NFC Playoff Picture: Seattle Seahawks take full advantage of stunning Rams Week 13 loss

The Carolina Panthers are filled with former Seattle Seahawks from the roster to the coaching staff and the front office. Dave Canales’ group just pulled off a shocking upset over the Los Angeles Rams that has immediately raised the potential for Seattle to still win the NFC West.

Bryce Young threw three touchdown passes, while MVP candidate Matthew Stafford committed three critical turnovers, including a pick-six by former Seahawks starting cornerback Mike Jackson Sr.

In a back-and-forth thriller between the presumptive Super Bowl favorites and a wildly inconsistent Panthers squad, it was Bryce who was the hero by throwing the game-winning touchdown on 4th down to rookie sensation Tetairoa McMillan.

After the Rams quickly marched down the field and into at least tying field goal range, defensive lineman Derrick Brown made a massive strip-sack of Stafford. The fumble was recovered and run back by D.J. Wonnum to give Carolina the ball back with under three minutes to go.

With the Rams exhausting all of their timeouts, the Panthers only needed to convert 3rd and 6 (and not go out of bounds) in order to get to victory formation.

Young to Jalen Coker for the win!

The 31-28 win for the Panthers keeps them alive in the NFC South playoff race at 7-6, while the Rams fall to 9-3. Seattle’s 26-0 win over the Minnesota Vikings moves the ‘Hawks into a tie with the Rams in the win-loss column, but of course the Rams have a head-to-head tiebreaker through their Week 11 win over Seattle. The Seahawks will rematch the Rams in Week 16 on a Thursday night.

By far the biggest factor beyond Seattle’s control in terms of winning the NFC West was the Rams losing another game outside of the Seahawks rematch. Carolina didn’t look particularly likely to pull that off given some recent results, but the Panthers have slayed the beast and the Seahawks have pulled into a three-way tie for the best record in the NFC. Of course, the Seahawks are at Carolina in Week 17, so let’s not celebrate too much.

As things stand, the Seahawks will be the No. 1 seed if they win out and the Chicago Bears lose one game. Right now, the Chicago Bears are incredibly the top team in the NFC.

NFC West standings after Week 13

While the Rams lost, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cleveland Browns, while the Arizona Cardinals secured playoff elimination after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 49ers do not play next week, but either way the top three teams in the division all have winning records before December.

1. Los Angeles Rams (9-3, H2H over SEA)2. Seattle Seahawks (9-3)3. San Francisco 49ers (9-4)4. e-Arizona Cardinals (3-9)