As I have said multiple times, life comes at you fast in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks are currently experiencing this. Seattle started the season with a 3-0 record and in sole possession of the NFC West, giving them an early lead to claim their first division title since the 2020 season.
Since then, they have lost the top spot not once but twice, and this latest drop is the most precipitous yet. Seattle lost their first place standing on Sunday afternoon following their blowout loss to the Bills, and the Cardinals narrowly escaping Miami with a 28-27 win. But by the end of Sunday Night Football, the Niners had passed the Seahawks, thanks to their win against the Dallas Cowboys.
As it stands, the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals of all teams all have identical 4-4 records. However, not every 4-4 record is built the same. Due to division records and head-to-head tiebreakers, the Seahawks – while tied technically tied for first with the other two – are occupying third place in the NFC West.
- Arizona Cardinals 4-4 (div 2-0)
- San Francisco 49ers 4-4 (div 1-2)
- Seattle Seahawks 4-4 (div 0-1)
- Los Angeles Rams 3-4 (div 1-1)
Arizona edges out San Francisco and Seattle due to their head-to-head win over the Niners, and their better record against NFC West opponents. The Niners of course have their head-to-head win over the Hawks from their last meeting on Thursday Night Football.
There are two ways of looking at this. The good news is with this division being so close and leads changing week to week, a lot can happen in the second half of the season. By no means are the Seahawks out of it in the division race. A win + Cardinals loss to Chicago next week puts Seattle back into first. Both of these scenarios are obviously possible. San Francisco has a bye.
Unfortunately, the bad news is the volatility argument cuts both ways. The Seahawks’ next opponent will be the Los Angeles Rams, who have historically owned Seattle under head coach Sean McVay. Even before him, Jeff Fisher’s teams routinely gave the Seahawks fits.
The Rams swept the Seahawks last year, including a dominating 30-13 win at Lumen Field to start the season. Should Los Angeles beat Seattle again, which is of course another distinct possibility given how they are getting healthy at the right (or wrong, by Seattle standards) time, the Seahawks will fall to the basement of the division with a 4-5 record.
There is obviously a lot on the line for Seattle next week, and they’ll surely be in for another dogfight against the Rams.
