Seahawks Fall Out of Final Wild Card Spot With Unfavorable Week 13 Results

Entering Sunday holding onto the final wild card spot, the Seattle Seahawks dropped out of the race for now and could drop another spot on Monday night with Week 13 results not working to their benefit.

Corbin K. Smith | Dec 3, 2023

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Seattle Seahawks

After losing 41-35 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night and an eventful Week 13 of NFL action, the Seattle Seahawks have fallen out of the playoff picture with five games left to play.

Idle on Sunday following a second straight mid-week game, the Seahawks dropped from the seventh to eighth seed with the Rams surging late to beat the Browns 36-19 at SoFi Stadium. By virtue of winning both of their NFC West matchups this season, the Rams hold the tiebreaker with each team currently 6-6 overall and tied for second place in the division.

It's possible Seattle could fall one more spot in the NFC playoff standings by Sunday night, as Green Bay holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles and would leapfrog into the seventh spot by defeating Kansas City at Lambeau Field.

Aside from falling in the wild card standings, the Seahawks will enter their rematch with the 49ers next weekend still three full games behind their rivals in the NFC West. San Francisco produced the most impressive win of the 2023 season so far on Sunday, avenging an NFC Championship Game loss to Philadelphia last January with a 42-19 blowout victory at Lincoln Financial Field to improve to 9-3 on the year.

Losing four of its past five games, Seattle will be in playoff mode from here on out and the schedule won't get any easier in the next few weeks. After traveling to Santa Clara to battle the 49ers next weekend, they will host the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 15, and losing both games would put their postseason hopes on life support at best.

To close out the season, the Seahawks will travel to Nashville to face the Titans on Christmas Eve, host the Steelers on New Years Eve in what could be a playoff elimination game for both teams, and wrap up with a road game against the Cardinals in Glendale.

Seahawks Report Card: Top Performers in Week 13 Loss to Cowboys

Published Dec 3, 2023

CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.