The Seattle Seahawks sit in a fairly comfortable spot in the NFC standings after their ugly 22-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the desert on Thursday Night Football. They currently sit at 6-3 (six wins, three losses) in second place in the NFC West. They are undoubtedly still in playoff contention, and a win is always nice (particularly on the road), but there are many significant threats to their chances of clinching the postseason.

The most immediate threat to the Seahawks is their division rival, the Los Angeles Rams. This team has taken sole possession of the NFC West since the Seahawks’ loss to the Washington Redskins last week, and they currently look like an impenetrable fortress.

They have recently claimed a 7-2 record with a victory over the severely crippled Houston Texans, who have lost several defensive stars and rookie sensation quarterback Deshaun Watson to injuries for the rest of the season. They are a force to be reckoned with, and it will be interesting to see how this division rivalry progresses over the course of the next few weeks.

It is not just the Rams that the Seahawks need to fear. Several teams in the rest of the NFC are hitting the gas pedal hard, and all of them are threats to the Seahawks as long as they keep winning.

The most prominent of these teams is the Philadelphia Eagles, who currently lead the NFL with an 8-1 record. Seattle has a primetime matchup with these high-flying birds at home in three weeks, and shooting them down will be no easy task.

On top of that, there are the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints, both of which are hot on the Eagles’ trail with 7-2 records. The Seahawks do not have to play either of these teams this year, but it is important that these teams lose a few games ahead of them, and it is equally as important that the Seahawks win at least most of their remaining games.

This may allow the Seahawks to clinch not only the NFL postseason for a sixth consecutive time, but a first-round bye to alleviate the need to play in the first round. This would be key considering the number of injuries Seattle is currently dealing with.

Speaking of injuries, they are arguably Seattle’s most significant threat to not making the playoffs.

The Seahawks suffered a number of them on Thursday against Arizona, which included the loss of star cornerback Richard Sherman for the remainder of the season. It seems like every NFL team has been suffering from injuries this season, and it is truly a dreadful thing.

Unfortunately, teams have no choice but to cast their backup players into the roles of those who have been injured, and this affects every team’s overall performance. Some players return from injury, but season-ending injuries are the most crippling. It is logical to be concerned about the well-being of these players, and the Seahawks will need to recover the most considering how close this team is.

Overall, the Seattle Seahawks are currently in a good position to make the playoffs, but their trip is not guaranteed yet. There is still plenty of football to be played, and to ultimately have a successful season, the Seahawks must remove their constraints and, metaphorically speaking, unleash hell upon their opponents.