The Seattle Seahawks entered their bye off of a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over in Germany. Seattle trailed by as many as 18 points in the game and attempted to rally, but it was too little too late.
The Seahawks ended up losing the game 21-16, but they were still in a good spot with a 6-4 record atop the NFC West. Unfortunately for them, things didn’t improve after the bye week as their losing ways continued.
Seattle hosted the Las Vegas Raiders but they were never able to put them away. Las Vegas won the game 40-34 in overtime as running back Josh Jacobs walked them off with an 86-yard touchdown run. He had a monster day, carrying the ball 33 times for 229 yards and two touchdowns, adding six receptions for 74 yards.
The Raiders’ defense was able to make just enough plays against Geno Smith and the Seahawks’ offense as well to get an impressive road victory. Where Las Vegas did its best work was on the ground. Kenneth Walker III had two rushing touchdowns, but outside of those runs, the Raiders held him to 0 yards on 12 attempts.
That level of performance has been nonexistent for Las Vegas and truly shocking to come against Seattle as Walker has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL since taking over the starting job for the injured Rashaad Penny.
This loss was a detrimental one to Seattle as well when it comes to their playoff hopes. Losing out of conference games is the least damaging as they don’t impact tiebreakers nearly as much, but this was a tough one for the Seahawks.
With the loss, their chances of making the playoffs dropped from 79 percent down to 66 percent. Their chance at winning the NFC West was cut in more than half as they went from having a 30 percent chance down to 13.
For now, the Seahawks are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the NFC as they are in eighth place. They are a half-game behind the Washington Commanders, who have yet to have their bye and are 7-5, compared to 6-5 for the Seahawks.
Out of their final six games, there are only two, on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and hosting the San Francisco 49ers, that the Seahawks will likely be underdogs in. For the other four, there is a good chance that they are favorites, meaning they have an excellent shot at getting to 10 wins, which should be the magic number for clinching a playoff spot.
What Seattle needs is for the NFC East teams to cannibalize each other during the last few weeks of the season. The games between the New York Giants and Washington Commanders will be especially of interest to Seattle. Having a head-to-head victory over the Giants is huge for the Seahawks should the teams find themselves tied in the standings at any point.
