Sure, it’s possible for the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl as a No. 5 seed.
But nobody, especially the Seahawks, wants to go down that road. Seattle would have to win three road playoff games in order to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.
The path, at least on paper, would be much easier if the Seahawks (12-3) beat the St. Louis Rams (7-8) and lock up the No. 1 seed and home field playoff advantage. They’d get a bye, and you can’t overstate how important that would be. A week of rest at this point of the season would be huge. Then, they’d get a home playoff game, and another one if they won.
So there’s a lot at stake today, and even though the Rams are out of the playoff picture, they should make it tough on the Seahawks as they try to finish .500 for the first time i seven years. St. Louis hell the Hawks to 135 yards and seven first downs the first time around, but somehow managed to lose the game 14-9 when Golden Tate got loose for an 80-yard touchdown reception.
Here’s the key matchup: Seattle left tackle Russell Okung vs. Rams’ defense end Robert Quinn, who leads the NFL with 18 sacks and six forced fumbles. Three of those sacks came against Wilson in the first game on Oct. 28. Okung missed that game with a toe injury, and that injury forced him to miss some snaps last week. If Quinn has a quiet day, then the Seahawks should be in pretty good shape.
Prediction: The Seahawks are favored by 12. If I was betting, I’d take the Rams and the points. This one promises to be close — again. Seattle 19, Rams 17.
Here’s a column I wrote earlier in the week about the Seahawks needing to finish what they started.
This is not a do-or-die game, but it might as well be, writes Terry Blount of ESPN.com.
Richard Sherman’s confident the Seahawks will play better than they did in last week’s loss against Arizona.
Important sub-plot to today’s game: Tacoma News Tribune columnist Dave Boling wonders if QB Russell Wilson bounces back after having a bad day last week?
