SEATTLE — Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best one.
To figure out why the Seattle Seahawks are no longer in control of their playoff fate, why they dropped a second straight game at home late in the regular season and why most postgame interview sessions were shorter than a commercial break, look no further than Geno Smith’s description of their final offensive play against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
“I threw a pick.”
Smith and the Seahawks had been in this position many times before: trailing in the final minutes with a chance to tie or win the game. Statistically, Smith has been one of the better quarterbacks in the league in those situations since becoming the team’s starter in 2022. But that explanation was all he could muster when asked why Seattle came up short on consecutive series to cement the team’s costly 27-24 loss to the Vikings at Lumen Field.
The defeat was the Seahawks’ second straight following a four-game win streak, dropping them to 8-7. They could have remained in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth and the NFC West title but now must win against the 4-11 Chicago Bears on Thursday night and root for the Arizona Cardinals (7-8) to beat the Rams (9-6) in Los Angeles next Saturday.
With a win, the Rams would very likely secure the division title regardless of the Week 18 rematch with Seattle in Los Angeles due to the strength-of-victory tiebreaker, which heavily favors the Rams with two weeks to go. In theory, the Seahawks could make up that much ground, but it would require several games by other teams working in their favor over the next two weeks.
`,p(s,”class”,”credit svelte-btcuqr”),p(h,”class”,”see-all svelte-btcuqr”),p(a,”class”,”footer svelte-btcuqr”),p(t,”class”,”app-wrapper svelte-btcuqr”)},m(g,v){ce(g,t,v),Qr(n,t,null),P(t,r),P(t,a),P(a,s),P(a,c),P(a,h),f=!0,l||(d=et(h,”click”,e[4]),l=!0)},p(g,[v]){const E={};v&2&&(E.initialMetric=g[1]),n.$set(E)},i(g){f||(Jr(n.$$.fragment,g),f=!0)},o(g){go(n.$$.fragment,g),f=!1},d(g){g&&oe(t),Kr(n),l=!1,d()}}}function al(e,t,n){let{data:r}=t,{teamData:a}=t,{chartOption:s}=t;const c=ol(r.forecast_history,a,s,r.clinches),h=()=>window.location.href=`https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5698572/?page=${a.alias}`;return e.$$set=f=>{“data”in f&&n(3,r=f.data),”teamData”in f&&n(0,a=f.teamData),”chartOption”in f&&n(1,s=f.chartOption)},[a,s,c,r,h]}class ll extends ti{constructor(t){super(),ei(this,t,al,sl,Gr,{data:3,teamData:0,chartOption:1})}}new ll({target:document.getElementById(`graphics-app-${teamalias}-${chartOption}`),props:{data:JSON.parse(document.getElementById(`graphics-data-${teamalias}-${chartOption}`).textContent),teamData:JSON.parse(document.getElementById(`graphics-teamData-${teamalias}-${chartOption}`).textContent),chartOption}});
