The NFL is past the halfway point and now is the time where teams are playing their best football and getting ready to make a playoff push; Seattle is right in the mix.

Seattle currently sits at first place in the NFC West with a 6-4 record heading into a bye week. It’s safe to say this is not a position experts predicted them to be in at this point of the season especially after trading quarterback Russell Wilson this past offseason. 

In order for the Seahawks to finish strong and make a playoff run they understand the importance of the bye week.

“These guys are in a great place but if we don’t take advantage of [bye week], we are going to need to come back healthier, stronger and fresher legs and try to take care of the next game against the raiders,” Pete Carroll said in his Tuesday press conference. “We go into this bye week fairly healthy, so that means we can come out of it even better. That could be a big boost to us as other teams continue to struggle to stay healthy.”

In addition to rookie standouts Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant, the Seahawks gained back second-year cornerback Tre Brown who was activated this week from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Brown earned a starting role in his rookie year in 2021 before suffering a season ending knee injury. 

Staying healthy is a big key to success. Performing on Sunday is what’s most important,so far this season they have rode the success of their veteran quarterback, Geno Smith. Smith leads the league in completion percentage and is also sixth in the league in total passing yards.

The Seahawks know there is a lot of football left to play and while they already surprised people and had some success so far, they aren’t satisfied just yet. Pete Carroll had a message to keep his team motivated. 

“Ok, we positioned ourselves here. We all know that we are here, but we aren’t nearly as good as we can be,” Caroll said. 

With seven games left in the season, the Seahawks hope to ride momentum into November and December to make the playoffs. The Seahawks fell short of last season’s playoffs and are searching for their first playoff win since 2019. 

The Seahawks have a 65% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times playoff simulator .