KIRKLAND — The stakes heading into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals were pretty succinct.
Win, and you’re in.
The Seattle Seahawks did just that — they’ve clinched a fourth consecutive NFC West title and will be heading to the playoffs for the fifth year in a row — and now there’s not much at stake at all.
With three games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Seahawks (9-4) are searching for motivation down the stretch.
Seattle is currently slotted with the NFC’s No. 3 seed, and there’s not much chance of going in either direction. The No. 2 Green Bay Packers (11-2) are two games ahead of the Seahawks, while the No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5) are one game and a tiebreaker behind.
Barring an unforeseen swoon from either the Seahawks or Packers, the top five seeds — the 9-4 New York Giants are likely to earn the top wild-card spot — are all but set.
But Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is not letting up quite yet.
Not much for statistical probabilities, Holmgren said Monday that he’s going to keep pushing until someone tells him his team is mathematically out of the chase for the two NFC byes.
“We have three games left in the regular season to keep our momentum going,” Holmgren said, “and to really try to achieve something more. A little bit better positioning in the playoffs, that’s a real goal.
“We’ll see. We need some people to stumble a little bit, but we’ll see how that goes.”
In order to catch the Packers, one of two scenarios would have to take place:
n The Seahawks win out, and Green Bay loses at least two of its final three games; or,
n The Seahawks win two of their final three games while Green Bay goes 0-3.
Considering that the Packers have lost just two of their first 13 games, neither scenario seems likely.
And yet, Holmgren is holding out hope.
“The first week off, and then playing at home, is huge,” Holmgren said. “If you look at it statistically, that’s a big deal.”
NFC teams have gone 26-4 over the past 15 postseasons when coming off a first-round bye.
With that goal still barely alive, there will be no resting the starters or watering down game plans — this week, at least. Holmgren refused to get into hypotheticals about what may or may not happen after the No. 2 seed is no longer an option.
“The only reason I would give a player off right now would be because of an injury,” Holmgren said. “We still have a lot to play for.”
Holmgren went on to describe the team’s injury situation as encouraging.
“We’re about as healthy as we’ve been all season,” Holmgren said.
During the Monday press conference, there were the obligatory questions about how this team compares to the 2005 squad that went 13-3 and had an 11-game winning streak snapped before resting several starters in the regular-season finale. That, Holmgren said, is like comparing apples and oranges.
“Other than the fact that we’re in a position to go to the playoffs, and we’ve won some games in a row, I’d rather not compare (the two Seahawks teams) too much,” Holmgren said.
This year’s Seahawks, despite their five-game winning streak, still have areas that could be improved. Holmgren mentioned short-yardage offense, special teams and the running game.
Holmgren is particularly concerned with the running game, but he said Monday that he believes his team can have a successful postseason without a consistent ground attack.
“New England’s proving the point,” Holmgren said. “While they run the ball very well, throwing the ball 33 times in a row (as the Patriots did in a win Sunday), no one’s saying they have to run the ball. They’re proving that.
“You’d like a little more balance, and there will come a time when you have to run the ball. But that might not mean you run the ball 45 times and pass it 20.”
For now, whatever the Seahawks are doing seems to be working.
And Holmgren isn’t going to change up now — no matter how locked into a playoff position the Seahawks may be.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
