Seattle Seahawks: 3 Bold predictions vs. Packers in Divisional Round
By Samuel Teets
For their Divisional Round playoff game, the Seattle Seahawks will travel to Lambeau Field and face the Green Bay Packers.
With their 17-9 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Seattle Seahawks secured their first Divisional Round berth since the 2016 season. The Seahawks will travel to Lambeau Field and face the second seed Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers.
It’s worth mentioning that the Eagles narrowly defeated the Packers earlier this season, but Philadelphia was much healthier back then. Green Bay is a different team now too. The Packers are excited to play in their first playoff game since the 2016 season, when they lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.
Among the teams that qualified for the playoffs in the NFC, the Packers are the only one Seattle did not face during the regular season. The Seahawks already faced and defeated the other two teams remaining on the NFC side of the playoff bracket.
Seattle’s lack of familiarity with the Packers could cause problems in the Divisional Round. The Seahawks need to bring the best parts of their Wild Card performance to Lambeau and correct the offensive issues that popped up against the Eagles. That will give Seattle their best chance to return to the NFC Championship game finally.
3. The run game returns
The Eagles smothered Seattle’s running backs last week. Travis Homer and Marshawn Lynch combined for 19 yards on 17 carries. That’s less than 1.2 yards per carry. If not for Russell Wilson racking up 45 yards on nine carries, the Seahawks would’ve been entirely one dimensional.
However, there’s hope that Seattle’s running game will return for the Divisional Round. The Packers allowed 120.1 rushing yards per game during the regular season, which ranks among the bottom ten teams in the league. There’s also a chance that offensive linemen, Duane Brown and Mike Iupati will return for the upcoming game.
The Packers defense does possess several good run defenders. Green Bay’s star defensive tackle, Kenny Clark, had a career year. However, he’s doesn’t stand out well when compared to Fletcher Cox. Coming off the edge, Za’Darius Smith is a far more significant threat. Linebacker Blake Martinez could also be problematic. While he struggles in coverage, Martinez specializes against the run.
Before the Divisional Round, the Seahawks need an answer for those three defensive players. If the offensive line gets healthy and eliminates at least two of those defenders consistently, then the Seahawks can avoid becoming one dimensional on offense.