Are Seattle Seahawks now the NFC favorite? Kapadia's take

The Seattle Seahawks pulled off their biggest win in years last Thursday night, rallying from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Los Angeles Rams for an epic 38-37 overtime triumph in a massive NFC West showdown.

The mind-boggling numbers from Seahawks’ epic comeback win

The victory avenged the Seahawks’ 21-19 loss to the Rams from last month. It further validated their status as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

And most importantly, it moved the Seahawks atop the NFC standings and gave them the inside track to the conference’s No. 1 seed.

With two weeks left in the regular season, Seattle (12-3) is one game ahead of the Rams (11-4) and 1.5 games ahead of the 49ers (10-4) in the NFC West race. The Seahawks are also one game ahead of the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears (11-4), who remain in the mix for the No. 1 seed.

After beating the Rams, are the Seahawks now the favorite to reach the Super Bowl out of the NFC?

The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia was posed that question Monday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“In the NFC, I feel like the Rams and the Seahawks are 1 and 2 in some order,” Kapadia said. “Now, if you told me they’re going to play Sunday on a neutral field, who am I gonna pick? I mean, I might still pick the Rams. We can’t discount the first 51 minutes of that game when it looked like, oh my gosh, the Rams are certainly the better team here.

“Now, if the Seahawks end up getting the 1-seed and getting the bye, then I think that’s going to flip it in their favor. So I think these are a huge final two weeks for them.”

The No. 1 seed comes with two major advantages: the conference’s lone first-round bye and home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs.

If the Seahawks win their final two games against the Carolina Panthers (8-7) and the 49ers, they will claim the top seed.

But if they split their final two games, the Seahawks’ No. 1 seed hopes would be contingent on how the Rams, 49ers and Bears fare down the stretch.

According to The Athletic’s NFL Playoff Simulator, the Seahawks would have a 33% chance at the No. 1 seed if they lose to the Panthers and beat the 49ers. Their No. 1 seed odds would be just 17% if they beat the Panthers and lose to the 49ers.

If the Seahawks don’t end up winning the NFC West, the best they could do would be the No. 5 seed, since the NFL’s playoff format awards the top four seeds to the four division winners.

“Right now, neutral field, I would pick the Rams over the Seahawks,” Kapadia said. “I just have that trust factor with the coach and the quarterback where I haven’t seen (Sam) Darnold do it in the playoffs yet. But if we get to the playoffs and the Seahawks have the 1-seed and the Rams are having to go on the road three straight weeks, then that might be enough to flip it for me.

“It’s such an advantage (to have) the 1-seed and getting that bye and playing at home,” he added. “And they need to hold onto that the last two weeks. And if they do that, I think we might go into the playoffs and say they’re the favorites.”

Listen to the full conversation with The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia at this link or in the video player at the top of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Are Seattle Seahawks now the NFC favorite? Kapadia’s take

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