Seahawks Hammer 49ers;Still Have a Shot at NFC West
The Seattle Seahawks are for real. Right now they look like the team to go all the way to the Super Bowl out of the NFC. They are 10-5 with one game to go, a half game behind the San Francisco 49ers who they mauled 42-13 on Sunday. The Seahawks have won 58-0 over the Arizona Cardinals, 50-17 over the Buffalo Bills and now 42-13 over the Niners. Quarterback Russell Wilson has been overshadowed much of the year behind the Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who has already clinched a playoff spot and rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III who is a win away from a division championship with the Washington Redskins. Seattle would not trade their rookie quarterback for anyone.
The Seahawks will host the St.Louis Rams next week. They are currently 7-0 at home this season. The Seahawks lost to the Rams in St.Louis earlier in the season, but they were successful avenging road losses to division opponents against the Cardinals and 49ers. Boy, were they! They outscored those two 100-13. If Seattle wins, and they get some help from the Cardinals, who visit the Niners next week, Seattle will win the NFC West.
If the Seahawks can also get some help from the Minnesota Vikings, who host the Green Bay Packers, the Seahawks can wind up with the #2 seed in the playoffs. This will mean a first round bye and a second round home game. The Atlanta Falcons would be the only team they would have to face on the road. Minnesota beating Green Bay is much more likely to happen than the Cards beating the Niners. Arizona is 5-10 after starting the season at 4-0. They lost to the Chicago Bears 28-13 on Sunday.
The most likely playoff scenario is Atlanta will be the one seed, that is already a lock. Then comes Green Bay if they can beat the Vikings or the Niners if they do not. Depending on the outcome of Packers-Vikings, either the Packers or Niners will get the third spot. Fourth would be the Redskins if they can win their seventh in a row at home over the Dallas Cowboys. The two wild card teams would be the Vikings if they can win or the Bears if they don’t. The Cowboys would win the NFC east with a win over the Redskins. Seattle would be the number five seed in any case and would be on the road at the winner of Washington vs Dallas. Seattle is only 3-5 on the road, but has won two in a row.
The Niners would host the sixth seeded Vikings or Bears or even possibly the Giants with the third seed. But with the second seed, they would wait for the winner of the four vs five game, which could mean a rematch with the Seahawks. So all of this is clear as mud right? The Niners really need to not slip up to the Cardinals. This is vital for them and the rest of the NFC. Because they all need to keep the Seahawks on the road.
