Seahawks clinch wild-card berth after 0-2 start
SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks are headed back to the playoffs.
An outcome that few predicted after a massive reshuffling of their roster this offseason became a certainty Sunday with the Seahawks’ 38-31 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at CenturyLink Field. That clinched a wild-card berth for Seattle, which is sitting in the NFC’s fifth spot and can lock that up with a win over the Arizona Cardinals in next Sunday’s regular-season finale.
The Chiefs (11-4) would have clinched the AFC West and the conference’s No. 1 seed by beating Seattle. But the Seahawks (9-6) pulled off an upset behind three touchdowns from Russell Wilson, two on the ground from Chris Carson and a strong first half from their rebuilt defense.
If the regular season ended right now, here’s how the top six would look in each conference, plus clinching scenarios.
It will be the Seahawks’ seventh playoff appearance in Pete Carroll’s nine seasons in Seattle. The franchise had made the playoffs only 10 times in the 34 seasons before Carroll and general manager John Schneider arrived in 2010.
And it capped another comeback from an 0-2 start. Since the NFL expanded its playoff format to 12 participants in 1990, only 28 teams through 2017 reached the postseason after starting 0-2. One of those teams was the 2015 Seahawks.
The victory that put the 2017 Seahawks back in the playoffs was arguably their most impressive of the season. The Chiefs, who still own the AFC’s best record, opened as 2.5-point road favorites and came to Seattle averaging a league-best 35.6 points per game.
Seattle’s defense, with one starter in free safety Tedric Thompson missing and several more banged up, held MVP front-runner Patrick Mahomes & Co. in check through two quarters. The Seahawks took a 14-10 halftime lead with the help of two takeaways, both coming via forced fumbles that Seattle recovered. The first set up Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown throw to tight end Nick Vannett and the second thwarted a Chiefs scoring opportunity at the end of the second quarter.
Carson gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead on their first possession with a 4-yard touchdown run. He finished with 116 yards on 27 carries to become Seattle’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Marshawn Lynch in 2014.
The deterioration of the Seahawks’ post-Lynch running game was among the leading reasons why they finished 9-7 last season and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They had finished between first and fourth in rushing from 2012 to 2015, then dropped to 25th and 23rd the past two seasons.
The Seahawks, back atop the league in the category this season, produced 210 yards on the ground and an average of 4.9 yards Sunday night.
The Chiefs tied the game at 17 in the third quarter when Mahomes delivered a sidearm throw while running to his right for a 25-yard touchdown to Charcandrick West. They cut Seattle’s lead to 31-28 late in the fourth quarter when Mahomes hit Demarcus Robinson for his third TD, then ran in a two-point try.
That’s when the Seahawks answered with a playoff-worthy drive. Tyler Lockett hauled in an over-the-shoulder catch on a floating pass from Wilson for 45 yards. After taking a sack for a 9-yard loss, Wilson lofted a deep ball that Doug Baldwin hauled in with one hand for 29 yards. Carson punched it in from a yard out to make it 38-28 Seahawks.
Kansas City drove for a field goal then tried an unsuccessful onside kick that went out of bounds.
Wilson finished 18-of-29 passing for 271 yards and a 127.2 rating. His other touchdowns were to Baldwin and tight end Ed Dickson.
Wilson’s three touchdowns gives him 34 on the season, tying the career high he set in 2015 and matched in 2017. He now has 195 for his career, tied with Dave Krieg for the most in franchise history.
Seattle’s first takeaway came on a fumble that defensive end Dion Jordan forced and defensive tackle Jarran Reed recovered. Cornerback Justin Coleman and strong safety Delano Hill teamed up for the second forced fumble and recovery.
Seattle’s defense lost Kam Chancellor to a career-ending neck injury last November, released Richard Sherman over the offseason and then lost Earl Thomas to a broken leg in September. Those three plus Michael Bennett (released), Cliff Avril (injured) and Sheldon Richardson (free agency) added up to six Pro Bowlers gone from the unit.
The Seahawks also let offensive starters Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson, among others, sign elsewhere without making any splash additions of their own in free agency.
Yet here they are, back in the playoffs.