Mariners playoff run could alter two Seahawks start times, including one Monday Night Football game

With the Seattle Mariners in the MLB playoffs, a pair of Seattle Seahawks games, including one Monday Night Football matchup, might be rescheduled.

The Mariners and Seahawks will both definitely be at home on Sunday, Oct. 5. The Mariners will host Game 2 of the ALDS while the Seahawks will be home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a Week 5 NFL game. The Buccaneers-Seahawks game is presently scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. PT. But as ESPN’s Adam Schefter detailed, that is subject to change.

“MLB officials are not expected to decide until Friday when the Mariners will start their Sunday AL Division Series in Seattle. But on that same day, the Seahawks are scheduled to host the Buccaneers at 1:05 p.m. local time,” Schefter said. “If the Mariners also are scheduled to play at the same time, the Seahawks could push back their kickoff anywhere from 90 to 150 minutes, according to Seattle officials.”

The second scheduling issue would be on Monday, Oct. 20. The Seahawks are presently scheduled to host the Houston Texans at 7 p.m. PT in the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. Game 7 of the American League Championship Series would also be on that date.

As Schefter noted, that would create a second scheduling issue that could force the Texans-Seahawks start time to be moved.

“There is a similar but less likely scenario that could play out for the Monday night game on Oct. 20, when Game 7 of the AL Championship Series is scheduled to be played,” Schefter said. “A lot has to happen to even get to this point, but if the Mariners somehow wind up hosting Game 7 of the ACLS, the game likely would have to start somewhere around 4:30 p.m. local time, with the Seahawks kicking off some 150 minutes later, according to city officials.”

Schefter is correct. Several things would have to take place for Oct. 20 to be a scheduling issue in Seattle.

First, obviously, the Mariners have to win the American League Division Series to even reach the ALCS. Second, the ALCS would need to go seven games. Third, Seattle’s ALCS opponent can’t be the American League East Champion, as both the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees have a better record than the Mariners and, as the AL East champion, would host the Mariners for a potential Game 7. But if the Mariners play the American League Central champion (either the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Guardians) or an American League Wild Card team (including the Blue Jays or Yankees), a potential ALCS Game 7 would be in Seattle.

The Mariners and Seahawks, of course, no longer share the same stadium. But as Schefter noted, their close proximity of T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field makes the Mariners and Seahawks hosting games being played simultaneously completely impractical.

“The infrastructure of the area surrounding the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park and the Seahawks’ Lumen Field — which are practically next door to each other, a mere one-tenth of a mile apart — is not designed to support two games played at the same time and would create logistical issues that include a chaotic traffic situation along with overcrowding,” Schefter said. “Therefore, if the two games in Seattle wind up being scheduled for the same time – a decision that Major League Baseball must first make — changes to the Seahawks’ schedule might have to be made.”