This one’s for all the marbles.
After a 27-10 romp in Charlotte on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks sit at 13-3, tying the franchise record for wins in a season through 16 games. Seattle and Carolina were locked
in a 3-3 tie at the close of the first half, but the Seahawks took advantage of a pair of costly Panthers turnovers to pull ahead 17-3 in the third quarter. The mighty Seattle defense limited Carolina QB Bryce Young to just 54 yards passing and a 58.3 completion percentage, forcing two sacks and an interception in a rout at Bank of America Stadium. Although the Panthers came within one score with a 10-yard rushing TD by Young, the Seahawks put up 10 more points on their first two drives of the fourth quarter to win the game by 17.
The final game before the playoffs will have Seattle ending the regular season the same way it started: facing the division rival San Francisco 49ers. This time, the two will clash in a primetime contest at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium on Saturday with the NFC West division crown and the conference’s No. 1 seed on the line. Tell me if you’ve heard this one before.
San Francisco enters Week 18 coming off a high-scoring, last possession wins-style shootout victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. A total of 49 points were scored in just the first half alone, with neither side leading by more than one score at any point. The Niners ultimately prevailed over the Bears after Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams failed to connect with wide receiver Jahdae Walker in the dying seconds of regulation, ending the night with a 42-38 victory. With the win, San Francisco has taken the Bears out of the running to claim the NFC’s first-round bye, setting the stage for the biggest game in the Seahawks-49ers rivalry since the 2022 postseason.
FanDuel Sportsbook has Seattle as 1.5-point underdogs for the time being, an understandable evaluation considering the Seahawks’ loss to San Francisco at Lumen Field in Week 1 and the Niners being at home for the regular season finale. As the betting lines suggest, this game should be a close, high-scoring affair, serving as the cream of the crop of Week 18’s de facto division championship games.
Who climbs to the top of the conference? Who falls to a wild-card spot? Find out this Saturday at 5 p.m. PT on ABC/ESPN!
