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How Seattle Seahawks could be gifted NFC top seed week early
With the Seattle Seahawks all alone in first place in the NFC West and atop the NFC standings, all eyes have understandably been fixed upon their Week 18 regular season finale against the San Francisco 49ers as the likely place where the division and No. 1 seed will be settled.
Where Seahawks’ No. 1 seed odds stand after Week 16
But there is a highly unlikely but still possible scenario that has gone under the radar where Seattle (12-3) could find itself on Monday already crowned the division champ and given a bye straight to the second round of the playoffs.
It’s a pretty simple one, though it has three components to it. Here’s what would need to happen for the Seahawks to clinch the NFC West and NFC’s No. 1 seed before Week 18:
• 1. The Seahawks win on the road in their 10 a.m. Sunday game against the Carolina Panthers.
• 2. The San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears tie on Sunday night.
• 3. The Los Angeles Rams lose on Monday night in Atlanta against the Falcons.
To take a line from the great Lloyd Christmas on the holiday that he shares a name with, we’re telling you there’s a chance. Not a good one, at least when it comes to wrapping everything up this week, but still a chance.
The tough part of this scenario is that both No. 2 and No. 3 are longshots.
NFL standings
Ties are rare in the NFL, with only one having occurred in the last three seasons combined. The Bears and 49ers are evenly matched with identical 11-4 records, though, which plays into why the Seahawks would need the tie to clinch before Week 18.
As for the Rams losing to the Falcons, that seems maybe even more far fetched than a tie happening. The Rams are also 11-4 and will probably be looking to take out some aggression after losing 38-37 in overtime to the Seahawks last week in the biggest game of the season for both teams.
While the Falcons are coming off surprising back-to-back wins, that’s a surprise for a reason. Atlanta is 6-9 this year and is down several players on injured reserve, including starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
So yeah, don’t count on it happening. But if the Seahawks find the unexpected gift of clinching by Monday night, it probably starts building a case of them being a team of destiny this season.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
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• Panthers CB has choice words about his trade from Seahawks
• Seahawks star WR JSN says any limitation put on him ‘is not true’
• Lefko: A bold offseason has Seahawks on brink of history
• Six Seattle Seahawks secure Pro Bowl selections
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
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