Seattle Seahawks: What Are Their Playoff Odds for the 2011 NFL Season?

Once again, the Seattle Seahawks looked over-matched and unprepared for much of the first half of the season. But, just like last year, things are starting to come together for this team as the season keeps going.

Crazy it sounds, the Seahawks actually have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs for the second straight year. With the emergence of San Francisco as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, it seems even more hard to believe than last seasons unbelievable postseason birth. But an 8-8 finish at the end of the season might be enough.

Let's break this down.

Seattle has four games left on the schedule, and three of those are winnable. This week they get the St. Louis Rams at home. It's essentially a must win game, since a loss could put them behind the Arizona Cardinals and into 3rd place in the division.

The following week, the Seahawks head to Chicago to face a reeling, but dangerous, Bears team which is now without its two best offensive players. To win that rematch of last years divisional playoff round, Seattle simply needs to score enough, since the Bears are going to have to go all in with their defense at this point.

The week after, they come back home to face the San Francisco 49ers. I give them a decent shot at winning this game, maybe 50-50, because at that point, it's possible that the 49ers might be resting some of their starters in preparation for the postseason. If so, the Seahawks may pull out a win here, but I think it's unlikely either way.

In the final week of the regular season, they face off against an up-and-coming Arizona Cardinals team which has been playing much better lately, particularly on defense. This could end up being a really exciting game to watch, especially if both teams are fighting for the final playoff spot in the NFC.

Seattle has the inside track over Arizona because the Seahawks still have three remaining games against division foes, as opposed to two for the Cardinals. They also currently have a better record within the division.

In the conference as a whole, the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons are also in contention for the wild card spots. New York and Chicago have been fading as of late, and Detroit has struggled as well. The Falcons are looking much better than at the start of the season, and will probably get at least one of the spots.

After the dust settles, I think the Seahawks will find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs this year. Detroit is too good, and their schedule is too soft to not win at least half of their remaining games, while Seattle is unlikely to match them by running the table the rest of the way.  

Unfortunately, it looks like the hole they dug themselves this year will be too big to climb out of this time.