The Seattle Seahawks are sailing to the playoffs, but they continue to struggle with important injuries. They’ll try to soldier on without star safety Earl Thomas when they travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers this week.
Seahawks vs. Packers 2016 live stream: How to watch NFL Week 14 matchup online
The Seahawks are close to securing a playoff spot, but they’ll have to do it without Earl Thomas.
The game is being televised on Fox with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth. Cable/satellite subscribers can stream this game online at Fox Sports Go.
The Seahawks had little trouble with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football, cruising to a 40-7 win and improving to 8-3-1. They can clinch the NFC West this week with a win and an Arizona Cardinals loss, and they’re in good shape to secure a first-round bye.
Unfortunately, their defense suffered a massive blow in last week’s game. Thomas broke his tibia when he collided with teammate Kam Chancellor, putting him on injured reserve and ending his season. The injury was severe enough that Thomas tweeted about considering retirement, although he might be exaggerating.
Regardless, Thomas is one of the best safeties in football and the backbone of the “Legion of Boom,” so Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Kris Richard have a huge challenge trying to slow down Aaron Rodgers.
The bright side is that the running game is back. Thomas Rawls shredded the Panthers for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and aside from a brief period in concussion protocol, he looks as healthy as he’s been all year. The offense is peaking at the right time with Rawls and Russell Wilson back to full strength, along with Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin in the mix.
The Packers got back to .500 after a 21-13 win over the Houston Texans. Because of snowy conditions at Lambeau, there wasn’t much offense to be found in this game. Nevertheless, Rodgers got the job done, hitting Jordy Nelson for a 32-yard touchdown to pull away in the second half.
Green Bay is playing much better football in recent weeks, but it doesn’t have much margin for error after stumbling to a 4-6 start. The Packers are still two games behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North and sit behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5), Washington (6-5-1), and Minnesota Vikings (6-6) in the wild card picture.
Every game from here on out is must-win for the Packers to dig out of the hole they created earlier in the season. Rodgers is good enough to do just that, but he needs more help from the running game, which has been stuck in neutral ever since Eddie Lacy was lost for the season. Perhaps there’s a revenge game in store for Christine Michael? He was the Seahawks’ starting running back before they surprisingly waived him a few weeks ago. Green Bay picked him up, and he could be eager to put some heat on his former team.
This game was looking like a dud during Green Bay’s slump, but both teams are rounding into shape in December, and the Packers are desperate to hold serve at home. These teams have had plenty of bad blood in recent years, stemming from the Fail Mary game and the 2015 NFC Championship. There should be no shortage of fireworks in this one.
How to watch
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Place: Lambeau Field, Green Bay
TV: Fox
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews
Online: Sunday Ticket, Fox Sports Go
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