Seahawks Awaiting NFC West Grudge Match After Packers Implode in Chicago
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Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images [/caption]
Racing out to a 21-3 halftime lead over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, the Green Bay Packers looked to be well on their way to a road date against the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round, setting up a chess match between Mike Macdonald and Matt LaFleur.
But quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears, as it turned out, had other plans. Rebounding from a rough first two quarters and continuing to excel at erasing deficits in the second half of games, Chicago scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to steal a 31-27 victory, eliminating its NFC North rival from the postseason in stunning fashion.
With Chicago advancing via epic comeback, Seattle doesn’t yet know who it will host at Lumen Field next weekend. But regardless of Sunday’s outcome in the final NFC Wild Card round game between Philadelphia and San Francisco, Macdonald’s squad will face an NFC West rival for a third time in the Divisional Round.
Holding off the upset-minded Panthers on Saturday, the fifth-seeded Rams will travel to the Pacific Northwest if the sixth-seeded 49ers lose to the Eagles on Sunday afternoon. However, if the 49ers upset the defending champions in the City of Brotherly Love, it will be Kyle Shanahan’s team that has a date for a rematch in the Emerald City instead.
The Seahawks split their season series with the Rams and 49ers, dropping their first game against both rivals before landing signature wins against them in the final three weeks of the regular season to clinch an NFC West title and the No. 1 seed.
Opening Macdonald’s second season at Lumen Field, San Francisco used a late forced fumble from Nick Bosa against quarterback Sam Darnold to fend off Seattle’s late comeback attempt on September 7, holding on for a 17-13 road win. In Week 11, Los Angeles escaped with a 21-19 victory after picking off Darnold four times and watching Jason Myers’ game-winning field goal attempt from 62 yards fall well short of the upright.
But since that loss at SoFi Stadium, the Seahawks have won seven consecutive games, including Darnold enacting revenge against the Rams with an overtime touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and two-point conversion completed to Eric Saubert, finishing off a 38-37 win on Thursday Night Football. Two weeks later, Seattle’s suffocating defense shut down Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan’s high-powered scheme, holding San Francisco to just a field goal in a 13-3 win that clinched the division and NFC’s lone bye.
Defeating either opponent a second time won’t be an easy task, as the Rams and 49ers combined to win 25 games in the regular season as part of the NFL’s premier division. With that said, both teams have clear areas of concern advancing deeper into the postseason, starting with San Francisco’s injury situation, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
Long before the 49ers surprised by positioning themselves to win the NFC’s top seed in Week 18, Bosa suffered a torn ACL and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner fractured/dislocated his ankle, ending their seasons. First round pick Mykel Williams also suffered a torn ACL. In recent weeks, left tackle Trent Williams, receiver Ricky Pearsall, tight end George Kittle, and linebacker Dee Winters have all missed time as well, further pushing the team’s depth to the brink.
While San Francisco managed to sustain a top-10 ranked scoring defense for a good chunk of the season after losing Bosa and Warner, Robert Saleh’s group allowed 89 points from Week 15 to Week 17 and yielded 180-plus rushing yards to Seattle in the finale, with the injuries starting to truly take a toll down the stretch.
As for the Rams, the healthy return of Davante Adams and Tyler Higbee has given MVP favorite Matthew Stafford his full arsenal of weapons at disposal for a playoff run and it can be argued they have more firepower than anyone. But a once potent defense has regressed substantially in the second half of the season, allowing more than 28 points per game since Week 12, including allowing Bryce Young and the Panthers to score 31 against them in the Wild Card round. Special teams has continued to be a thorn in the team’s side as well with Carolina blocking a punt on Saturday that nearly helped the home team pull off a massive upset.
Either way, depending on the final result on Sunday night in Philadelphia, the Seahawks will have the benefit of playing in front of the 12s as they seek a grudge match win against a bitter rival to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since January 2015.
