Seahawks officially eliminated from postseason contention

A winning record in the Seattle Seahawks’ first season under head coach Mike Macdonald won’t be enough to make the playoffs.

Day and time for Seattle Seahawks’ finale vs. Rams announced

The Seahawks were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention on Sunday night after former UW Huskies quarterback Michael Penix and the Atlanta Falcons couldn’t put away the Washington Commanders, falling 30-24 in overtime. That Washington win clinched the NFC West title for the Los Angeles Rams (10-6), who now hold a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Seahawks.

Seattle is 9-7 with one game to go next Sunday against the Rams, a contest that had the opportunity to be a de facto division championship game – though that possibility became increasingly less likely after the Seahawks lost back-to-back games to Green Bay and Minnesota in Weeks 15 and 16.

If Seattle beats the Rams next week on the road, the first four tiebreakers would not settle the division. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, and the Rams beat the Seahawks in Seattle earlier this year. The second tiebreaker is record within the division, where both Seattle and LA would be 4-2 if the Seahawks win in Week 18. The third is record against common opponents, and both teams would be 7-5 in this scenario. And fourth is conference record, where the two rivals would be an even 6-6.

That brought it all the way to the fifth tiebreaking criteria of strength of victory that Seahawks fans watched intently this weekend, but Seattle’s slim playoff hopes only faded more with every TV window of the NFL’s slate. It comes down to combined winning percentage of the teams the Rams beat this season wins being better than Seattle’s – although if the Seahawks lose next weekend, none of the tiebreakers will even go into effect as the Rams will finish 11-6 and the Seahawks 9-8.

Seattle would make some history with a win next week as a particularly good team to miss out on the playoffs.

If the Seahawks beat the Rams next week, they would become the first 10-7 team to miss the playoffs since the NFL went to a 17-game schedule in 2021.

The previous nine 10-7 teams each made the playoffs — seven as wild cards and two as division winners.

— Cameron Van Til (@CameronVanTil) December 30, 2024

While Seahawks fans held onto hope as long as they could, the Rams’ 13-9 win over the Arizona Cardinals 13-9 on Saturday made the NFC West title seem like an inevitability for Los Angeles. The Seahawks needed three of these six teams to win this week – the Broncos, Jets, Dolphins, Packers, Falcons and Lions – just to stay in contention until next weekend. Only the Dolphins came through by the end of Sunday, making the Monday meeting between Detroit and San Francisco a non-factor.

Seattle has gone through an up-and-down first year under Macdonald. The Seahawks had multiple stints in first place in the NFC West, but their streakiness kept them from holding on in any consistent manner. Seattle opened the year with three straight wins, then lost three in a row and five of six. The Hawks rebounded with a season-best four-game win streak, but lost two straight to Green Bay and Minnesota before holding off the lowly Chicago Bears 6-3 on Thursday night. The good news is Seattle’s defense has looked legit ever since a midseason retooling, but the bad news is a troublesome offensive line and run game prevented the offense from making much headway in 2024.

The Rams, meanwhile, have come on strong after weathering through a tough early stretch where injuries to key players held them back. Los Angeles opened the year with a 1-4 record, but has gone 9-2 since.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• After trio of injuries, Seahawks’ Nwosu back in sack column
• Does Seahawks DL Leonard Williams have a case for DPOY?
• ‘Like a torpedo’: Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon continues to wow
• Bump: What Charbonnet, McIntosh add to Seahawks’ run game
• Seattle Seahawks players put in good word for former coach Pete Carroll

Follow @BrentStecker