There is something that may occur this month that clearly does not happen often: the Seattle Mariners‘ playoff schedule could affect multiple Seahawks regular season games! The Mariners just treated Seattle’s long-suffering baseball fans to a season that will be remembered for generations to come. Not only did the M’s win their division for the first time since 2001, they also secured a first round bye in the process as well.
The Mariners are slated to begin their quest for their first American League pennant in franchise history on Saturday, October 4th for Game 1 against either the Detroit Tigers or Cleveland Guardians. Game 2 will be played on Sunday, October 5th which is… oh… apparently also a home game day for the Seahawks.
Insert joke about how “no one in the NFL’s scheduling department even considered the Mariners could be hosting a playoff series at the same time the Seahawks are slated to play” here!
The Seahawks are currently scheduled to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 1:05 pm Pacific Time on Sunday. As of this moment, a first pitch time for Sunday has not been chosen by the MLB. But when they make their decision, it could very well alter when the Seahawks kick off against the Bucs. For anyone who has been to either Lumen Field or T-Mobile Park (literally next door neighbors) or has visited Seattle at any point since these stadiums were constructed, they know that SoDo does not have the infrastructure necessary to facilitate both a Seahawks and Mariners game simultaneously – especially an M’s game as important as an American League Division Series game!
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seahawks could potentially delay the start of their game against Tampa anywhere from 90 to 150 minutes after its original start time. That means the Seahawks might be kicking off at either 2:35 pm or 3:35 pm.
Whatever the decision may end up being, it’s a safe bet to say driving anywhere in the south Seattle area this Sunday afternoon will be an absolute traffic nightmare. Plan accordingly, 12’s!
There is also another Seahawks game this might affect: Monday Night Football against the Houston Texans on October 20th. The reason why this is a potential conflict is because October 20th is the day a potential Game 7 in the American League Championship Series would be played. However, in order for this scenario to be played out, the Mariners will have to advance to the ALCS, and hope the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox upset the top-seeded Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS and then survive to a Game 7 at T-Mobile Park.
But that is a bridge the NFL and MLB will have to build if/when the Mariners reach such a river. For now, Seattle fans are going to focus on the ALDS and Buccaneers this weekend.