NFL playoff schedule: Who will the Seahawks play in the NFC Divisional Round?

The Seattle Seahawks are headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, and they’re going in as the betting favorite to run the table and win Super Bowl 60. They beat the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday of Week 18 to clinch the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff bracket.

The No. 1 seed comes with a first round bye, which will give Seattle time to rest and get some players back from the injury list. In their finale against the 49ers, they played without left tackle Charles Cross and free safety Coby Bryant. They got the win and it netted an extra week for Cross and Bryant to get healthy.

Seattle Seahawks’ next playoff opponent

The NFL re-seeds its bracket after the Wild Card round. That means the Seahawks will face the worst remaining seed rather than knowing it will be one of two teams. If all the higher seeds win in the Wild Card round, Seattle would play the No. 4 seeded Carolina Panthers. If all the lower seeds create upsets, Seattle would play the No. 7 seeded Green Bay Packers. It could fall anywhere in between depending on how the higher seeds perform, with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams also in the mix as potential opponents. The Seahawks could know their Divisional Round opponent as soon as Saturday night if the Packers upset the Bears. Otherwise, they’ll find out their opponent by the close of the 49ers-Eagles game on Sunday.

Seattle Seahawks playoff history

The Seahawks return to the playoffs after a two-season absence. They lost in the Wild Card round in 2022, and lost in the same round two seasons prior. The last time they played in the Divisional Round was 2019, where they won a wild card game and then lost to the Packers.

This marks the fourth time the Seahawks have earned the No. 1 seed. The previous instances were in 2005, 2013, and 2014. They reached the Super Bowl in all three of those seasons, and won it in 2013.