SEATTLE \u2014 The Seahawks are closely watching the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs from the couch, as they wait to find out who they will face next weekend.<\/p>\n
But at practice on Thursday, there were at least three referees. That\u2019s something you\u2019d normally only see during OTAs or a joint team practice, in the summer.<\/p>\n
This signals, even with the bye, that Mike Macdonald is treating this week like the postseason is already here. Preparing with purpose as they wait for this weekend\u2019s games to play out.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys are getting after it,\u201d says tight end AJ Barner. \u201cIf anything, I think it\u2019s more competitive between the offense and defense, \u2019cause we\u2019re not preparing for a team per se.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is what we do know? The \u2018Hawks will draw either the Packers or the 49ers. There is another possibility that they could face the winner of the Rams-Panthers game on Saturday. It will all depend on the lowest remaining seed.<\/p>\n
And, while Barner and company didn\u2019t face Green Bay this year, they just beat the other three teams to wrap up the regular season.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, it\u2019s just another opponent,\u201d Devon Witherspoon quips confidently. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t change anything we do. But, we know it\u2019s hard to beat a team twice,\u201d says the cornerback.<\/p>\n
Cooper Kupp feels the same way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a mission in front of us, and we\u2019re attacking it,\u201d notes the receiver. \u201cEven though we don\u2019t know who that is, who\u2019s going to be put down in front of us, yet\u2026we know that we\u2019re going to handle this week with an intention.\u201d<\/p>\n
That includes getting healthy. Important task for left tackle, Charles Cross, amongst others. He\u2019s back practicing after missing the final three games of the regular season with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s got plenty to celebrate after inking a four-year, $104.4-million extension to start the week. A lucrative deal that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in franchise history.<\/p>\n
The extra rest of huge. And, his return to the lineup would go a long way next weekend.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kupp says he\u2019ll likely be watching the Wild Card games at home with his sons. Barner claims he\u2019s not going to watch any of the games at all. And, Witherspoon isn\u2019t sharing his weekend plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAhhh man. I gotta keep that information between the locker room,\u201d Witherspoon jokes.<\/p>\n
What we do know is that, according to most sportsbooks, Seattle is the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl. That\u2019s followed by their division rivals, the L.A. Rams. Then, the AFC\u2019s #1-seed, the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n
Even though the players remain tight-lipped, this bye week is as much about in-house prepping as it is about scouting a potential opponent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a week off,\u201d Kupp says sternly. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to hone into some stuff. To dive in deeper. To self-scout yourself. And, look at some things that you can do better as units\u2026but, also individually.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for who they could potentially draw? They split their season series with both of their NFC West rivals, San Fran and L.A. They beat the Panthers in Carolina back on Dec. 2. They also didn\u2019t face the Packers this season.<\/p>\n
But, the team is excited that the calendar has turned over to the second season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, who doesn\u2019t want to watch playoff football?\u201d says Witherspoon. \u201cEverybody waiting for this time of the year to come around to see who\u2019s gonna do what. So, I\u2019m gonna sit back and watch as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawks are even more excited to host their first playoff game next weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying up here in Seattle,\u201d Barner boasts. \u201cBring on the weather. Bring on the elements. And, let\u2019s run the rock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, for those who are superstitious, you may have also seen a connection between a new Pope and the Seahawks\u2019 playoff success trending online.<\/p>\n
The franchise played in its first two Super Bowls in 2005 and 2013, during seasons that also featured a papal election. Of course, \u201cPope Leo XIV\u201d took over last May.<\/p>\n
However, rumor has it, the Pope is a Bears fan, with JD Vance gifting him a jersey. That\u2019s a team the \u2018Hawks could meet in the NFC Championship.<\/p>\n
While some \u201c12s\u201d may be praying for a deep postseason run, the \u2018Hawks making it back to the Super Bowl? <\/p>\n
That\u2019s no Hail Mary.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 The Seahawks are closely watching the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs from the couch,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[96648,115,96654,374,96649,96664,235,96653,96645,96658,96655,96650,7,219,50478,8847,96662,4238,96657,820,25135,88,96663,96659,6,96646,236,13421,96661,218,238,237,261,2635,30766,96660,96656,381,96647,602,96651,96652],"class_list":["post-665649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seattle-seahawks","tag-12s","tag-afc","tag-aj_barner","tag-bears","tag-cairo_7","tag-cairo_seven","tag-carolina","tag-cooper_cupp","tag-demon_williams_junior","tag-denver_broncos","tag-devin_witherspoon","tag-eric_thomas","tag-football","tag-francisco","tag-green_bay_packers","tag-hawks","tag-jd_vance","tag-la","tag-la_rams","tag-local","tag-mary","tag-news","tag-nfc_championship","tag-nfc_west","tag-nfl","tag-of_washington","tag-panthers","tag-pope","tag-pope_leo","tag-san","tag-seahawks","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-seattleseahawks","tag-super_bowl","tag-super_bowls","tag-super-_super_bowl","tag-university","tag-university_of_washington","tag-video","tag-vmaac","tag-vmac"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}