NFL Seattle Seahawks

Next Four Games Are Crucial For Seattle Seahawks’ Playoff Hopes

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By @The12thDude

Earl Thomas

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The defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks find themselves in unfathomable territory. Entering Week 8 of the NFL season, the Seahawks are 3-3, which equals the total amount of losses that they had during their 2013 campaign. As it stands right now, the Seahawks are third in the division behind the Arizona Cardinals (5-1), and the equally struggling San Francisco 49ers (4-3).

Though the Seahawks’ current position is very surprising, you have to consider that they are dealing with some serious injuries. Seattle has good depth, but that doesn’t matter much when even the depth is out with injuries, and that has been the case with the Seahawks this year. More importantly, however, is the fact that this is not the same team as last season. Yes, Seattle was able to maintain vital core players, such as Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, but they also lost the likes of Golden Tate, Chris Clemons and Red Bryant, among others. Seattle has new players on its roster, and the team has an entirely different personality as a result. As a group, Seattle has clearly not yet found its rhythm.

So, at 3-3, Seattle finds itself in dangerous territory before the season’s midpoint. It’s not where anyone expected them to be, but it is where they are at.

The next four games are vital for Seattle’s season. They play the Carolina Panthers (3-3-1) on the road tomorrow, and then they have back-to-back home games against the Oakland Raiders (0-6) and New York Giants (3-4). They will then travel to take on the Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) before the last six weeks of the regular season, where they are faced with the brutal task of taking on the Cardinals and 49ers twice and the Philadelphia Eagles (5-1), before finally finishing at home against the St. Louis Rams (2-4).

The next four weeks will be anything but easy, but they are manageable. At 3-3, the Seahawks have about a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Football Outsiders. That number will change drastically depending on how they perform over the next four weeks before hitting the daunting part of their schedule.

You always hope to win every game, but for Seattle, it is a must if they want to win the NFC West, in my opinion. The Cardinals have a decent lead right now, but their schedule is going to be pretty tough the rest of the way. I also don’t believe for a second that the 49ers are going anywhere.

The Seahawks need to be at 7-3 before the division starts to punch each other in the mouth. One loss over the next four weeks could be the difference between making the playoffs, or sitting at home on the couch come January. This is where players like Thomas and Russell Wilson become extraordinary, and coaches like Pete Carroll become great.

Forget the injuries. No excuses. Like Al Davis once said, “Just win, baby!”

Tyson Sweet is a Seattle Seahawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @The12thDude, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google!

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