No one saw it coming the way the Seahawks played down the stretch, but Pete Carroll's troops found a way to get in the postseason by beating the Rams 16-6 on Sunday night. Seattle wrapped up the NFC West title with the victory and became the first losing team to reach the playoffs since the league expanded to 32 teams. The Seahawks poor play in the second half of the season has odds makers anticipating a short postseason stay, though. The latest NFL Playoff Picks 2011 have the Seattle Seahawks Odd to Win 2011 Super Bowl set at +10000 on the moneyline. That number makes them the least favored unit to win the Lombardi of the 12 teams that qualified for the playoffs.
Seattle began the year with hopes of 
ending the Cardinals two year reign atop the NFC West. Kurt Warner's retirement raised some doubts about Arizona's offense, and no one anticipated the Rams, which finished 1-15 last season, to make a huge leap forward with a rookie quarterback under center. By almost all accounts, the Forty Niners were the team to beat after they won four of their last six games to close out the 2009 regular season.
Well, for most of the season it looked as though none of the four teams wanted to win the division, including Carroll's Seahawks. Seattle started the year decent enough, winning four of its first six games, but they went into their finale against St. Louis with a 6-9 record after dropping seven of their previous nine outings.
Seattle, which is listed as a +10.5 NFL Odds underdog in Saturday's showdown with the Saints, had been outscored by 107 points through 15 games. It had also lost three of its last four at home by double digits, leaving few confident that it was capable of putting together the kind of effort it did in securing its fifth NFC West crown in the last seven years.
The Seahawks scoring deficit, which stands at -97 after their 16-6 win over the Rams, is the worst for a playoff team in the modern era. Still, this team cannot be dismissed against New Orleans. Seattle went 5-3 at Qwest Field this season, where the crowd is notoriously boisterous, and the Saints will have to endure a long flight on short rest.
However, even if the Seahawks somehow shock the world by upsetting the defending champs, it is beyond doubtful that they would survive two road outings in route to a Super Bowl XLV appearance.
Seattle Seahawks Odds to Win 2011 Super Bowl:
To Win NFC Championship +5000
To Win Super Bowl XLV +10000
