Laken Tomlinson buttoned up his shiny cufflinks. They complemented his stylish suit, which matched his chic sunglasses.

Yes, the Seahawks’ veteran left guard wore sunglasses inside the locker room at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

These are numbers. It fits Seattle’s sunny vibe.

After the Seahawks cemented their position in first place in the NFC West with four games remaining in the regular season with their fourth straight 30-18 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday, the Seahawks’ message was clear.

“We’re in playoff mode, man,” Tomlinson said.

Music blared through the room — once again — following his offensive line’s best play, not just this season, but in many seasons in Seattle.

“We’ll take care of business, man,” Tomlinson said.

At the moment, Seahawks business is going very well.

In the middle of last month, coach Mike Macdonald challenged his then-last-place team as the players returned from their break and week-long break. They had just suffered a tough overtime loss at home against the Los Angles Rams.

The coach’s demand: Play the last eight games of the season as if you were losing.

Because at 4-5 it was like that.

The Seahawks call it their “death zone.” A defeat can destroy the season.

You are in the middle of Macdonald’s challenge. They are 4-0 since their 37-year-old rookie head coach made the announcement.

“When guys say, ‘We’re in playoff mode,’ it’s every week,” quarterback Geno Smith said.

“I think it’s the mindset that really sets us apart right now.”

Smith had a quiet, efficient 24-for-30 day in Arizona. For the first time this season, he didn’t get any sacks, another indicator of how well his previously porous offensive line was playing. Smith threw for 233 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown toss to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. This gave Seattle the lead for good in the first quarter.

The TD throw, on what Smith-Njigba called offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s perfect plan, was a play after linebacker Ernest Jones IV penetrated deep into his hook zone coverage and intercepted a pass he couldn’t believe Cardinals- Quarterback Kyler Murray

“For us, we live in what we call the ‘death zone.’ We’ve lived with that in the last four games,” Jones said. “Every game is a playoff game in our eyes. We’ve been in the playoffs for four or five weeks now.”

Can the Seahawks keep this up?

Next up: Green Bay. The Packers (9-4) next Sunday night at Lumen Field (5:20 p.m., Channel 5) are another top playoff contender in the NFC. Green Bay is a possible first-round playoff opponent. If the Seahawks win the West Division, they will have a one-game lead over the Rams, with a game between Seattle and LA coming up on January 5th or 6th to close out the regular season.

Then it’s 11:2 for Minnesota on December 22nd in Seattle. The Seahawks end the regular season at Chicago (4:9) and the Rams (7:6).

Jones knows how difficult it is to break the mental principle of “every game is a playoff game” over an extended period of time. At the end of the 2021 season, he won the Super Bowl with the Rams as a middle linebacker.

So The News Tribune asked Jones in Arizona after Seattle’s second win in three weeks over Arizona: Is this mentality that has worked wonders so far sustainable from mid-November through January and, it’s hard to believe, until the Super Bowl in February?

“Oh yeah. Yeah. It just depends on the guys you have in the locker room,” Jones said. “I think we have the right people.

“Of course playoff games are about survival. So at this point it’s elevated. Then everyone knows. It’s a game, a game you can win and a game you can lose.

“We are ready. We are locked up. We just keep going.”

The coach who issued this challenge last month is pleased with his boys’ response to it so far.

But he is not satisfied.

“The mentality we’re in right now as we get into the home stretch: football in December,” Macdonald said.

“Just a great win. The boys had a great mentality, a great week of preparation.

“So we have to keep stacking. There’s a big game coming up in prime time this week.

“So excited – but we’re making progress. And continue to win.”