Seahawks playoff picture: How Seattle can clinch NFC wild-card spot in Week 18

Vinnie Iyer

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Seahawks playoff picture: How Seattle can clinch NFC wild-card spot in Week 18 image

The Seahawks are trying to make the NFL playoffs as an NFC wild-card team for a second straight season. At 8-8 going into Week 18 of the 2023 season, they are trying to repeat '22 by finishing 9-8 and earning the No. 7 seed.

Here's what needs to happen for Seattle on the final Sunday for a return to the postseason:

LIVE: Updated NFL standings, playoff scenarios for Week 18

Seahawks playoff picture 2024

The Seahawks are sitting at No. 9, two spots out of a playoff position behind the No. 7 Saints (9-8) and No. 8 Packers (8-8). Although Green Bay has the same 8-8 record, it holds the head-to-head tiebreaker based on strength of victory. That's because both teams are even in conference record (6-5) and record in common games (3-3).

How Seahawks can clinch a wild-card berth in Week 18

The Seahawks cannot make the playoffs with a loss to the Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday. A tie to improve to 8-8-1 also won't work after the Saints already improved to 9-8.

The Seahawks need to beat the Cardinals and hope the Packers lose or tie. In this scenario, the Seahawks improve to 9-8 while the Packers fall to 8-9 or 8-8-1. The Seahawks, at 9-8, would then get the final wild-card berth over the same-record Saints because of having the superior conference record.

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.