The Seahawks can't win on the road in the NFC. That makes it incredibly difficult for them to win in the NFC playoffs.
Here's the thing about their 38-10 debacle in Green Bay: The result wasn't all that surprising, given how poorly they have played away from Seattle for most of the season.
There have been two interesting exceptions — against the AFC East. They beat up the Jets in Week 4 and shocked the Patriots in Foxborough in Week 10.
But get the Seahawks into their own conference, and their own division, and they have little hope when they're not at home. Los Angeles, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and now Green Bay — they were favored in all those road games, and fell flat in them. That doesn't include the ugly tie in Arizona.
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There's a common theme: Over that 0-4-1 record, they've scored a total of 44 points. That's fewer than nine points per game, making what they did in Lambeau look like a veritable explosion.
Russell Wilson, slowed by ankle and knee injuries, has had a bad year in relation to the lofty expectations he had after playing like the NFL MVP in the second half of 2016. At the least, even when off, he had been protecting the ball.
That hasn't been the case of late. He was picked twice against the Buccaneers in a six-sack game in Week 12. That was his first multiple-interception game of the season, costing the Seahawks in a 12-5 defeat.
He trumped that with the worst game of his super-efficient short career against the Packers. It's Bizarro Wilson to see five INTS and a 43.7 passer rating next to his name. You have to back to his rookie season against a Super Bowl-bound 49ers defense to see a lower latter number.
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That 2012 season was also the last in which the Seahawks weren't a good road team. They've gone 6-2, 5-3, 5-3 when not being supported by "the 12s" over the past three seasons.
For how much they've gained a reputation for being an almost unbeatable home team in front of their Seattle loud crowd, it's their road dominance, anywhere, against anyone in any time zone that's allowed them to become a consistent conference contender.
Last season, because of Wilson's stellar play, their ability to win five consecutive road games starting in Week 7 is what boosted them into the playoffs after a slow start that cost them the NFC West. It wasn't pretty, but it set them up to win that 10-9 wild-card game in Minnesota, and mount a big second-half rally that just fell short in the division round at Carolina.
That kind of mentality and intimidation is gone in '16. Because of their epic fail in Green Bay, the Seahawks now need help to get a top-two seed in the NFC. They won't be catching Dallas for No. 1, and now are looking up at NFC North-leading Detroit, too.
Defensively, they had kept it together well on the road before Sunday, but given how Wilson and the entire offense — line, running backs, receivers, tight ends — have struggled, there has been little margin for error. The pass rush isn't the same, because the defense stays on the field and gets worn down, not being able to tee off with the lead. The injury to safety Earl Thomas has created a surefire new way to exploit the Seahawks — see what Aaron Rodgers did to them all day.
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The Seahawks will win their final NFC road game, at San Francisco. Their other two division games remaining, Los Angeles and Arizona, are at home, where they have gone 6-0. They're trying to be perfect in Seattle for the first time since '12.
But as much as being able to protect home field in the playoffs is important, a good road resume helps create the right championship makeup. It comes with the same feeling of survive and advance mode. That's why the Seahawks have survived and advanced so well.
The Cowboys will have home field, but it's their dominance on the road that has them as the NFC favorite, because it's a sign of not slumping in the toughest situations. Atlanta and Tampa Bay have been terrific on the road to get into their playoff positions, and neither will be fazed to face Seattle again in Seattle. If things held, a divisional playoff date in Detroit would be bad news. The Lions, at 6-1, are the second-best home team in the NFC.
The Seahawks won't have any more road tests to prepare them for what's coming for them in January. They better hope they can find another way to build the necessary winning momentum.
