Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks Breakdown: Sizing up the tight NFC West race
Sparked by a midseason turnaround on defense, the Seattle Seahawks have rattled off a four-game win streak to surge into first place atop the razor-tight NFC West.
Unexpected Impact: 4 Seahawks key to surge back atop NFC West
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, Seattle holds the division lead at 8-5. The Los Angeles Rams are one game behind at 7-6, while the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers are both two games back at 6-7.
The NFC West is the only division in the league where all four teams are still realistically alive for the division title. All four NFC West teams are within two games of each other, whereas each of the other seven divisions have at least a four-game gap between their first-place and last-place teams.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Seahawks have a 52% chance to win the NFC West and 55% chance to reach the playoffs. The Rams have a 32% chance of winning the division, followed by the 49ers at 9% and the Cardinals at 7%.
Here’s a closer breakdown of the NFC West race. All odds and strength of scheduling rankings are according to ESPN.
Seattle Seahawks
Record: 8-5
NFC West title odds: 52%
Division record: 3-2
Head-to-head: 2-0 vs. Cardinals, 1-1 vs. 49ers, 0-1 vs. Rams
Remaining schedule: vs. Packers (9-4), vs. Vikings (11-2), at Bears (4-9), at Rams (7-6)
Remaining strength of schedule: 8th-hardest
Breakdown: The Seahawks are in the driver’s seat of the NFC West race, but their next two games are against Green Bay and Minnesota – who own two of the four best records in the NFC. The good news is that both matchups are at home, but Seattle is currently the underdog in both games, according to ESPN’s FPI. The Seahawks’ regular-season finale against the Rams could very well end up being a de facto NFC West title game, especially since Los Angeles currently holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating Seattle on the road in Week 9.
Los Angeles Rams
Record: 7-6
NFC West title odds: 32%
Division record: 2-1
Head-to-head: 1-0 vs. Seahawks, 1-0 vs. 49ers, 0-1 vs. Cardinals
Remaining schedule: at 49ers (6-7), at Jets (3-10), vs. Cardinals (6-7), vs. Seahawks (8-5)
Remaining strength of schedule: 13th-hardest
Breakdown: At the moment, the Rams are the biggest threat to the Seahawks. Los Angeles is just one game behind Seattle and currently holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Seahawks in Week 9. The Rams travel to face the 49ers on Thursday night, which will have major implications on the NFC West race. If the Rams win, they would put themselves in position to move into first place with a Seahawks loss to the Packers on Sunday night. The Rams then have a favorable matchup the following week against the 3-10 Jets, while Seattle faces 11-2 Minnesota that same day.
Arizona Cardinals
Record: 6-7
NFC West title odds: 7%
Division record: 2-2
Head-to-head: 1-0 vs. Rams, 1-0 vs. 49ers, 0-2 vs. Seahawks
Remaining schedule: vs. Patriots (3-10), at Panthers (3-10), at Rams (7-6), vs. 49ers (6-7)
Remaining strength of schedule: 28th-hardest
Breakdown: The Seahawks beat Arizona twice in the past three weeks to sweep the season series and secure the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams. That means Seattle’s two-game lead over Arizona is essentially a three-game lead, which would be very difficult for the Cardinals to overcome – even with their favorable closing slate.
San Francisco 49ers
Record: 6-7
NFC West title odds: 9%
Division record: 1-3
Head-to-head: 1-1 vs. Seahawks, 0-1 vs. Rams, 0-1 vs. Cardinals
Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Cardinals
Remaining strength of schedule: 7th-hardest
Breakdown: The injury-plagued 49ers are currently in last place, but they could surge right back into the mix if they beat the Rams on Thursday night – especially with the Seahawks facing challenging opponents the next two weeks. Many wrote off the 49ers as the injuries continued to pile up during their recent three-game losing streak. But as they showed with their emphatic 38-13 rout of the Bears on Sunday, the defending NFC champions can’t be counted out just yet.
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Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson answered pressing questions about the city’s most pressing issues, including the steps she’s taking to protect residents’ public safety and affordability, while also touching on activating CCTV cameras across the city.
Anyone waiting for the ferry, taking a stroll along the revamped Seattle waterfront or visiting the Seattle Aquarium just got a new option for finding a sweet treat: Ben & Jerry’s is coming to Pier 54.
A lease announcement last week shared that the new shop will be operated by local franchise owners Lance and Moria Blair, owners of the Green Lake and Gig Harbor Ben & Jerry’s locations. They pair is also opening another Seattle location in Northgate soon.
The permanent shop announcement comes after Ben & Jerry’s operated a pop-up at the waterfront location last simmer.
“As a Seattle native, the waterfront holds a special place in my heart,” Lance Blair said in a news release. “I could not be more excited to be a part of bringing Ben & Jerry’s to Pier 54 and continue building connections with the local community while serving visitors from around the world.”
The new location comes as local ice cream chains Molly Moon’s and Salt & Straw have also expanded into the downtown area in the past year.
Where is the new Ben & Jerry’s location?
The new Ben & Jerry’s is located at Pier 54 on the Seattle Waterfront: 1001 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98104.
The shop will be open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where are the other Ben & Jerry’s locations in Seattle?
The ice cream chain operates four other locations in the Seattle area:
- Alki Beach: 2742 Alki Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116
- Bellevue: 166 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004
- Green Lake: 7900 E Green Lake Drive N Suite 104, Seattle, WA 98103
- Kirkland: 176 Lake Street South, Kirkland, WA 98033
How many locations does Ben & Jerry’s have in Washington?
Ben & Jerry’s has ten locations across Washington, including two in Issaquah and three in the Spokane area. See the full list of locations at benjerry.com/ice-cream-near-me.
Zachary Fletcher is a trending news reporter with USA TODAY Network’s Washington state team. Keep up with him on X (@zdfletch), BlueSky (@zfletcher.bsky.social) or reach him at zfletcher@usatodayco.com.
Seattle, WA
VIDEO: Mayor Wilson proposes renewing, expanding Seattle Transit Measure by doubling the sales-tax percentage that funds it.
Through the end of this year, 0.15% of the sales tax you pay funds the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure. That would double to 0.30% if the City Council and Seattle voters approve the renewal/expansion that Mayor Katie Wilson officially introduced this afternoon. She said it’ll make living in Seattle more affordable by enabling more people to “live car-free or car-light.” She acknowledged that raising the sales tax isn’t ideal but noted that it’s one of the few revenue-raising tools available under state law. Besides paying for more transit – 280,000 additional Metro bus trips a year, 100,000 more than the current measure funds – it also would pay for 22,000 free ORCA transit passes, more than double what the city provides now, said acting SDOT director Angela Brady during the announcement event at City Hall. The passes are now available to Seattle Promise scholars, low-income Seattle Preschool Program families, and Seattle Housing Authority residents. The measure’s renewal/expansion would also make those passes available to Housing Choice Voucher participants.
The mayor’s announcement says the Transit Measure isn’t just about buses: It also would “support the design and delivery of Sound Transit’s West Seattle Link Extension, Ballard Link Extension, and Graham Street Station.” The 0.30% sales tax would generate an estimated $138 million average per year for the 10 years of this measure, which is proposed to go to voters in November. Council review starts this Thursday and will be led by District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who chairs the council committee that oversees transportation. We’ll add the specific text of the proposal when we get it; the slide deck for Thursday’s council meeting is now available, and we’ll add some highlights from that soon.
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