Seattle Seahawks defensive end Darrell Taylor has worked too hard for this moment. Anything short of the playoffs would obviously be a crushing disappointment.
“Oh my gosh, so badly," Taylor said Thursday. "I want to play in a playoff game so badly."
If Taylor wants it badly enough, he and the Seattle defense will need to have a second straight dominant defensive performance in Sunday's meeting with the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.
But of course, even with a win, the Seahawks' playoff fate is out of their own hands. Along with a Seahawks win, the Detroit Lions would need to either defeat or tie with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday to put Seattle through.
A highly-motivated Taylor knows what it'll take. But in the unofficial "adversity" standings, he'd put his team in the postseason - if it were up to him - based on what they've overcome this season.
"I want it for the team so badly because I feel like we deserve it just by how our season went," Taylor said. "The ups and downs, highs and lows, I feel like we deserve it and I feel like if we go and we get in, then it’s a clean slate and let’s go to work. I’m excited, I hope we get our opportunity.”
Based on preseason projections, one could make the argument that the Seahawks are deserving of a postseason berth since they maintained a 6-3 record at the halfway point of the season, which was highlighted by a four-game winning streak.
For a team seen as an NFC bottom-feeder, it was safe to say this was exceeding expectations.
But Seattle's lack of late-season success tells a different story, and makes the team a bit less deserving - if we're measuring that sort of thing - when it comes to the actual NFL standings.
The Seahawks enter Sunday's finale having lost five of their last seven games, which is hardly a stretch deserving of a playoff spot.
But at the end of the day, the Seahawks don't care who's "deserving" and who's not. All that matter is that their playoff chances are still alive and well in the final week of the regular season, something hardly anyone saw coming back in September.
The Seahawks (8-8) and Rams (5-11) are set to kickoff at 1:25 p.m. PT on Sunday from Lumen Field.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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