This is my favorite time of the year. This is the time of the year when the outcomes of other games have much more meaning to us. You actually can root for one side during games regardless if you like the teams or not.
Here I present my Week 14 Games That Matter *Note that these will only cover games that can impact the seahawks.


FALCONS (11-1) vs PANTHERS (3-9)

Lets go: Panthers
Why: Unless Atlanta loses out, we wont be jumping above them in the seeding and 1st seed will pretty much be a lock for them. However, its pretty obvious that we want them to lose out.


EAGLES (3-9) vs BUCCANEERS (6-6)

Lets go: Eagles
Why: At this point the Eagles are out of contention and Tampa is right on our heals. We currently hold the NFC conference tie-breaker over Tampa, but we dont want that to even be a factor. Heres hoping Andy is trying to salvage his career and get a win here.


RAMS (5-6-1) vs BILLS (5-7)

Lets go: Bills
Why: Rams are currently 4-0-1 in the division. I know, doesnt make any sense. Regardless, the Rams winning out could be a knife in Seattle's back if Seattle lose 1 of its next 3. Really, Really, Really need Rams to lose.


COWBOYS (6-6) vs BENGALS (7-5)

Lets go: Bengals
Why: Another obvious NFC vs AFC matchup. We want the NFC to lose more at this point. Common sense. But lets not forget that the Cowboys are still in the running for a wild-card spot. A loss here would almost seal their fate. And also, screw the cowboys.


RAVENS (9-3) vs REDSKINS (6-6)

Lets go: Ravens
Why: Washington is 1 game behind us and also currently holds a better conference record than us. If they were 7-5 today, they would be 6th seed, not us. Swallow that one for a bit. Ravens are coming off a sore loss, so here's to hoping they come out fighting.


DOLPHINS (5-7) vs 49ers (8-3-1)

Lets go: Do I even need too...


BEARS (8-4) vs VIKINGS (6-6)

Lets go: Vikings
Why: This is actually one of the harder games to pick a side because win or lose for either effects us. If the vikings win, they stay in trailing distance of us, if the Bears win, they stay at least 1 game ahead of us. But because of the tie-breakers we hold over the vikings, we could technically let them catch us. If the bears lose and we win, we instantly go above them due to the tie breaker. Bears losing gives us a better chance at a higher seed. Lets go Vikings.


SAINTS (5-7) vs GIANTS (7-5)

Lets go: Saints?
Why: This one gets tricky. The current assumption is that NY is the division winner. NY currently has no head 2 head with us but does hold a better conference record then us. Assuming they keep the division, then them losing or winning is irrelevant at this point unless we take our division too (which is where seeding will effect us), but if Washington somehow takes the division from them, we could be battling for the wild-card spot with them. The saints however have a worse conference record then us even if they beat NY. The Saints getting to the playoffs is far more difficult even if they do win this one.


LIONS (4-8) vs PACKERS (8-4)

Lets go: LIONS
Why: At this point, Detroit poses no threat to us. Them getting in means we lost all but 1 and a bunch of other teams tanked as well. Obviously though, a loss by GB means we now jump ahead of them in the Ranking (assuming we win). If we take the division and they hold on to theirs, we gain homefield advantage over them. If CHI reclaims the north, then that win against GB will really shine.


Feel free to discuss and disagree, I see two game where people could make arguments for either side.

Nice breakdown! Of these the one I would like the most to play out is the Phins over the 9rs. I would love for the 23 Dec home game against them to be to take control of the Division. Other then that a Packers loss would be great to!

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Beast Mode 05 Sep 12 - "And then with our defense playing the way that they've been playing, we don't even need an offense."

Working off the fact that we need to win to deserve the playoffs, and not worrying about teams that are behind us, I want to see the Bears, Packers and Niners all lose.

Kid, I think we proved that "deserve" has nothing to do with the play-offs when we got in at 7-9 and beat the defending Super Bowl champs. If you're in, you're in. Karma has nothing to do with it.

Sorry, I didn't mean it quite that way. I just meant that IMO, since we can win and secure our own destiny, that I'm not worried about teams that are behind us.

i agree, but this also covers potential seeding.

Not knocking your post one bit. Great post actually, I am just saying how my thought processes are working as we move closer towards the end of the season.

In my head, we need to continue to win first and foremost. If we do that, then we only need to worry about teams ahead of us, because if we don't lose, we don't worry about the teams behind us.

The potential is there for us to lose a game, even possibly two, but I'm on a "Seahawk High" right now and refuse to consider that

Good breakdown.The Ravens could hold out future in there hands if we dont win out.They play the Giants and the Skins who both would win tiebreakers over us if we all end up 10-6.The Skins just need to lose period.If they win out either the Giants or Bears need to lose 2.I think.Its gonna get crazy down the stretch

Thanks to cartire for getting this information to us about the games this weekend that affect our playoff chances.

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Still missing you everyday pal.

This is my favorite time of year as well, thanks for this post!

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"It wasn't just a dimb coincidence lik you probably tgought. They tested what makes you a fat slov and those colors won just like Emerald is telling you what happens be t...... next!" -- jamsomatic

My 2013 adopt-a-rookie: #humblethug

Wanted to move this back to the top. Lots of good info here playoff wise.

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Still missing you everyday pal.

I want the Bears to eliminate the Vikings and keep the Bears/Packers race on full tilt. Frankly neither the Bears not Vikings trouble me. They will both lose multiple games for remainder of season. Chicago is crippled with Urlacher and Jennings sustaining injuries vs. us. Plus I would rather see Chicago take that division than Green Bay although I don't believe they will.

This was my biggest question as well. CHI taking the division back is the most optimal solution. But looking at GB's schedule, they have to lose the bears to give it up. I just dont think CHI can beat GB. GB always smothers them and I dont see things changing here. So I went with the next optimal which is, if we dont get the division, having a tie-breaker over chi puts us at chance at the 5th seed playing against the 3rd seed Packers. We can claim a another victory over everyone who said we cant beat the Packers on their turf.

*note, that the assumption of GB being 3rd string is that SF didnt lose more the one game because they remained Division champs over us.

This is getting fun!!! Look what Mike Carey was trying to take away from us...

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This info (along with f. football to a degree) makes watching non-seahawks games a lot more fun. Football is entertaining on its own, but having a dog in the fight is the edge-of-the-seat factor.

I second that. Thanks cartire.

Can we get this thread stickied?

Agreed. That would be awesome.

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"It wasn't just a dimb coincidence lik you probably tgought. They tested what makes you a fat slov and those colors won just like Emerald is telling you what happens be t...... next!" -- jamsomatic

My 2013 adopt-a-rookie: #humblethug

I am still on Bears, here. I'm with you on Saints over Giants, too.

Packers/Seahawks would be a TV epic. Not just what both fan bases want but probably what all of NFL fans would want.