The Seattle Seahawks are headed back to the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 seasons under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider.
The win that secured their latest postseason berth might have been a preview of their first-round matchup.
The Seahawks rushed for 181 yards Sunday and held off a late rally by the Washington Football Team to escape FedExField with a 20-15 victory in Landover, Maryland. What was shaping up to be their second straight blowout win ended up coming down to the final possession, with Seattle needing three sacks on Washington's final drive to close out it out.
With the Rams (9-5) getting upset by the previously winless New York Jets on Sunday, the Seahawks (10-4) can claim the NFC West title with a win over Los Angeles next Sunday at Lumen Field. Still in play for the Seahawks is a trip back to FedExField to face Washington as the No. 5 seed, which would have been the case had the playoffs started this weekend.
"It's a really big deal," Carroll said of Seattle's postseason berth. "There's a lot of stuff that happened. Getting 10 wins is a marker, and being in the playoffs with games to go, that's a beautiful thing. We're playing for everything, which is great. Again next week will be another championship game for us, just what we've been preparing for."
The Seahawks led 20-3 early in the third quarter after Carlos Hyde burst through a huge hole on the right side for a 50-yard touchdown. That overtook Russell Wilson's 38-yard scramble from earlier in the game as Seattle's longest run of the season. Chris Carson led the Seahawks with 63 rushing yards on 15 carries while Hyde (two for 55) and Wilson (six for 52) also topped 50 yards on the ground.
Rashaad Penny, Seattle's 2018 first-round pick, carried only twice for 6 yards in his first game since tearing his ACL last December. No. 4 tailback DeeJay Dallas left the field on a cart with his right ankle in an air cast but suffered only a sprain, according to Carroll.
The Seahawks' offensive gameplan to combat No. 2 overall pick Chase Young and Washington's loaded defensive line was to get the ball out quickly on shorter throws. That contributed to Wilson finishing with a season-low 121 yards on 18-of-27 passing, but it also kept him clean. He wasn't sacked for the second week in a row as Washington finished with only three official QB hits.
"This is a tremendous pass-rush team," Carroll said. "They've got four [first-round picks] up there hauling ass at you, and they didn't get Russ. That was awesome."
Wilson's lone touchdown pass was a 10-yard laser into the end zone to tight end Jacob Hollister. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hollister had 0.92 yards of separation on the play. That gave Wilson's 31 tight-window touchdown passes since the start of 2017, nine more than any other player in that span. (A tight window is defined as less than 1 yard of separation.)
Wilson was intercepted in the fourth quarter, ending a Seahawks drive into Washington territory, when his roll-out pass was tipped. His 121 passing yards were his fewest since Week 14 of the 2018 season and the fourth-lowest total of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Seahawks appeared to catch a break with Alex Smith's injured calf forcing Washington to start backup Dwayne Haskins. They intercepted Haskins twice and held him in check through two and a half quarters until he led touchdown drives on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to rally Washington from a 17-point deficit.
Haskins and Washington were driving for what would have been a go-ahead touchdown after taking over with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left. They had first-and-10 from Seattle's 23, aided by a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness on linebacker K.J. Wright. But Seattle got sacks on consecutive plays by L.J. Collier and Carlos Dunlap to set up an unsuccessful Hail Mary.
Rookie Alton Robinson had a strip-sack earlier on that drive, but Haskins recovered it. Strong safety Jamal Adams chased down Haskins in the first half for sack No. 9.5 on the season. Adams, acquired in a summer trade with the Jets, broke the NFL record for most sacks in a single season by a defensive back last week.
A reporter wasn't finished with a postgame question to Adams about making the playoffs for the first time in his four-year career when the All-Pro strong safety interjected in excitement.
"Hell yeah!" a beaming Adams shouted. "That's a hell of a feeling, man. I'm sorry. I'm not used to this."
The Seahawks got interceptions from cornerbacks Shaquill Griffin and D.J. Reed, who started again with Quinton Dunbar and Tre Flowers on injured reserve. Both are eligible to return against the Rams, but Carroll said Reed will begin the week in the lead to start again on the right side.
Jason Myers made two field goals (43, 40) and has now been good on 31 straight attempts dating back to last season, breaking Olindo Mare's franchise record. Myers is 20-of-20 this season. Michael Dickson averaged a net of 51 yards on his four punts, which were downed at Washington's 4, 10, 8 and 15.
The Seahawks' nine playoff berths under Carroll and Schneider are one fewer than the team had in its 34 seasons before they arrived. Wilson now has made the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons.
"It's huge," Wilson said. "It gives us a chance to try to do what we want to do, and that's win a Super Bowl, and try to bring a Super Bowl back home to Seattle. I think that it's been a crazy year just thinking about everything that we've had to go through with COVID and the whole process of everything, the daily testing, Zoom calls, and it's been a challenging season. To be able to come to this point where we know that we have another chance to keep going, is a huge deal and it's definitely a blessing, for sure. I'm grateful to be able to be back in the playoffs again. It's something that you can't take for granted."