Seahawks’ playoff hopes depend on other teams and their own offensive line
Emma Valentine
Published Apr 06, 2026
RENTON, Wash. — To make the playoffs, the Seahawks are going to need some help.
Not just from other teams jostling for those two final wild-card spots, but from their offensive line. Coach Pete Carroll challenged that group at halftime Saturday when Seattle trailed by two touchdowns in what would eventually be a 24-10 loss to the Chiefs. Facing a 17-3 deficit at intermission, Carroll let them know the key to mounting a comeback would be running the ball effectively. He also called on running back Kenneth Walker III to be better with the ball in his hands.
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The result was 91 designed rushing yards in the second half from Walker, whose yardage on the ground in the final two quarters was more than Seattle has had in an entire game since Week 9.
“Everybody just started clicking,” Carroll said.
Although they scored only seven points in the second half, the way the Seahawks moved the ball through the air and on the ground is part of what makes them optimistic they can finish the regular season 2-0. Seattle is 7-8 and trailing the Giants (8-6-1) and Commanders (7-7-1) for one of the final two NFC wild-card slots. Also in the hunt are the Lions (7-8) and the Packers (7-8).
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The Seahawks have a 22.7 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Austin Mock’s model for The Athletic. Those odds would rise to 53.6 percent if they beat the Jets (7-8) on Sunday.
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If Seattle wins its games against the Jets and Rams (5-10), it will need losses from other teams in the conference to earn a postseason berth. One scenario would be for Seattle to win out and have the Commanders lose a game while the Giants lose out. Washington, which just renamed Carson Wentz its starting quarterback, hosts Cleveland and Dallas to end the season. The Giants host the Colts in Week 17, then finish with the Eagles.
Seattle would also make the playoffs by winning out and having Washington and Green Bay lose at least one game. The Packers host the Vikings on Sunday, then host the Lions in Week 18.
A third clinching scenario would be a pair of Seattle wins coupled with two losses from the Giants, at least one loss from the Packers and two wins by the Commanders.
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But what happens elsewhere is less significant if the Seahawks don’t first handle business against the Jets, who have one of the best defenses in the league. Led by former Seahawks defensive quality control coach Robert Saleh, the Jets rank fourth in defensive EPA per play and scoring defense (18.8 points per game), according to TruMedia (the source of all stats unless noted otherwise).
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New York has the league’s best cornerback tandem in ex-Seahawk D.J. Reed and Ahmad Gardner, the odds-on favorite for defensive rookie of the year. The team ranks fifth in EPA per dropback and net yards allowed per pass attempt (5.91). Seattle’s offense can’t afford to be one-dimensional against New York. The run game must be a significant factor, just as it was in the second half against the Chiefs.
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“We just committed to it,” center Austin Blythe said of the second half in Kansas City. “Coaching staff and players just committed to it. (We) said we were going to emphasize that throughout the week, and I think we did a good job of that. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it going until the second half, and it was a too little, too late kind of thing. But hopefully, we’ve got a blueprint for this week against a good front.”
“Commitment” is one of many words that has come up this week as Seattle players and coaches discuss the run game. During this stretch of five losses in six games, Seattle ranks last in designed rushing attempts with only 103, an average of 17.1 per game. The Seahawks had 17 designed runs in the second half alone Saturday, staying with it even when they fell behind the chains. They called designed runs on second-and-12, second-and-16, third-and-7 and second-and-15 in the third and fourth quarters.
Staying with it, Seattle believes, contributed to the success the team had on the ground.
“When it’s going right, it looks like it’s supposed to,” offensive line coach Andy Dickerson said. “You get confidence out of that, and confidence begets more confidence and you can keep stacking and calling the runs. You get a good feel for them, and it opens up the rest of the offense.”
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Another word often used in the building is “communication.” When a play call comes in, it’s on Blythe to relay any relevant information about the defensive front and potential adjustments to the offensive guards. Then it’s a game of telephone from the guards to the tackles to the tight ends to the receivers and occasionally the running backs. All of that needs to be sharp to have a functional rushing attack, which is what happened versus Kansas City.
