Getty Julian Love and the Seattle Seahawks celebrate in Week 15
The Seattle Seahawks are still alive and kicking in the NFC playoff race after a thrilling last-minute win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15. Now, heading into the Seahawks Week 16 matchup with the Tennessee Titans, Seattle’s playoff chances seem to be growing, and even NBC stats man, Steve Kornacki, is fired up about it.
The Seahawks’ playoff chances in Week 16
On Saturday night, NBC (usually politics-related) stats guru, Steve Kornacki, took to his big board to talk about NFL teams like the Seahawks and their 2023 playoff chances.
“Suddenly, the Seahawks are not in the bracket yet, but they are knocking on the door,” Kornacki said before laying out the dire straits the team was in during Week 15.
“Just to put in perspective how much Monday night changed the trajectory of their season, remember, the Seahawks came into that game finishing up a four-game stretch that was the toughest in the league,” Kornacki recalled. “They played the Niners twice, they played the Cowboys, and there they were, going into the fourth quarter down at home against the Eagles. Our PFF model at that point had them at just 10 percent to win that game.”
Seahawks making big moves to challenge for a wild card spot!
📺: NBC & Peacock
From there, the NBC pundit asked the all-important question: “Now, what would it take for the Seahawks to get in?”
“Well, basically, this,” Kornacki explained. “You got three games left. You just faced the toughest four-game stretch. This is a very manageable three-game stretch. Win these three games, and the Seahawks then would just need either the Rams or the Vikings to lose one game. And remember, two of the Vikings final three games are against the Detroit Lions.”
There you have it. While the Seahawks don’t exactly control their own destiny in the playoff race, they only need a tiny bit of help if they win out.
And winning out starts with beating the Titans in Week 16.
Seattle’s chances of beating the Titans
Three games stand between the Seahawks and the 2023 playoffs. In the NFL, though, it’s always one game at a time, and this week, Seattle has to deal with Tennessee before even thinking about the Pittsburgh Steelers or Arizona Cardinals.
Las Vegas thinks the Seahawks are the better team and should win this game on the road. Seattle is a -3 favorite on the road in Week 16, according to FanDuel. Heavy’s own predictive model, powered by Quarter4, likes the road team even a little bit more, setting the spread at Seahawks by -3.5 and giving them a 61 percent chance to win straight up.
The battle of the quarterbacks is the most fascinating piece of this matchup. Geno Smith returns after two weeks away while battling a groin injury. He retakes his starting spot after backup Drew Lock led that improbable late victory over the Eagles.
On the other sideline, rookie starting QB Will Levis will be in street clothes with an ankle injury. That means veteran signal-caller Ryan Tannehill will be under center for the Titans.
This is the most compelling piece of this matchup. While Tannehill lost his job to Levis weeks ago, it wasn’t necessarily because the rookie gives the Titans the best chance to win right now. Starting the second-round pick was more of a rebuilding move than anything else, so Tannehill at QB might actually make Tennessee better right now.
In five seasons with the Titans, Tannehill has a 38-23 record with 13,959 passing yards, 91 touchdowns, and 31 interceptions. He’s also led the team to the playoffs three times and made the AFC Championship Game in 2020.