For the first time in the Mike Macdonald era, the Seattle Seahawks are headed to the playoffs.
By virtue of the Seahawks’ 38-37 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2022 season.
Down by 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks pulled off a chaotic rally ignited by a 58-yard punt return touchdown by Rashid Shaheed. Seattle then tied the game on a Sam Darnold touchdown pass and a crazy two-point conversion in which Zach Charbonnet recovered a backward-pass fumble to tie it at 30. In overtime, the Seahawks countered a Rams touchdown with a Darnold touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and an ensuing two-point conversion to Eric Saubert.
“Up until this point, our mission has been to win the next game," Macdonald said postgame when asked about clinching. "And then our next goal is to make the playoffs. We’ve kind of achieved our next goal, and then our next goal is to win the division. You can’t do that unless you win the next one. It’s the same message, but obviously we’re really excited to be in the dance. Anything can happen once you get in, but we have a division title on the line that we need to go capture.”
This is the first Seahawks squad to advance to the playoffs without Pete Carroll as head coach since Mike Holmgren guided Seattle to the postseason in 2007 -- the last of five consecutive berths under the coach.
Carroll and the Seahawks parted ways following a 9-8 2023 season, paving the way for Macdonald to join the club after a successful stint as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator from 2022-23. Baltimore (7-7) is currently clinging to its playoff hopes amid a substandard season, while Carroll’s return to the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders has seen the team go 2-12 in a dreary campaign.
Along with clinching the playoff bid, the Seahawks (12-3) have won five straight, split the season series with the Rams (11-4) and now own first place in the NFC West and the NFC’s top seed. The Seahawks haven’t won the division since 2020, which was also the last time they won 12 games in a season.
2025 now also marks the second consecutive year quarterback Sam Darnold has piloted a team to the playoffs. Selected by the New York Jets at No. 3 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold never made it to the postseason as a starter in three seasons with Gang Green or two with the Carolina Panthers. In 2023 as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold made it to the playoffs for the first time and has now gone as the starter for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and the Seahawks.
Along with Darnold, Seattle has been buoyed by standout wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a top-five scoring offense, along with a top-five overall defense.
Aiming for a division title and the conference’s top seed, Seattle will close out its regular season with major matchups at the Carolina Panthers and at the San Francisco 49ers.