Three days after suffering an ankle injury in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks will be without running back Ken Walker III when they travel for a post-Christmas battle against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

Walker exited Sunday’s loss to Minnesota late in the fourth quarter following a goal line run and the team quickly declared him doubtful to return. With Seattle only holding two walkthroughs leading up to Thursday’s Week 17 contest in Chicago, he was listed as a non-participant for both, a clear sign he wouldn’t be able to recover in time to suit up for the critical late-season matchup.

Injuries have been a significant problem for Walker in his third season with the Seahawks, as he already missed four games earlier in the year with oblique and calf injuries, including two games earlier this month against the Cardinals and Packers.

With Walker sidelined, Seattle will turn to Zach Charbonnet for his fifth start of the season after the second-year back wasn’t listed on the final injury report. He only had one carry against Minnesota after missing practice time last week with an oblique strain, but he was upgraded to full participant on Tuesday and Wednesday’s walkthrough.

Behind Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh will serve as the primary backup and should see extensive action, especially with Charbonnet not being 100 percent healthy himself. The team could also sign George Holani off of the practice squad to the 53-man roster, but a corresponding move would need to be made to create a spot for him.

Aside from Walker, the Seahawks also ruled out tight end Brady Russell with a foot issue and he will miss his fifth game out of the past seven. He could be a candidate for injured reserve if the team wants to sign Holani to help replace Walker on the depth chart at running back.

Safety K’Von Wallace, who returned to practice two weeks ago from injured reserve, will not be activated prior to Thursday’s game in Chicago. Seattle will have to make a decision on whether or not to activate him for the season finale in Los Angeles next week.

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SEATTLE – A potent atmospheric river arrives on Christmas Day. Conditions will be blustery with increasing wind along the coast, through the Inlet and for some portions of the North Sound.  

Heavy lowland rain and mountain snow will increase throughout the morning and into the evening. 

Luckily, Santa will scoot in and out of Western Washington before all the rain settles in. Rainfall totals will range between 1-2″ during the day tomorrow.  Heavy snow will impact pass travel beginning tomorrow through perhaps Friday. 

An atmospheric river will arrive on Christmas day, bringing wind, rain and mountain snow. 

Along with the rain and mountain snow, winds will be gusty at times with the arrival of the front tomorrow.  A high wind watch will be in effect for the coastal regions, along with the Inlet and Western Skagit and Whatcom counties. 

Powerful winds could lead to power outages and damage along the coast and North Sound on Wednesday and Thursday.

Powerful winds could lead to power outages and damage along the coast and North Sound on Wednesday and Thursday. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Heavy mountain snow totaling 1-3′, along with gusty winds will be possible. A winter storm warning will go into effect early Wednesday morning. Travel will be very difficult in the coming days over the passes.  

Please monitor the weather conditions along with road conditions before traveling.

Heavy mountain snow is forecast to hit our area passes from Wednesday-Friday. 

A weather alert day is in effect for Wednesday and Thursday for rain, wind and snow.  The week remains unsettled with more chances for rain.   By New Year’s Eve, conditions are looking a little drier to enjoy the show at the Space Needle. 

A weather alert day is in effect for Wednesday and Thursday for rain, wind and snow. The week remains unsettled with more chances for rain.

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After dropping a tough 27-24 contest to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks no longer control their own destiny and to win the NFC West, they will have to have several dominos fall their way beyond simply winning their final two games.

As their first order of business, Geno Smith and the Seahawks will have to travel to Chicago on the day after Christmas and defeat the Bears at Soldier Field. A loss or a tie on Thursday night would not eliminate them from playoff contention, but in that scenario, the Rams would lock up the division by beating the Cardinals on Sunday, making the upcoming rematch between the two teams in Week 18 a non-factor in deciding the NFC West.

But even if Seattle does beat Chicago on the road, however, that will not guarantee the season finale ends up being a winner-take-all battle at SoFi Stadium in the final week. If Los Angeles beats Arizona, they will improve to 4-1 in the NFC West, meaning the worst they can finish for the season is with a 4-2 record, which would tie Seattle after a loss in the season finale.

Along with being equal with that tiebreaker and splitting their head-to-head series, the Seahawks and Rams would both have identical 4-4 records against similar opponents and the same conference record, making strength of victory the next tiebreaker to determine who would win the division. Going into Week 17, Los Angeles holds a nine-game advantage in that category after being Buffalo and Minnesota earlier this year, meaning Seattle will need teams that it beat earlier in the season to step up and win games this weekend to keep them alive in the title race and close that gap.

Specifically, per an official memo from the NFL, the Seahawks will need four wins from Packers, Jets, Lions, Falcons, Broncos, or Dolphins out of six games this weekend to stay in the NFC West hunt if both they and the Rams win in Week 17. In other words, they would need a ton of help from other teams to ensure that the season finale becomes a division title game.

In a more simple pathway to the division title and a home playoff game, if the Seahawks and Rams both lose this weekend, the winner of their Week 18 rematch would be the NFC West winner no matter what else happens around the league.

Considering all of those scenarios and the possibility that the Seahawks may or may not be in contention anymore next week regardless of whether they beat the Bears or not, 12s better buckle up, as the next several days should be quite interesting with playoff races reaching the final stretch during the holiday season.

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Rapid Reaction: Late Miscues Cost Seahawks in Gut-Wrenching 27-24 Loss to Vikings

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