The Seahawks -- the 7-9 Seahawks -- not only qualified for the playoffs but, by virtue of their sleep-inducing 16-6 win over the Rams, will host a first-round game. Oh, and it'll be against the 11-5 Saints. Of course.
How ridiculous is this? Try this one on for size: Had they lost Sunday night, the Seahawks would have finished 6-10, locking up the eighth pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Think about that: In a sport in which only 37 percent of the teams make the playoffs, a team that was one win away from clinching the division also was one loss away from locking up a draft pick higher than 75 percent of the league.
Instead, by making the playoffs, Seattle vaults at least 12 picks depending on when its season finishes. Then again, we pretty much know "when" it will finish, right? (Say, Saturday, sometime between 8 and 9 p.m.) Seattle opens as a 10.5-point underdog against New Orleans, and that seriously may not be enough. Consider this: The Seahawks played the Saints, Giants and Buccaneers during the regular season -- the NFC fifth seed and the two teams that lost out on the tiebreaker for the last playoff spot -- and lost all three by a combined 72 points.