NFL Insider Is With ‘No Confidence’ Seahawks Will Get Through Playoffs

admin | November 30, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

In Week 13, the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys square off on Thursday Night Football.

The Seahawks’ next four games will be difficult and will probably decide whether or not they qualify for the NFC playoffs. Game two of that run is here. With the schedule getting tougher, at least one NFL expert, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, believes Seattle has little chance of making the playoffs at 6-5.

Mike Florio gives Seahawks little chance to make the playoffs

The hosts of Pro Football Talk Live, Mike Florio and Chareen Williams, played a game called “confidence meter” on Tuesday, Nov. 28. They gave each playoff contender a number indicating their level of confidence in them making it to the postseason.

When it came to the Seahawks, Florio set the stage, pointing out that although the team is currently ranked sixth in the NFC playoff picture, the next three games will be extremely difficult for Pete Carroll’s team following back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, as well as the Cowboys, 49ers, and Philadelphia Eagles.

Although Williams believes the Rams have a greater chance than the Seahawks to get to the postseason, she nevertheless rates Seattle’s odds of winning the six and seven seeds as decent at a four out of ten.

Florio, though, is far less optimistic about the Seahawks’ prospects.

“If everything goes as I anticipate, they will finish 6-8 after these next three games, which I will choose to lose all three of them. I’m leaving! Florio projected audaciously. “I don’t think they will qualify for the playoffs. That they are now the six-seed doesn’t matter to me. They are running on fumes now that they have depleted their fuel and won’t be able to finish the season with a postseason berth.

Going a step further, the NBC commentator conjectured that quarterback Geno Smith would lose his job if the team misses the playoffs in early 2024.

What that implies for Geno Smith intrigues me. For one, it’s a one-year contract at $28 million, and they can move on after this year, even though it was billed as a three-year, $100 million-plus contract, Florio clarified. “And perhaps they will if they don’t qualify for the playoffs.”

The Seahawks face a tough Cowboys defense in Week 13

But that’s a discussion for another day. Let’s see how the Seahawks emerge from their current schedule ordeal. The team’s primary priority at the moment is winning Thursday night’s game against the Cowboys, which is no small feat.

With an 8-3 record on the year, Dallas is tied with the 49ers and Detroit Lions and two games behind the conference-leading Eagles (10-1) in the NFC East. They now have the No. 5 seed in the NFC postseason standings thanks to their record, and if they defeat Seattle on Thursday, they should essentially lock up that position.

Before this matchup, which will begin the Week 13 schedule, Seattle faces some more intimidating statistics in addition to its season record of wins and losses.

The Cowboys have a 5-0 record at home this season and a 29-point average victory margin at AT&T Stadium. Their formidable defense, which has allowed just 12 points per game throughout their home winning run, is largely to blame for this.

Dallas’ Big D is second in total yards (3,039), passing yards (1,839), and first downs (186) allowed, third in scoring (185), and 12th in rushing yards allowed (1,200). The unit also has 17 takeaways (T-12), and defensive back DaRon Bland has set a new single-season NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns.

Backing the raw numbers up, PFF grades the Cowboys defense third overall (88.7) — behind the 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, who both destroyed the Seahawks in the last month — first in tackling (80.8), second in pass rush (90.6), fourth in coverage (90.7), and 10th in run defense (67.5).

With starting running back Kenneth Walker III likely sidelined with an oblique injury and Pete Carroll’s recent remarks regarding offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and the offense, the Seahawks have an extremely difficult test in Week 13. Things might get nasty quickly.