The Seattle Seahawks enter Week 18 with an 8-8 report, which might have meant a .500 season previous to the appearance of the 17-game schedule. However that is 2023, and the Hawks can nonetheless put collectively a successful season in the event that they beat the LA Rams on Sunday. As you might be undoubtedly conscious at this level, Seattle has to win this sport to get into the playoffs, however additionally they want a Green Bay Packers loss to qualify. Many followers have had… emotions about the truth that the NFL flexed the Packers match-up with the Detroit Lions to Sunday evening; extra precisely, many are rightfully involved that the result of Seattle’s sport might affect the result of the Sunday evening sport, since a Seahawks win would imply elimination for the Lions no matter in the event that they beat the Packers or not. Positive, the Lions hate Aaron Rodgers and the Pack with slightly extra fervor than the common NFL crew, so I don’t count on them to put down in any situation, but it surely actually isn’t an amazing spot for the Seahawks to be in with the season on the road. But it surely additionally isn’t one that’s totally unfamiliar to them. As chances are you’ll recall, the 2017 squad entered Week 17 with a 9-6 report and a playoff berth on the road — supplied that the Carolina Panthers might beat the Atlanta Falcons. And everyone knows how that turned out.
In that specific case, each video games kicked off at 1:25pm PST; however after all, this wouldn’t find yourself mattering, because the Seahawks misplaced to the 7-8 Arizona Cardinals 24-26, which was additionally finally irrelevant to the postseason since Atlanta dealt with Carolina. Main as much as this sport, we had Russell Wilson saying he wouldn’t be paying attention, whereas Dusty Lane of Q13 Fox quoted K.J. Wright with this far more plausible assertion in an interview main as much as the sport:
“Someway, it’s gonna get to us. The phrase spreads,” Wright stated on the VMAC final week. “It’s gonna unfold round. That’s pure and that’s gonna be the case, and so we’re positively gonna discover out, and no matter we discover out, we’ve simply gotta play ball nonetheless. It doesn’t matter.”
But it surely actually didn’t matter; according to Pro Football Reference, the Cardinals had a 23-14 lead going into the 4th quarter, and regardless of Seattle outscoring Arizona 10-3 throughout this era of play, they might nonetheless go on to lose. The Panthers-Falcons sport was a lot nearer at this level. Main into the ultimate quarter, the Falcons solely led by one rating, 13-7. Whether or not or not the Seahawks have been listening to this sport was finally meaningless, as actually every little thing that wanted to go proper went mistaken. However not less than on this situation, the sport was significant for each crew concerned; the New Orleans Saints would win the NFC South with an 11-5 report, which gave them the 4-Seed over the 11-5 Panthers on account of head-to-head report. With their victory, the Falcons positioned themselves for the 6-Seed, which means that the NFC featured three NFC South groups within the playoffs. Which brings up the next query: how a lot does this motivation actually matter?
I ask the earlier query not from a statistical or analytical standpoint; I intend it extra within the rhetorical sense. Truthfully, I feel the reply could also be completely different for this 2022-23 crew than it was for the 2017 one. The latter was Richard Sherman’s last season in Seattle, a season which ended with a ruptured Achilles tendon. It was also Kam Chancellor’s final yr earlier than harm compelled him into retirement. Curiously sufficient, this was additionally one of many final instances I recall Sherman say something constructive concerning the Seahawks till just lately.
1 win away from one other 10 win season! The followers which have turned on gamers and coaches. Try to be ashamed of your self. This crew has overcome Tons of adversity and proven unimaginable resolve. There are groups on the market that haven’t had a successful season in years. Be grateful.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) December 25, 2017
Oh how issues change. Or, as Homer Simpson as soon as stated, “generally individuals change after which shortly change again once more,” as Richard Sherman has eased up on his criticism since Russ’s departure. Which brings me to my last level; I feel this crew is constructed otherwise than the 2017 crew. Not simply the roster — which is much extra reliant on younger/new expertise than it’s on established veterans — however within the emotional make-up of this crew. On a pure expertise stage, the 2017 squad seemed higher on paper going into the season. However I might a lot reasonably watch Geno Smith and this scrappy group of over-performers make the playoffs than that dud of a crew from ‘17 that precipitated the overhaul of the offense, in addition to a large id change that noticed a shift for the crew at giant… which finally led to that “Let Russ put together meals” period that’s weirdly uncomfortable to consider now. Positive, that is only a intestine feeling and I could possibly be 100% mistaken; however in contrast to when nearly all people predicted a Denver Broncos victory in Week 1, I feel individuals are slightly extra hesitant to jot down this crew off than they have been in September. I do know that I’m.
