SEATTLE — Laugh all you want, the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks are going to the playoffs as champions of the NFC West.
The Seahawks are the first sub-.500 division champs, winning the division with a 16-6 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night. Their reward: a home game Saturday with the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. New Orleans beat the Seahawks 34-19 in Week 11.
Making his second career start, backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw a 4-yard TD pass on Seattle’s first possession, and Olindo Mare kicked three second-half field goals.
It makes for great jokes from critics, and the situation in the NFC West this season has reignited the debate whether division champs should automatically be granted home playoff games. The New York Giants and Tampa Bay have better records at 10-6, but it’s Seattle that’s playoff bound thanks to a better division record than St. Louis, 4-2 vs. 3-3.
“We didn’t get here the way we all dreamed of getting here, but we got here,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “When it came down to it, the guys played a great football game tonight.”
St. Louis (7-9) was kept out of the end zone for the second time this season, and rookie Sam Bradford couldn’t complete the Rams’ turnaround from winning just one game a year ago. Bradford finished 19-of-36 for 155 yards, and threw a costly interception midway through the fourth quarter.
“They played better. They won and we lost,” St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “I’m proud of the football team for what they accomplished.”
