The Seattle Seahawks entered Sunday’s primetime contest versus the Green Bay Packers in pole position in the NFC West. Having enjoyed a four-game win streak, Mike Macdonald’s club went into Sunday possessing a 55.5% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Analytics department. Their predictive model gave Seattle a 51.8% chance to win the division title.
Unfortunately, the Seahawks were swept aside 30-13 by the Packers on Sunday Night Football. That setback had a dramatic impact on Seattle’s updated postseason odds. The Los Angeles Rams have moved into first place in the NFC West. Seattle’s latest playoff now stands at 37.2% to win the division, and 35.1% to make the postseason, per Brady Henderson and ESPN Analytics.
Seahawks playoff odds via ESPN Analytics:
-37.2% to win NFC West
-35.1% to make playoffsThey lost their lead in the division and are now a spot out of the playoff picture. Washington is a game ahead for the third wild-card spot and has two more NFC wins for tiebreaker purposes. pic.twitter.com/No9H9tjE3i
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) December 16, 2024
It’s rare that a team possesses a better opportunity to win the division than claim a wild-card spot, but that’s the situation the Seahawks find themselves in. As Henderson laid out above, the Washington Commanders currently possess a one-game lead for the third-and-final wild card spot, and have two more NFC wins for tiebreaker purposes. Whereas the Seahawks still possess a potentially NFC-West-deciding showdown with the Rams during Week 18’s regular-season finale.
Macdonald’s attention now shifts to a difficult matchup with the surging 12-2 Minnesota Vikings in Week 16. The Seahawks must stay within one victory of their arch rival Rams to increase their chances of Week 18 being a win-and-in scenario. Seattle must quickly recover from Sunday’s setback to keep their postseason dreams alive.
