Have Seahawks Vaulted Into NFC West Driver's Seat?

With all four teams remaining one game apart, the Seahawks have much work left to do to win the NFC West, but last weekend dramatically improved their odds.

Nov 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) celebrates after sacking Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) (not pictured) during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

By virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker after Sunday's 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks have jumped back into first place in the NFC West with six games left to play, and they benefited from more than just winning their own game in Week 12.

While Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight helped the Seahawks stifle the Cardinals and held Kyler Murray and company to under 300 total yards and two field goals to recapture the division lead, the Brock Purdy-less 49ers went to Lambeau Field and laid an egg in a 38-10 loss to the Packers. Meanwhile, the Rams allowed Saquon Barkley to run wild with 255 rushing yards in a 37-20 loss to the Eagles at home on Sunday night, dropping both rivals below the .500 mark with 5-6 records.

Despite the stars aligning perfectly this past weekend, according to the New York Times' playoff projection model, Seattle still has only a 20 percent chance of winning the NFC West, while Arizona remains atop the projection at 51 percent. After losing on Sunday, Los Angeles' odds shrunk to 19 percent and San Francisco plummeted to 11 percent.

Only two weeks ago, the Seahawks sat in last place with a 4-5 record, losing five of their previous six games to erase a 3-0 start to open the Mike Macdonald era. But by winning back-to-back divisional games against the 49ers and Cardinals, they have dramatically improved their chances of not only making the playoffs, but winning the division for the first time since 2020.

With those two critical wins, Seattle bolstered its once-dismal conference record to 3-4, tied with Arizona for the best mark against NFC foes. Those victories also moved them to 2-2 in the NFC West standings, only half a game behind Arizona and Los Angeles and a full game ahead of San Francisco, crawling out of a major hole in a crucial tiebreaking metric.

If there's a reason why the Seahawks still sit a distant second in NFC West title odds, it likely boils down to the team's upcoming schedule. After a long trip to New York to play the Jets, they face the Cardinals again on the road before back-to-back home games against Green Bay and Minnesota, two of the top teams in the NFC. They finish with tough road contests against the Bears and Rams, leaving no gimmes on the docket.

In comparison, after a difficult road game in Minnesota and hosting Seattle in Week 14, Arizona has remaining games against New England and Carolina, two last place teams in the AFC East and NFC South respectively, before facing Los Angeles and San Francisco in the last two weeks.

Of the four teams, San Francisco likely has the toughest schedule with road games against Buffalo and a surging Miami squad along with hosting the 10-1 Detroit in Week 17. Los Angeles also has to face Buffalo and travel to East Rutherford to play the New York Jets along with three remaining divisional games.

Considering the remaining schedules for every NFC West squad, have the Seahawks jumped into the driver's seat with six weeks left in the 2024 season?

On a new episode of Locked On Seahawks, hosts Corbin Smith and Rob Rang discuss how Seattle's situation has quickly gone from one of despair to one of great hope, look at how things could get even better with the return of a key star on defense, and dish out their Monday Musings, including stellar play across the defensive line versus Arizona and continued concerns at two position groups along the offensive line.

Listen to the latest Locked On Seahawks in entirety here or subscribe for free to the podcast platform of your choice here.

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