Here are the milestones and things worth watching for in Seahawks’ regular season finale vs. Rams

RENTON — What matters most Sunday for the Seahawks is beating the Rams to keep their playoff hopes alive.

What they would then need is for Detroit to beat Green Bay, with the combination of those two things meaning a 10^th playoff berth in Pete Carroll’s 13 years as head coach.

But, with the game also being the last of the 2022 regular season, there are also a few other records/milestones at reach and things worth watching.

Here’s a look at a few:

Setting Seattle’s 2023 schedule.

NFL schedules are determined via a formula that includes playing two games against your own division rivals each year and then playing other divisions in each conference on a rotating basis.

So, Seattle next year plays its usual six NFC West games, then also plays the NFC East and AFC North. That makes up 14 of Seattle’s games in 2023.

But the other three are set via playing against other teams who finish in the same place in their division.

The Seahawks have sewed up second in the NFC West, and as such will play the second-place teams in the NFC South, NFC North and AFC South, none of which have yet been settled.

The NFC South foe will either be New Orleans or Carolina, based on who wins their game Sunday. The NFC North foe will be either Green Bay or Detroit, based on who wins their game Sunday. And the AFC South foe will be either Jacksonville or Tennessee based on who loses their game Saturday.

So, what that means for now is this for the home schedule next year:

Home games: Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and either New Orleans or Carolina.

Away games: Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and either Green Bay/Detroit or Jacksonville/Tennessee.

And that means another reason to root for Detroit is to avoid Seattle having to make another trip to Green Bay, if you’d rather the Seahawks not have to do that again.

If you’re a Seahawks fan looking for a fun trip next season, maybe root for the Jaguars to win and assure the Titans finish second and you can head to Nashville.

A bonus for Geno Smith.

Smith’s contract for 2022 featured a base of $3.5 million with another potential $3.5 million in incentives. Depending on what happens Sunday, Smith could earn all of it.

Specifically, Smith had a bonus of up to $1 million for playing 80% of the team’s snaps this season, an incentive that doubles if Seattle makes the playoffs. Smith has sewed up the 80% at this point, meaning he’d get that full $1 million — and then doubling that to get an extra $1 million if the Seahawks make the playoffs.

Smith also hit a $1 million bonus last week when he passed the 4,000-yard passing mark for the season (a bonus that was cumulative based on how many yards he threw for, with $1 million being the most).

Solidifying the draft pick from Denver.

With one week left, the pick the Seahawks got from the Broncos for Russell Wilson is assured of being somewhere from second to fifth. It’s currently third, and percentage-wise that’s where it could stay — Seattle needs a Chicago Bears win over the Vikings and a Denver loss to the Chargers to move to two.

A Denver win over the Chargers — who might not have anything to play for by kickoff if the Bengals beat the Ravens and lock up the five seed for LA — could mean the pick drops to four or five.

Regardless, a top five pick is a lot better than anyone figured on March 8.

And here are a few numbers to watch:

— A playoff spot for Seattle would be the 15^th since 2002, breaking a tie with the long-eliminated Colts for the third-most in that span. Seattle enters the weekend behind the Patriots (17) and Packers (15), each of whom can still make it. But, if Seattle makes it at the expense of Green Bay, the Seahawks will tie the Packers for the second-most playoff appearances in that span, which begin with when the Seahawks moved to Lumen Field and into the NFC West.

— A win Sunday would be the 400^th in franchise history when including playoffs (382 regular season, 17 playoffs entering Sunday).

— A win would be the 161^st of Carroll’s NFL career, tying him with Mike Holmgren for 17^th most in league history.

— Smith can set a bevy of records this week, and as he noted this week that’s due in part to the addition of a 17^th game. Still, the rules are the rules.

Among records Smith can set:

With 22 attempts he’ll pass Matt Hasselbeck’s record of 562 for a single-season set in 2007; with five completions he’ll pass Russell Wilson’s record of 384 in 2020; and with 151 yards he’ll pass Wilson’s record of 4,219 in 2016. And with a completion percentage of 70.2 he can become only the 13^th QB in NFL history to have a completion percentage of 70% or better and shatter the Seahawks record of 68.83% set by Wilson in 2020.

— If Tyler Lockett gets 21 receiving yards and Kenneth Walker III 64 rushing yards, it would be only the second time in team history Seattle would have two 1,000-yard receivers (DK Metcalf has already surpassed that total) and a 1,000-yard rusher in team history. The only other time it happened was 1995 (Brian Blades, Joey Galloway, Chris Warren).

— Finally, if Walker tops 1,000 he’d become only the second rookie in team history to do that, joining Curt Warner in 1983 (1,449).