NFL Week 14 Seahawks Playoff Rooting Guide: Can the Bills Help Seattle Again?

Once again, the Seattle Seahawks had a lot of positives this past weekend (aside from the Seahawks’ win over the New York Jets, of course). The only big thing that didn’t work out was the Los Angeles Rams’ loss to the New Orleans Saints. Seattle still holds a slim NFC West lead over the Rams and Arizona Cardinals, but that would change if the Seahawks lose this weekend.

Before we get to the Week 14 playoff rooting guide, let’s take a look at the current NFC standings.

NFC rankings as of week 14

Head of department

1. Detroit Lions (11-1)

2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)

3. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)

4. Atlanta Falcons (6-6, 2-0 vs. TB)

Wildcard

5. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)

6. Green Bay Packers (9-3)

7. Washington Commanders (8-5)

On the hunt

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6, 0-2 vs. ATL, 6-3 NFC)

9. Arizona Cardinals (6-6, win over LAR, 3-5 NFC)

10. Los Angeles Rams (6-6, loss to ARI)

11. San Francisco 49ers (5-7, win over DAL)

12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7, loss to SF)

13. New Orleans Saints (4-8, 2-3 NFC South, 3-5 NFC)

14. Chicago Bears (4-8, 2-5 NFC)*

15. Carolina Panthers (3-9)

1-2-3, Cancun!

16. New York Giants (2-10)

Forget the top two seeds, because the Seahawks will inevitably be out of the hunt for the No. 1 seed very soon. The Philadelphia Eagles can put the No. 2 seed all but out of Seattle’s reach with a win over the Carolina Panthers. This is about keeping the No. 3 seed as the division leader and also finding good opportunities to get into the postseason as a wild card.

The commanders have a bye, so they will not be included in the discussion on this occasion.

Top priority

Buffalo Bills above Los Angeles Rams – 1:25 p.m. PT, FOX

The Bills have a real chance to complete the NFC West sweep. Neither the Seahawks nor the 49ers posed any serious challenge, while the Cardinals gave Buffalo a scare on day one. A Rams home loss to Josh Allen and Co. would result in LA being at least one game behind Seattle in the NFC West standings.

A Rams win + a Seahawks loss would drop Seattle to third place in the division, so this is by far the biggest game affecting the Seahawks on Sunday.

Chicago Bears via San Francisco 49ers – 1:25 p.m., FOX

I know the 49ers are 5-7 and badly injured. It’s entirely conceivable that they need to win to win the division or somehow sneak in as a wild card. To be on the safe side, let’s see if the post-Matt Eberflus Bears can pull off the classic kick that seemingly turns every interim head coach into Bill Walsh in the first game.

A 49ers loss would essentially be the undeniable end of the season, although there is also a very real scenario next Thursday in which a 49ers win would be preferable. We will cross this road next week.

Detroit Lions above Green Bay Packers – 5:15 p.m., Prime Video (Thursday)

Yes, that’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s probably the only path the Seahawks have to clinch a Wild Card spot rather than win the NFC West. Green Bay is 9-3 while the Seahawks are 7-5. If the Packers lose and the Seahawks win, Seattle is suddenly just one game behind the Packers with a home game coming up in Week 15. However, in this scenario, the Seahawks are also at the top of the NFC West, so I’m focusing on this game from the perspective of a Seattle loss to the Cardinals.

Say the Packers and Seahawks both lose this week. Green Bay is 9-4, Seattle is 7-6 and the two teams meet the following Sunday. A Seahawks win would put them one behind the Packers in the Wild Card race with a head-to-head tiebreaker. Green Bay still has division games left against the Vikings and Bears, and they’ve already lost to Minnesota and fell to Chicago in their first meeting. It’s not entirely inconceivable that the Seahawks would finish with the same record as Green Bay and make it as a wild card instead of a division winner.

I just like my bases covered. I’d rather not end up with the Packers losing again in Week 18.

Nice to have, but not necessary

Minnesota Vikings above Atlanta Falcons – 10 a.m., FOX

Las Vegas Raiders above Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 10 a.m., CBS

This is really about making sure the NFC South winner is as functionally bad as possible. The No. 3 seed is also more valuable than the No. 4 seed in an expanded playoff field because the No. 3 seed gets a home game in the divisional round as long as the No. 2 seed loses in the Wild Card. Sounds unlikely? Not really, because that’s exactly what the Detroit Lions enjoyed last season.

The Raiders are not good and will likely lose on the road to Tampa Bay, but they gave the Kansas City Chiefs a scare last Friday. It’s definitely realistic for Minnesota to deal with a Falcons team that has lost three in a row while Kirk Cousins ​​can’t stop throwing a pitch to the other team.

Keep in mind that the Buccaneers have a comfortable NFC record tiebreaker over the Seahawks, so Seattle would most likely have to finish ahead of the Buccaneers in the win column to remain in 3rd place at the end of the season. However, that won’t be the case if the Falcons win the NFC South, as Seattle owns the direct tiebreaker.

tl;dr: Go Bills, Bears and Lions! And (probably much less) go see the Vikings and Robbers! And most importantly: Go ‘Hawks!