Field Gulls
Are you ready for a weekend of stress-free football?
We’re afforded this wonderful luxury because our beloved Seattle Seahawks brought the No. 1 seed in the NFC back where it belongs. The Seahawks players and coaches have an extra week to rest up for the Divisional round of the playoffs, and so do we.
Just because we don’t have to reach for the Tums for the Wild Card round this season, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay close attention to the first round games. Particularly, Saturday could be the day where Seattle’s opponent is revealed.
The first game on the docket is the Los Angeles Rams at the Carolina Panthers, two very familiar foes. The Panthers helped us out before big time by beating the Rams, and I would absolutely welcome that scenario again. It’s not entirely unlikely, just highly improbable. If Carolina can hang around and get to Matt Stafford anything is possible. Dave Canales would get a huge feather in his cap for pulling this one off after backing into the playoffs.
Saturday night brings the Green Bay Packers traveling to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears for the third time in just over a month. The Packers won the first matchup, but lost the second in gutwrenching fashion. In both games, the Bears fell behind early and had to play catch-up. If Green Bay can take the rubber match, they would travel to Lumen Field next week regardless of what happens in any of the other contests. Since I live in Wisconsin, this would give me the opportunity to wear Seahawks gear all week to tick everyone off…not that I don’t already do that!
Seattle and Green Bay have an interesting history in the playoffs. And by interesting, I mean that the Seahawks have lost every other playoff game against the Packers except the 2014 NFC Championship game. Those three losses (including the “We want the ball and we’re going to score” game) all occurred in Lambeau Field, which isn’t a possibility this year. Still, if Carolina can somehow manage to take down the Rams, I’d personally be rooting for the Bears even harder than I normally would.
Sunday’s slate includes the San Francisco 49ers heading on the road to face the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly and Chicago are the only two teams that Seattle wouldn’t possibly face next weekend. Given the beating that the 49ers took last week, will they be able to bounce back against the Eagles? Again, my personal rooting interest would depend on whether Carolina can upset the Rams. I would rather play Carolina. And could I really ever root for the 49ers? If it meant the choice between playing them again or the Rams, maybe I could…but for one game only!
The rest of the games are on the AFC side with their own intrigue. Can Josh Allen turn it on in the playoffs and drag the Buffalo Bills to a win against the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars? Will Justin Herbert...
