GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Seattle Seahawks have missed out on the postseason in two of the last three seasons.
Even with a 21-20 over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, Seattle missed the playoffs because the Green Bay Packers won its division matchup in Week 18.
Here are three takeaways from the Seahawks win.
NFC playoff matchups
After 18 weeks of football, the NFC playoffs are finalized.
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
- Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
- Detroit Lions (12-5)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-8)
- Green Bay Packers (9-8)
- New Orleans Saints (9-8)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-8)
Now here are the first-round matchups in the NFC:
- 2. Dallas Cowboys vs. 7. Green Bay Packers
- 3. Detroit Lions vs. 6. Los Angeles Rams
- 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 5. Philadelphia Eagles
The one that got away
In times like this it's hard not to look at games the Seahawks lost and try to re-ligitate the game and see what would have happened if they had won the game instead.
The glaring loss on the Seahawks schedule is easy to point out in 2023.
Seattle had division rival Los Angeles on the ropes on Nov. 19, holding a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter. At that point, the 3-6 Rams were in the midst of a three-game losing streak. If the Rams had lost in Week 11, it might have changed the trajectory of their entire season.
Instead, the Seahawks blew its double-digit lead and the Rams ended its season winning six of its last eight games to clinch a postseason berth while the Seahawks finished on the outside looking in.
If you flip that result in mid-November, we are likely looking at a Seahawks Wild Card game next week, while the Rams would be the ones watching on the couch.
Fake field goal gaffe
With the Cardinals facing 4th-and-3, Arizona sent out Matt Prater and the holder for what appeared to be a routine field goal attempt.
The Cardinals had other ideas. Prater and the holder were motioned out wide as decoys and Kyler Murray remained in the game.
Flummoxed by the trickery, the Seahawks defense allowed tight end Trey McBride to leak out in open space in the end zone and the Cardinals converted a touchdown instead of three points.
