Reality quickly sets in for the Seahawks

The 2023 Seahawks were like a kid who was learning to ride a bike and it wasn’t quite clear whether they’d pedal through it or fall off.

Based on the last five days — and the next three games — it looks like they’re about to land in the shrubs.

They’ve gone from 6-3 to 6-5 since Sunday, losing to the Rams on a missed field goal and to the 49ers by 18. Next Thursday night, the Seahawks face the Cowboys in Dallas. Then, it’s the 49ers in San Francisco. After that, it’s the Eagles.

A great start to the season, which saw the Seahawks catch the 49ers atop the NFC West, is yielding to the reality that Seattle just can’t compete with the elite teams in the NFC. If they lose the next three and drop to 6-8, they might not even make it to the postseason at all.

That doesn’t mean they’re done. But it’s currently trending in that direction. They’ll need to win at least one of the next three to have a shot at a wild-card berth. It won’t be easy, especially since they’d lose the tiebreaker with the Rams, who swept the Seahawks this season.

The final three games — at Titans, Steelers, at Cardinals — are winnable. The trio of potential season-ending victories might not matter if the best-case scenario is 9-8.

This year, 9-8 could still be enough for a ticket to the playoffs. The scrum of teams beneath the Eagles, 49ers, Lions, and Cowboys features plenty of mediocrity, along with a pair of up-for-grabs playoff spots. One key for Seattle will be hoping that the Rams, currently 4-6, don’t get hot down the stretch.

It won’t be easy. At one point, the 49ers-Cowboys-49ers-Eagles stretch seemed to be an opportunity for the Seahawks to assert themselves as one of the best teams in the conference. Now, it’s all about survival.

The next shot at staying alive comes in seven days, when they visit a Dallas team that has won 13 games in a row at home. A win by Seattle over the Cowboys would change the current vibe considerably. A loss could grease the skids toward not making it at all —…

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