RENTON — Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks still have playoff seeding to play for.
However, Seattle’s playoff fate may be out of its own hands.
The Seahawks go into Sunday’s season finale at Arizona with the possibility of being either the NFC’s fifth or sixth seed to the playoffs, and Seattle still has three potential first-round foes.
The two games that are germane to Seattle’s situation are the Seahawks’ game against the Cardinals, along with the Minnesota Vikings’ trip to face the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title.
If Minnesota beats Green Bay, Seattle’s result against Arizona is irrelevant. The Seahawks will be the sixth seed and travel to face the third-seeded Vikings in the first round of the playoffs, regardless of whether they beat the Cardinals.
If Green Bay beats Minnesota, then Seattle has two possible destinations. Should the Seahawks beat Arizona, then Seattle would be the fifth seed and travel to face fourth-seeded Washington in the first round. If the Seahawks lose to Arizona, then Seattle would be the sixth seed and travel to third-seeded Green Bay in the first round.
The Seattle-Arizona game starts at 1:25 p.m. Sunday, while the Minnesota-Green Bay game is at 5:30 p.m. So the Seahawks will have to do some scoreboard watching following their game against Arizona to determine the team’s flight plan for the playoffs.
Don’t expect Seattle to get any help from Arizona, either. The Cardinals still have the chance of earning the NFC’s top seed, should Arizona beat Seattle and Carolina lose at home against Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay-Carolina game was originally scheduled for 10 a.m., but it was moved to 1:25 p.m. so that it took place simultaneously to the Seattle-Arizona game, taking away the possibility of the Cardinals knowing they have nothing to play for prior to taking the field against the Seahawks.
Snohomish invades the VMAC
A contingent from Snohomish High School, led by athletic director Mark Perry and former longtime offensive line coach Ed Lucero, was on hand for Seattle’s practice Wednesday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. The Snohomish group were the guests of Seahawks assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tom Cable, who graduated from Snohomish in 1982.
“It’s always great to have coach Lucero here,” Cable said. “The guy taught me when I was 16. I’m a product of those people, so I’m always proud of Snohomish and that whole thing. It means the world to me.”
Bennett undergoes procedure
Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett’s status for Sunday’s game is unknown after Bennett underwent an injection procedure on his injured big toe, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday. Bennett, who leads the Seahawks with 9.5 sacks and was recently named to his first Pro Bowl, has been playing through the injury in recent weeks.
In other injury news, tackle Russell Okung, who sat out last Sunday’s 23-17 loss to St. Louis, returned to practice in a limited fashion Wednesday and looks set to return for this Sunday’s game. Strong safety Kam Chancellor, who’s missed two games because of a bruised tailbone, remained out of practice and his status for Sunday is unknown. Tight end Luke Willson and guard J.R. Sweezy, who both have concussions, also sat out Wednesday’s practice.
Travel plans
Usually when the Seahawks travel to face a west-coast team they depart the day before the game. However, Seattle is taking a different approach for Sunday’s game at Arizona, treating it like an eastern road contest by flying Friday to Phoenix. Seattle’s last three road games have been out east, and the Seahawks will have to travel east for the first round of the playoffs as well.
“It’s just to stay in the same travel mode that we’ve been in,” Carroll explained. “Our guys have done it well and we want to make sure we’re on it and we don’t throw them a curveball and go with a shorter trip right now.”
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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