The worst case scenario has happened for the Seattle Seahawks.

Not only did they lose to the Minnesota Vikings, the Los Angeles Rams also beat the hapless New York Jets, while the Washington Commanders rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles to functionally shut off any chance of a Wild Card berth for Seattle.

Here is the updated playoff picture for the NFC:

NFC standings during Week 16

1. x-Detroit Lions (13-2, win over MIN, 9-1 NFC)

2. x-Philadelphia Eagles (12-3)

3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6, win over SEA, 5-5 NFC)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6, 6-3 NFC)

Wild Card

5. x-Minnesota Vikings (13-2, loss to DET)

6. Green Bay Packers (10-4)

7. Washington Commanders (10-5)

Outside Looking In

8. Seattle Seahawks (8-7, win over ATL)

9. Atlanta Falcons (8-7, loss to SEA)

Eliminated

10. Arizona Cardinals (7-8, 3-6 NFC)

11. Dallas Cowboys (6-8, loss to SF)

12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9, win over DAL)

13. New Orleans Saints (5-9)

14. Chicago Bears (4-11)

15. Carolina Panthers (4-11)

16. New York Giants (2-13)

The good news for the Seahawks is that they are mathematically still in the hunt for the NFC West. The bad news is they can just as easily be knocked out this week.

How the Seahawks can be mathematically eliminated in Week 17

If the Seahawks lose to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, that in itself pretty much is an eliminator, but they would be mathematically out with a Bears loss + Los Angeles Rams win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. These two outcomes are distinctly possible, even if only the Rams winning is more likely.

There’s a strength of victory scenario at play if the Seahawks win on Thursday and the Rams also beat Arizona, but it no longer favors the Seahawks because they didn’t get a win over Minnesota. It’s unlikely that the SOV would flip in Seattle’s direction.

In other words, I hope you’re a big Arizona Cardinals fan because that’s what it’s coming down to.