The Seattle Seahawks would have clinched the top seed in the NFC had they defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14 and they then would have faced nearly a month of games without anything tangible to play for.

“It would have been a different challenge,” Pete Carroll said Monday. It would have been an entirely different challenge for us mentally; for the coaching staff and for the players as well. I mentioned it last week that this could be the best scenario that you have to stay in it and keep battling. I’m more concerned about losing the edge that we’ve gained and it’s taken months and months and months to get here, and then all of sudden you kick into a month mode where it could be different.”

A win or tie by the Seahawks or a loss or tie by the 49ers will clinch the one seed for the Seahawks.