How Early Slate of Week 17 Games Impacted Seahawks Playoff, Draft Positioning

With the Detroit Lions winning at home, the Seattle Seahawks must win on Sunday to stay in the playoff race, but they received some help prior to kickoff against the New York Jets and maintained a top-three pick in the process.

Corbin K. Smith | Jan 1, 2023

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Seattle Seahawks

Nearing kickoff in a must-win Week 17 contest against the Jets, the Seahawks benefited from a couple of games going their way during the early time slot both in playoff and draft positioning.

Sitting in the eighth spot in the NFC standings and one game out of the final wild card spot, Seattle received a New Years Day gift from Carson Wentz and Washington. The Commanders held the final roster spot heading into the weekend, but Wentz threw three ugly interceptions while getting outplayed by Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson in a 24-10 defeat, dropping their record to 7-8-1 on the season.

Thanks to the Commanders slipping up at home, with a win over the Jets, the Seahawks would leapfrog into the final wild card spot. If the Packers lose to the Vikings at Lambeau Field, that would put coach Pete Carroll's squad into a position where they control their own destiny, needing only a win over the Rams to punch a ticket to the postseason. Per FiveThirtyEight.com, their playoff odds would improve to 62 percent in that scenario.

However, if Seattle loses to New York and Green Bay wins, thanks in part to Detroit winning at home against Chicago, the team will be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Given the wide range of outcomes, it's safe to say everything rides on snapping a two-game losing streak at Lumen Field on Sunday, especially after the Giants dominated the Colts to lock up the sixth seed and leave only one wild card spot left up for grabs.

While the Seahawks received much-wanted help from the Commanders in the playoff hunt, the Chiefs also helped them from a future standpoint by withstanding a late rally from Russell Wilson and the Broncos to hold on for a 27-24 win at Arrowhead Stadium. As a result, Seattle still holds the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft acquired from Denver as part of the Wilson trade.

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Published Jan 1, 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.