Just about every time the Seattle Seahawks took control of the NFC West this season, the St. Louis Rams came along to spoil their party.
It happened again Monday night, and the Seahawks weren’t even on the field.
While many Seahawks players watched on television, the Rams put Seattle’s NFC West title hopes on hold by knocking off a watered-down Philadelphia Eagles team. The 20-7 win over Philadelphia kept St. Louis (7-8) alive in the hunt for a division crown.
“You never want to wait for someone else to do your business,” Seahawks linebacker Orlando Huff said while watching the game with teammate Ken Lucas at Fox Sports Grill in downtown Seattle. “We’ll just take it one step at a time. As long as we’re in the playoffs, that’s all that matters right now. There’s no disappointment. We’ve just got to get it done Sunday.”
The Seahawks (8-7) can still win the West by defeating Atlanta at Qwest Field on Sunday. They could even clinch the division before halftime of that game, as the Rams face the New York Jets in a game that starts at 10 a.m. Pacific time – three hours before Seattle and the Falcons kick off. Should St. Louis lose to the Jets, the Seahawks would win their first division title since 1999.
But the players and coaches aren’t going to be too concerned with that result. They want to beat the Falcons (11-4) and win the division title outright.
“Regardless of the outcome of the Ram game, we’re going out to win this weekend,” offensive lineman Robbie Tobeck said Monday morning. “Coach (Mike Holmgren) made that clear to us. Yeah, we made the playoffs, but we want to win the division. And we want to win this game against Atlanta.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us. Hopefully we finish the season 9-7 and not 8-8.”
Seattle clinched at least a wild-card berth in the NFL playoffs by beating Arizona on Sunday. The Seahawks needed St. Louis to lose Monday if they were to clinch the NFC West and host a first-round playoff game.
If the Seahawks win the West this weekend, they would host a home playoff game against Minnesota, Carolina, New Orleans or – you guessed it – the pesky Rams.
St. Louis would win the NFC West in the event of a tie because they have beaten Seattle in both head-to-head meetings this year. That would leave the Seahawks as a wild-card team.
If Seattle fails to win the division title, and Minnesota beats Washington on Sunday, the Seahawks would travel to Green Bay for the second postseason in a row. If Minnesota loses next week, the wild-card Seahawks would go to St. Louis for a third meeting with the Rams.
Even if Seattle wins the division, it can be no higher than a No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
The Seahawks could finish with a 9-7 record, and could conceivably tie NFC North representative Green Bay with the third-best record among division champs. But the Packers (9-6) hold the third tie-breaker – better record against common opponents. Green Bay is 5-0 against Minnesota, St. Louis, Dallas and Carolina, while Seattle is 3-5 against the same four teams.
The Rams’ win Monday wasn’t that shocking when considering Philadelphia’s lineup. The Eagles (13-2) had so many reserves on the field that even the Philadelphia coaching staff may have needed a roster to know who was who.
What was surprising about the St. Louis victory was that it marked the first time since the opening weekend of the regular season that both the Rams and Seahawks won in the same week.
Even though Seattle already has a spot in the postseason wrapped up, the division title is important in that it comes with a first-round home game. The Seahawks are 12-3 at Qwest Field over the past two seasons, so they would prefer to stay home rather than travel to Green Bay or St. Louis.
“We know how difficult it is to go and play on the road, especially after last year when we went to Green Bay,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “If that same game was played at home for us, maybe we get the win.
“Sometimes you’re looking for any advantage or any little help you can get. The way our crowd has been this year, it’s been a huge help.”
The Seahawks will have that crowd for at least one more game – a game that Seattle now needs to win to wrap up the NFC West.
“Momentum’s a crazy thing,” Tobeck said. “A team can struggle through the year, get momentum late in the season, and momentum can carry them into the Super Bowl.”
That goal will have to wait. For now, the NFC West title is all that concerns the Seahawks.
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