Rams vs. Seahawks: Three Bold Predictions For Thursday’s First Place Bout in NFC West

Matthew Stafford and the Rams are headed north to take on the Seahawks on Thursday night.

Stafford and the Rams are headed to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Week 16 in the NFL is set to kick off on Thursday night in Seattle with an epic battle between the Seahawks and the Rams.

L.A. enters this one atop the NFC North with an 11–3 record, having won eight of their last nine behind a father time-defying season from quarterback Matthew Stafford—who we’ll get to later. As a unit, the Rams clinched their spot in the 2025 postseason last Sunday, and are now looking to win their fifth division championship since 2017.

Standing in their way on Thursday night, however, are the Seahawks, who also come into this one at 11–3—though L.A. holds the tiebreaker over them with their head-to-head win in Week 11. Seattle, too, has won eight of nine amid chapter two of Sam Darnold's career re-write, and is on pace to put itself firmly back in the Super Bowl conversation for the first time since the days of Pete Carroll.

We’re in for quite the clash from Lumen Field. Here are three bold predictions for Rams vs. Seahawks:

Jaxson Smith-Njigba will notch his 10th 100-plus yard receiving game of 2025

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been the best wide receiver in football this season. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been among the top pass catchers in football this season, leading the NFL with 1,541 yards on 96 catches while notching an impressive 16.1 yards per reception and scoring nine touchdowns. He also leads the league in 20-plus yard receptions with 25, and has been Darnold’s favorite receiver by far—as evidenced by his whopping 35% target share in the Seattle offense.

The last time the Seahawks took on the Rams, Smith-Njigba tallied 105 yards on nine receptions, and while L.A. boasts one of the NFL's better defenses—allowing just 18.6 points per game—it's been susceptible to breakout performances from opposing wideouts in recent weeks. Over their last two games, they've surrendered 142 receiving yards to Arizona’s Michael Wilson and 164 to Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown.

That’s why, on Thursday night, I’m predicting JSN to again get the better of the Rams’ secondary to the tune of his 10th 100-plus yard game of the 2025 season.

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

Matthew Stafford will throw his sixth, and seventh, interceptions of the year

Stafford has done a great job at protecting the football over the course of this season. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stafford is the league’s MVP frontrunner through 15 weeks, and deservedly so. While guiding the Rams to an 11–3 record, the 37-year-old is leading the NFL in passing touchdowns (37) and passer rating (112.2) and has thrown for 3,722 yards. The best part? He's done so while being incredibly efficient, tossing just five interceptions on the year.

After breaking Tom Brady’s impressive record for most consecutive touchdown passes without an interception earlier this year, Stafford has cooled off—throwing three picks over his last two games. Not a great trend given that he’s set to take on a Seattle defense that’s tied for the fourth-most interceptions this season with 16.

In what could shape up to be an offensive back-and-forth on Thursday night, look for Stafford to push the envelope—and in turn throw his sixth and seventh picks of the year. [Insert 6–7 joke here.]

Seahawks will win a tight one thanks to a dominant offensive showing, reclaiming spot atop the NFC West

Mike Macdonald has the Seahawks rolling in 2025. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

As mentioned above, this one has electric, high-flying, track meet-style matchup written all over it. Sure, both defenses are solid—but in today’s NFL, the money is made on the offensive side of the ball, and that will shine through on Thursday night.

In what will be remembered as one of the better prime-time contests in recent memory, I’m predicting a full-on shootout. Behind gunslinging performances from Stafford and Darnold, look for the Seahawks to eke out a 37–34 win and reclaim the top spot in the NFC West with just two weeks remaining in the 2025 season.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed