The Seattle Seahawks were defeated 26-20 by the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9. The NFC West rematch is scheduled for the regular-season finale in Week 18. The Rams may be near full strength for that contest, with tight end Tyler Higbee returning to practice earlier this week.

The Seahawks look like a team that can not only win the NFC West but do so convincingly. There's one major reason why they've turned things around and can contend.

The Seattle Seahawks moved into a tie for the NFC West lead with Sunday's 16-6 win over Arizona, but they got more good news after the game.

The victory over San Francisco boosted Seattle’s postseason odds to 11%, according to The Athletic’s playoff model. Their odds of winning the NFC West currently stands at 8%. The remaining difference includes the opportunity to make the playoffs via the wild card.

The Seahawks were fortunate that the rest of the NFC West didn't separate as they worked through some issues with first-year head coach Mike Macdonald. The other three teams might regret not putting more distance between themselves and Seattle, which seems to be getting better as the season goes on.