Seahawks vs. Jets: Breaking Down Seattle’s Playoff Chances Entering Week 17

Following their fifth defeat in six video games in a 24-10 loss to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Christmas Eve, it is onerous to consider the Seattle Seahawks nonetheless have a lot of a pulse within the NFC playoff image.

However regardless of their extended funk that has now spanned greater than a month and a half after a shocking 6-3 begin, Seattle nonetheless controls its postseason future to an extent. With two video games left to play, if coach Pete Carroll’s staff can bounce again and shut out with a pair of wins over the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams, there’s nonetheless an honest likelihood to earn a Wild Card berth.

Benefiting from the Commanders dropping to the 49ers and Lions dropping to the Panthers this weekend, per FiveThirtyEight.com, the Seahawks will enter Week 17 with a 29 % likelihood of constructing the playoffs. If quarterback Geno Smith enacts some revenge in opposition to his former staff and helps them beat the Jets at Lumen Subject on New 12 months’s Day, these odds will leap as much as 43 %, however they’ll want a little bit of assist to additional enhance their possibilities heading in the direction of the season finale.

In the excellent news division, since Seattle beat Detroit on the highway in Week 4, Detroit’s consequence in opposition to Chicago has little bearing on the scenario. Even when the Lions beat the Bears at residence, the Seahawks nonetheless have a 43 % likelihood of constructing the playoffs due to that tiebreaker. The Giants dropping to the Colts in an upset would additionally markedly assist their possibilities, pushing the chances as much as 52 %.

However because the Giants stay two video games in entrance of the Seahawks within the loss column, the Commanders and surging Packers would be the two groups to look at most intently. Within the occasion Seattle wins on Sunday, a Washington victory would push playoff odds again right down to 35 %. Inexperienced Bay beating Minnesota at residence would shrink these odds even additional to 25 %.

In a worst-case state of affairs, if the Commanders, Packers, and Giants all win their respective video games, even with a Seahawks victory to maneuver again to .500, they’d solely have a 13 % likelihood of constructing the postseason. On the flip aspect, if all three of these groups lose and the Lions win, odds would leap as much as 67 %.

After all, Seattle has to care for its personal enterprise in opposition to New York and snap a three-game dropping streak, as a loss would assure a second straight dropping season and put them in severe hazard of elimination.

If the Seahawks lose to the Jets, they would want to wish for the Browns to by some means upset the Commanders to maintain their razor skinny playoff hopes alive. They might additionally want the Packers and/or Lions to lose their respective video games, as wins by each NFC North groups would remove them from the hunt as nicely.

In regard to a best-case state of affairs whereas sitting at 7-9 – if there’s such a factor – the Seahawks would nonetheless have a 27 % likelihood or incomes a playoff berth if the Giants, Lions, Packers, and Commanders all tripped up in Week 17. Although it appears unlikely all 4 of these groups would lose subsequent weekend, such a consequence would preserve 5 groups within the combine for 2 wild card spots and assure a wild ultimate weekend of NFL motion.

Curiously, the Giants profitable over the Colts on this state of affairs would not lower the Seahawks probabilities of a playoff berth in any respect since they’d be eradicated from the sixth seed anyway. At this stage, the Packers and Commanders are the 2 groups to fret about essentially the most in the case of knocking them out of the postseason image.

Regardless, scoreboard watching shall be a moot level if the Seahawks cannot discover a method to beat the Jets, who’ve been struggling mightily themselves. A loss on Sunday would make it extraordinarily troublesome to limp into the postseason and if there is a silver lining in that state of affairs, that may doubtless imply the staff could have two first-round picks within the high 12 subsequent April as a substitute as a comfort prize.

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