Seahawks' Playoff Chances Almost Certain, Seattle Can Clinch Wild-Card Berth In Week 15

The Seattle Seahawks (8-5) didn’t officially clinch a playoff spot on “Monday Night Football,” but they came pretty close. After beating the Minnesota Vikings (6-6-1), the Seahawks essentially assured themselves of getting the NFC’s No.5 seed.

The victory created even more separation between Seattle and Minnesota, giving the Seahawks a 1.5-game lead for the conference’s first wild-card spot. Seattle is two games ahead of the Carolina Panthers (6-7), Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) and Washington Redskins (6-7) with just three games left on the schedule.

The teams out of the current playoff picture have played so poorly that it might only take eight wins to get into the postseason in the NFC. Seattle can officially clinch a playoff berth with a win in Week 15, though they are likely headed for a double-digit win season.

The Seahawks are road favorites in Week 15, per OddsShark, against the San Francisco 49ers (3-10) and the team tied for the NFL’s worst record. They’ll face arguably the league's best team when they host the Kansas City Chiefs (11-2) in Week 16. If Seattle has anything on the line in Week 17 at home against the Arizona Cardinals (3-10), they might be favored by two touchdowns.

There’s a good chance the Seahawks will have nothing to play for in the season finale. They’ve been out of the NFC West race since Week 13 when the Los Angeles Rams (11-2) clinched a second straight division title.

Even if Seattle somehow has a meltdown and fails to win another game, they still might back their way into the playoffs. The Seahawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Carolina, Minnesota and Green Bay. They are guaranteed to have a better conference record than the Eagles.

Seattle has gone 8-3 since losing their first two games of the season. Four of their five losses have come against teams that are headed to the playoffs. The Seahawks lost to the Denver Broncos (6-7) in Week 1.

The Seahawks haven’t finished below .500 since 2011.