Getty Seahawks LB Devin Bush
The Seattle Seahawks face a must-win Week 17 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers to get into the 2023 NFL Playoffs. This showdown is huge for all the Seahawks, but for linebacker Devin Bush, who played for the Steelers for his first four seasons in the league, this game has even more meaning.
Devin Bush is ready to take down his former Steelers teammates
Linebacker Devin Bush signed with the Seahawks this offseason on a one-year, $3,500,000 deal. He hasn’t seen a ton of playing time this far. He missed four games this season and is averaging just 14.2 defensive snaps per game, and has not played a single defensive snap in five of his 11 active games.
However, as the Seahawks prepare to face the team that drafted Bush out of Michigan in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Bush is about to get his big opportunity. Starting LB Jordyn Brooks is out vs. the Steelers, so Bush will get the chance to play a lot, and it’s an opportunity he relishes.
“I gotta say, you just gotta look at God’s work. You know?” Bush told Seattle Sports radio’s Michael Bumpus, Stacy Rost, and Dave Wyman. “This whole year I’ve been knocking on the door, knocking on the door then — I didn’t come here to play the Steelers I didn’t sign here for that. So, the opportunity to just present itself, it’s kind of like, I couldn’t have scripted this.”
Despite being excited to play his former team, Bush says he doesn’t need the extra motivation to get fired up for this potentially playoff-clinching game.
“I’m always fired up for every game. But this one, for me, is not because of my former team. I think it’s just the opportunity and the circumstances we’re in right now, so everything is like a must-win,” Bush shared.
And this game is a must-win to keep the Seahawks’ playoff chances high and maybe even get in when the dust settles on Week 17.
Seahawks clinching scenario for Week 17
Ahead of Devin Bush and the Seahawks’ Week 17 matchup with the Steelers, the team has a 70% chance of making the postseason, according to the official NFL.com playoff picture.
A win in Week 17 boosts that 87%, while a loss drops it to a still viable 41%.
Ultimately, the Seahawks’ playoff chances will likely be decided after the team plays the Arizona Cardinals in Week 18. However, there is a scenario — albeit an unlikely one — where Seattle can clinch with a win against Pittsburgh.
The only way the Seahawks clinch a playoff spot on Sunday is if they beat the Steelers and the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings tie on Sunday night, according to NFL.com. This would drop the Packers and Vikings both to 7-8-1 on the season while the Seahawks would go to 9-7 and officially earn a playoff berth.
There have only been 29 ties in the NFL since the league introduced overtime in 1974. The score being deadlocked at the end of overtime does happen on occasion, though, and while there have been no ties this season, there has been at least one every year since 2018.
So, maybe the NFL is due for a tie, and maybe the Packers and the Vikings are just the teams to do it. They have done it in the relatively recent past. On Sep. 16, 2018, these two teams played to a 29-29 draw.