Who Should Seahawks Fans Root For in Week 16?

The Seahawks have to take care of their own business on Sunday, but a handful of other games would help improve their playoff odds with the right result.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back Saquon Barkley (26) during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

With three games left to play, Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks still control their own destiny heading into Sunday's crucial home finale against the Minnesota Vikings, as winning out would ensure an NFC West title.

But in the event Seattle doesn't beat Minnesota, which enters the game as a three-point favorite and riding a seven-game winning streak, other games around the league will have an impact on the team's playoff chances both within the division and as a wild card contender.

Which other games should Seahawk fans be watching most closely in Week 16? Here are three contests carrying the most significance in the NFC playoff race:

Jets Over Rams

Asking Seahawk fans to cheer for Aaron Rodgers - who might be the franchise's equivalent of Emperor Palpatine - may be asking too much, but the Jets have nothing to lose after being eliminated from the playoff hunt several weeks ago and have enough talent on both sides of the ball to make things interesting against the Rams. Rodgers found the fountain of youth in a win over the Jaguars last week, throwing three touchdowns in easily his best performance of the season.

Obviously, the Rams will be a significantly tougher challenge than the Jaguars. Still, the Jets have several impact players on defense such as Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams who could create problems for Sean McVay's offense, and only four years ago, they slipped on a banana peel in a 23-20 loss to New York in Week 16. The 12s will be hoping for déjà vu at MetLife Stadium, and under the most ideal circumstances, it won't be because Rodgers has a monster game.

Eagles Over Commanders

After losing to the Packers, the Seahawks would need several dominos to fall their way to earn the final wild card spot in the event they lose the NFC West race to the Rams. To land the seventh seed, they would need significant help, starting with the Commanders unraveling in the final three weeks. Holding a 9-5 record, they would need to lose all three of their remaining games since they have a superior record against NFC opponents.

The good news for Seattle? Philadelphia can't afford a slip up on the road and will be playing highly motivated to maintain possession of the top seed in the NFC. Looking at the rest of Washington's schedule, a potentially tough road game in Atlanta and a finale against Dallas loom, making it unlikely, yet not impossible, a defeat on Sunday could jump start a collapse down the stretch.

Cowboys Over Buccaneers

If the Seahawks want to have a shot at earning the final wild card, aside from the Commanders falling apart, they would also need the Buccaneers to finish with no more than nine wins, as they also have a better conference record from a tiebreaker standpoint. Boasting a potent offense led by Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay will be favored against Dallas, but weirder things have happened this time of year than Mike McCarthy's crew playing spoiler.

Dropping Sunday's game would drop the Buccaneers to 8-7 with remaining games against the Panthers and Saints, two winnable divisional games against teams already eliminated from the playoff hunt. Asking for them to lose two of their next three may be too much, but falling in one of those two games is much more probable than losing both, making Sunday's game against the Cowboys a key one if they are to play their way out of wild card contention.

As a side note, Tampa Bay winning out would ensure an NFC South title and Seattle has the head-to-head tiebreaker against Atlanta, so that would also be an ideal scenario to take a competitor out of the wild card race as well.

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