“We (were) just communicating better and hitting combo blocks and staying on and getting the running game going,” left guard Damien Lewis said. “Staying on blocks — tight zone, midzone, wide zone — just hitting all the blocks and communicating well.”
There were times all 11 players weren’t on the same page. On a second-and-10 run in the second quarter, Seattle brought in Stone Forsythe as a sixth offensive lineman and lined him up next to left tackle Charles Cross. To Forsythe’s left stood tight ends Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly. At the snap, neither Parkinson nor Dissly blocked outside linebacker Leo Chenal, who dropped Walker for a gain of 1 yard while the two tight ends hashed out the missed assignment.
On a toss play in the fourth quarter, Laquon Treadwell didn’t block cornerback Trent McDuffie, who tackled Walker for a loss of 5. Chiefs outside linebacker Frank Clark also came unblocked on an inside run in the third quarter, generating a tackle for loss.
“If you’re on the same page, you can get through any down,” Dickerson said. “If some person is on a different page, now we’ve got a problem.”
Seattle feels the success Geno Smith and the offense had at the beginning of the season was directly linked to how well the team executed in the run game. When the running back injuries started to mount — Walker and DeeJay Dallas have missed time with ankle injuries — and the offensive line kept getting knocked off the ball, Seattle’s offense became less efficient, and its star quarterback quickly came back down to earth.
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The Seahawks have faith in their passing attack independent of what happens on the ground, but there’s a reason Smith sat beside offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on the bench during the loss to Carolina and implored him to stick with the run game. Smith knows Seattle’s margin for error is razor thin, and a one-dimensional offense is a recipe for failure.
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DK Metcalf knows it, too. On Wednesday, Metcalf was asked what he liked most about Seattle’s second-half performance in Week 16. His reply: “How well we ran the ball.”
“I know it’s going to open up a lot of other avenues on the offense,” Metcalf said.
The offensive line isn’t the only relevant position group when it comes to effectively running the rock. By his own admission, Walker was more decisive in the second half Saturday, and there’s been a noticeable chemistry-building process between Walker and the linemen. He is a home-run hitter who ranks seventh among tailbacks with 21 explosive runs. But he also generates runs for no gain or negative yardage at the second-highest rate in the league. His chemistry with blockers is just as important as the blocks themselves.
“(When) he’s more decisive and makes those decisions, it helps set the blocks up, it helps the linemen, it helps the feel of it,” Dickerson said. “Then you see the communication on the sideline like, ‘Hey, I felt this,’ and they go back and forth. It goes back to the communication and him being decisive, not trying to make a home-run hit every play but just being decisive and that will lead to those (big) plays.”
Seattle may have Tyler Lockett (broken hand) back in the lineup Sunday, and his return would assist the passing attack and the running game, seeing as he’s one of the team’s better blockers despite his lack of size. Lockett participated in the team’s walk-through Wednesday and was able to catch passes without experiencing any pain, Carroll said. Lockett didn’t practice Wednesday, but the fact he can catch the ball is a positive sign.
Seattle will be without Dissly, its best run-blocking tight end, for the remainder of the regular season. He’s on injured reserve with what Carroll described as an “unusual” knee injury that involves the connection between Dissly’s fibula and kneecap. It’s unclear whether Dissly will have surgery.
On Wednesday, Seattle filled its open practice squad spot with tight end Jacob Hollister, who was with the team during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. If right tackle Abraham Lucas (elbow) is able to play Sunday, Forsythe may see more snaps as a third tight end to assist with run blocking.
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With the season on the line, the Seahawks plan on recapturing the offensive balance they had earlier in the year. If they can achieve that first against New York and again versus the Rams, they like their chances of making the playoffs and potentially making a run.
“We can do whatever we want, man,” right guard Phil Haynes said. “We have Geno throwing that thing, we got receivers that can do whatever we want. If we run the ball, nobody can beat us.”
(Photo of Kenneth Walker: Jason Hanna / Getty Images)
