Thanks for nothing, Kyler Murray. Proving once again that he is an athletically gifted player, but not a quarterback worthy of leading a team to a playoff run, Murray threw two fourth quarterback interceptions against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17. The Seattle Seahawks likely felt the pain of those picks as much as the few Cardinals fans that exist.
Seattle ideally would have gotten help from the Cardinals to make Week 18 meaningful. Instead, Seattle received a double whammy on Saturday as Murray's meltdown led his team to a loss, and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos. The last bit further hurts Seattle's chances to catch up to the Rams in the one tie-breaker that now matters: strength of victory.
Should the Seahawks defeat the Rams in Week 18, the teams would be tied in head-to-head, division record, and conference record. This makes strength of victory the true tie-breaker. But for that to also matter in the final game of the year, Seattle needs some help on Sunday and Monday. The Rams could clinch on Sunday, though, should three of five teams win their games.
Seattle Seahawks need to hope that Sunday goes much better than Saturday in Week 17
The outcomes that Los Angeles needs (and the Seahawks hope do not happen) are the Minnesota Vikings over the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills over the New York Jets, Washington Commanders over the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns over the Miami Dolphins, and, on Monday, the San Francisco 49ers over the Detroit Lions. If three of those outcomes hold true, the Rams are division champs.
Of course, if four of those games go the Seahawks way then Seattle will still have a chance of winning the NFC West by beating Los Angeles in Week 18.
All the games mentioned above are winnable by either team. There are concerns for 12s, though. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is not expected to play versus the Browns. Miami proved earlier this season that if they do not have Tagovailoa, they stink. Cleveland should be expected to win.
Another is that the Jets are extremely unlikely to beat the Bills. Buffalo is good and New York has the shell of a quarterback named Aaron Rodgers. Should Cleveland and Buffalo win, the Rams would just need one more positive outcome. That might not come until Monday when the 49ers and Lions play, so Seahawks fans would have to watch football all weekend only to likely have a depressing outcome.
