seahawks does line up with my expectations.

Football hasn’t been more fun this season than when Jayden Daniels completed that hail mary against the Bears, and the only reason he didn’t top that moment on Sunday is that Washington didn’t go for two and the kicker missed the PAT. But Daniels hasn’t been playing that well lately, the team is struggling, and he’s about to hit the rookie wall.

The Moons remaining schedule doesn’t look daunting on paper (Titans, Saints, Eagles, Falcons, Cowboys) but they just lost to Cooper Rush so who really knows what “daunting” is to them anymore? The Moons are worse than I thought. My bad.

6-5 Cardinals

Of all the teams in Seattle’s way, the Cardinals are still the greatest obstacle.

• Arizona can retake the division lead by beating the Seahawks in 2 weeks

• The Cardinals have an easier remaining schedule

• If the Rams or 49ers climb back to win the division, the Cardinals would also be Seattle’s greatest threat to a wild card berth

The Seahawks hold the division lead going into Week 13 and if they beat the Jets, they could have an opportunity to all but lock up the NFC West title with a Week 14 win over the Cardinals.

Given how poorly Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing did against Mike Macdonald in their first matchup as division rivals, it’s reasonable to have some confidence now that Seattle can win Part II.

It’s been a manic season for Arizona — some really good wins, some head-scratching losses — and what else would we expect from the Cardinals? Hence, the Cardinals are worse than I thought. I should have known better.

Seaside Joe 2095

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