The Seattle Seahawks are in control of their own destiny, and took further charge of it by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 30-18 on Sunday. The Seahawks went into the weekend in first place, and their status on top of the division was at stake. Had Arizona won, they would have reclaimed the lead and the NFC West would have been thrown back into chaos. Instead, Seattle prevailed in the desert and maintained their position.
Unfortunately, they were not the only NFC West team to win a big game. The Los Angeles Rams, facing the Buffalo Bills, upset one of the best teams in the league with an explosive 44-42 victory at home. Sadly, this was a game the Seahawks really needed the Rams to lose, especially when considering both teams upcoming schedule.
Moving forward, Los Angeles’ next three games looks like this:
- at 49ers
- at Jets
- vs Rams
As for the Seahawks, here are their next three:
- vs Packers
- vs Vikings
- at Bears
Those with keen eyes will notice I’ve only mentioned three games, when both have four left to play. That’s because the regular season finale will be between Seattle and Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams winning in Week 14 sets up a remarkably rosier outlook for them to close out the year. If Los Angeles wins out, they retake the NFC West, and they will most assuredly be favored in the next three games. Yes, Arizona obliterated the Rams 41-10 in Week 2, and it took a heroic comeback to take down the Niners earlier this year, but both teams are reeling.
True, anything could happen, but even if LA loses a single game, they are still in a good position because Seattle’s upcoming slate of games is brutal. If a trip to Chicago in late December is the “easy” game, then yikes. Minnesota and Green Bay will provide stiff challenges, as both squads are among the upper echelon of the league this year. The Seahawks are playing their best football of the year so far, and it’s a good thing too because they will need to be on their A-game if they want to survive this stretch with no worse than a 2-1 record.
Los Angeles took the first game between them and Seattle this year, prevailing 26-20 in overtime at Lumen Field. The Rams continue to have the Hawks’ number, and still present their biggest threat. The way things are going, Seattle is going to have to find a way to exorcize their demons if they want to win the West for the first time since 2020.
