Stacy Rost: Who is the Seahawks’ most likely playoff opponent?

The Seattle Seahawks and their fans have a week off to relax and watch the chaos of a great wild card weekend schedule in the NFC playoffs.

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There are four real possibilities for next week’s opponent after the top-seeded Seahawks’ first-round bye, but I wouldn’t count on a divisional rematch too soon. Here’s a look at the situation, where the Seahawks will draw the lowest-remaining seed in the NFC for a home game in the divisional round.

The heavy favorite this weekend…

Is the Rams. No. 5 seed Los Angeles is a 10.5-point favorite over the NFC South-winning No. 4 seed Carolina Panthers. ESPN has the Rams just under that at 9.4 points with a 70-plus percent chance to win the game outright. Not surprising.

The Panthers fell backwards into the divisional title thanks to a Falcons win over the Saints in Week 18. They’re young, incomplete, and inconsistent. In fact, the only consistent thing about them was them rotating between a win and a loss every week since October… but that also ended in the regular season finale. Here’s to bouncing back with a win against a team that many critics still consider the best in the NFC.

If you’re a Seahawks fan who doesn’t feel especially excited about a tough opponent next weekend, there’s good news: a lower seed is also favored this weekend. And that would be…

Back the Pack

The Packers.

The No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers are 1.5-point favorites over the No. 2 seed Chicago Bears, though it’s not in every sportsbook (another has them as a one-point underdog).

Chicago had a weird finish to the season. Three of the Bears’ highest-scoring performances were after Week 11, but they won just two of their last five.

The Packers lost their final four games, managing just a field goal in their finale against the Vikings. Once a Super Bowl favorite, they’ve struggled with the loss of tight end Tucker Kraft and, now, edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Despite it being a battle between a No. 2 seed and the last seed, oddsmakers have this one as a toss-up, and a Packers win would send a good team with big questions straight to a packed and wild Lumen Field. If you’re a Seahawks fan, you’re rooting for this, or… a Panthers visit? That would require wins by Chicago and Philadelphia (over San Francisco). For now, given the odds in this NFC North battle, the Packers feel like the likeliest opponent for Seattle.

And if it’s not them…

A Week 18 rematch

The No. 6 seed San Francisco 49ers head to Philly to take on the No. 3 seed Eagles.

While it’s very likely the Rams advance to the divisional round, they feel like a possible NFC Championship opponent as opposed to returning to Seattle next weekend (knock on wood, obviously — don’t want to get caught by hubris here).

The 49ers were physically outmatched in the Seahawks’ 13-3 win last weekend, and it’s fair to wonder whether injuries have finally caught up to them. A banged-up defense finished the season 12th against the run, but it’s certainly not how they’re playing right now, which is bad news for facing star Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at Lincoln Financial Field. Yikes.

The Eagles are 4.5-point favorites, and with a defense that’s fifth in points allowed, I wouldn’t expect the 49ers to roll through Philly like they did against the Bears in primetime.

The most likely opponent…

The Packers. They’re not what they were earlier this season, but they’re in the tightest battle and have the best chance to upset.

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• Report: Seahawks OC Kubiak up for four NFL head coach jobs
• How 2025 Seahawks compare to the best Legion of Boom defenses
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