The Seahawks soon come to terms with reality.

The 2023 Seahawks resembled a child learning to ride a bike; it was unclear if they would be able to keep up or tumble off.

It appears that they are going to land in the shrubbery based on the events of the prior five days and the upcoming three games.

Since Sunday, they have gone from being 6-3 to 6-5, losing by 18 to the 49ers and the Rams due to a missed field goal. The Seahawks and Cowboys play next Thursday night in Dallas. The 49ers in San Francisco come next. Next up are the Eagles.

The Seahawks’ incredible start to the season—which saw them overtake the 49ers atop the NFC West—is giving way to the fact that Seattle is simply not good enough to compete with the NFC’s top teams. They might not even qualify for the postseason if they lose the next three games and fall to 6-8.

That does not imply their conclusion. However, that is the direction it is now headed. To be in the running for a wild-card berth, they must win at least one of the next three games. It won’t be simple, particularly given the Rams, who swept the Seahawks this season, would win the tiebreaker.

Winnable games remain in the final three: at the Titans, Steelers, and Cardinals. Even if the best-case situation is 9-8, it could not matter which of the three possible season-ending wins.

9-8 could potentially be sufficient this year to secure a postseason berth. There’s a ton of mediocrity and two playoff positions up for grabs in the scrum of teams behind the Eagles, 49ers, Lions, and Cowboys. For Seattle, it will be crucial to hope that the Rams, who are now 4-6, don’t heat up in the closing minutes.

It won’t be simple. The 49ers-Eagles-49ers-Cowboys stretch appeared at one point to be a chance for the Seahawks to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the conference. It’s all about survival these days.

In seven days, they will face a Dallas squad that has won 13 straight games at home, giving them another chance to survive. A Seattle victory over the Cowboys would drastically alter the atmosphere right now. If Seattle finishes with the No. 7 seed and the 49ers secure the No. 2 place, a loss could grease the wheels for not making it at all or pave the way for a possible trip to San Francisco in the wild-card round.

That’s hardly the way to turn the tenth anniversary of their lone Super Bowl victory—a victory that took place in their own stadium on Thanksgiving night—into a deep playoff run, given what the 49ers did to Seattle.

Again, it isn’t finished. However, it has abruptly changed from a surefire path to the postseason to a hold on and hope for the best stretch run that, given their current play, would either guarantee them a spot in the postseason or an early exit from it.