Seahawks playoff picture: Seattle’s updated chances to make 2024 NFL playoffs after Week 17 vs. Bears

The Seahawks are barely hanging on, but they are still alive in the playoff race. 

Seattle and Chicago engaged in an incredibly ugly “Thursday Night Football” contest, but it was the Seahawks that emerged victorious, grabbing a much-needed 6-3 win in the Windy City over the Bears.  

Seattle entered Week 17 coming off a brutal home loss to Minnesota, which would have drastically helped its playoff chances. The Seahawks had a chance to tie the game and force overtime, but kicker Jason Myers missed a 60-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter. After getting the ball back, Geno Smith then threw a game-sealing interception with less than a minute left.

The victory on Thursday keeps Mike Macdonald’s crew alive in the hunt for the postseason, but Seattle needs some help. The team is still trailing the Rams for NFC West title, and are unable to secure a wild-card spot. 

NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule

Let’s run through Seattle’s updated playoff chances after its Week 17 win against the Bears on the road.   

Seahawks playoff picture

Here’s where things stand inside the NFC for playoff spots. Currently, four teams have clinched spots: Lions, Eagles, Vikings, and Packers. 

As you can see, the Seahawks are on the outside of a wild-card spot, trailing the Commanders and could potentially be trailing the Bucs, depending on Tampa Bay’s Week 17 result. Seattle entered Week 16 tied atop the NFC West alongside Los Angeles, but thanks to its loss to the Vikings, it’s now one game behind the Rams at 10-7, and a game and a half behind the Commanders.

Washington is guaranteed to have a better conference record than Seattle, so the only way the Seahawks can make the playoffs is by winning the NFC West.

NFC West standings

With Seattle beating Chicago and the Rams beating the Cardinals this week, there’s a chance that Los Angeles is able to still secure the NFC West title in Week 17, keeping the Seahawks out of the postseason. The Rams will clinch the NFC West if any three of these teams pick up victories in Week 17 — Commanders, Bills, 49ers, Vikings and Browns. 

This is due to the potential strength of schedule tiebreaker between the Rams and Seahawks that would occur if the two finish with the same record. It would favor Los Angeles in this case, allowing the team to clinch the NFC West in Week 17. 

If three of those teams don’t pull out wins in Week 17, the Seahawks’ chances in the NFC West race will remain alive heading into Week 18, with a head-to-head matchup against the Rams potentially having an impact.

Seahawks remaining schedule 

Seattle’s final game is against the Los Angeles Rams. After picking up the win against the Bears in the Windy City, Seattle stays on the road to play the Rams.

Los Angeles beat Seattle 26-20 earlier this season, and it’s heating up late in the year, too, getting five straight wins over the Saints, Bills, 49ers, Jets, and Cardinals.

Seattle updated playoff chances

According to the NFL’s updated NFC playoff picture, the Seahawks have under a one percent chance to make it to the postseason after Saturday of Week 17. ESPN’s football power index ranked Seattle’s chances entering the week at 18.2 percent.

Source