Despite winning their Week 17 game, the Seahawks fell out of playoff contention on Sunday due to a series of results that helped the Rams clinch the NFC West title.
The Seahawks (9-7) and Rams (10-6) will face off in Week 18 on Sunday, January 5 at 1:25 p.m. on FOX in a game that, had things turned out differently this weekend, could have been for the division title. But with the Rams beating the Cardinals Saturday, then several other games going their way on Sunday, the Rams would win the strength of victory tiebreaker over Seattle even with a Seahawks win next week.
If the Seahawks were to win next week, the NFC West title would go to the Rams on strength of victory, the fifth tiebreaker, because a Seattle win would leave both teams at 10-7, having split their head to head matchups, and with the same NFC West record, the same record in common games, and the same conference record, leaving it to strength of victory to break the tie.
For the Seahawks to have stayed in the hunt heading into Week 18, they needed at least three Week 17 wins from the Bills, Dolphins, Broncos, Packers, Falcons and 49ers, who play Monday night, but Miami was the only one of those teams to win, meaning the Rams clinched the NFC title when Washington beat Atlanta in overtime Sunday night.
While the playoffs are no longer a possibility for the Seahawks, they can secure their first double-digit win season since 2020 with a win in L.A. while giving Mike Macdonald the most wins by a first-year Seahawks coach in franchise history.
REGULAR SEASON
WEEK 18 · Sun 01/05 · 1:25 PM PST
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