5 Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Battle Rams in Week 15 Rematch

Looking to extend their winning streak to three games and keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive, the Seahawks will hit the road for a rare Tuesday night matchup against the Rams.

Though the game originally was scheduled for Sunday, a terrible outbreak led to more than 25 players on Rams roster being placed on the COVID-19/reserve list, creating concerns they would not be able to field a roster. Consequently, the NFL opted to postpone the game to Tuesday with hopes of allowing more players to be available to play.

Since the game officially was rescheduled, the script has been flipped with the Seahawks adding seven players to their own COVID list over the past two days. Meanwhile, the Rams have been able to activate 11vplayers, including cornerback Jalen Ramsey and receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

With plenty of uncertainty still clouding over both teams with less than 24 hours until kickoff, which matchups will decide who captures a pivotal NFC West victory at SoFi Stadium? Players who currently remain on the COVID-19 list are in italics.*

--Seahawks guards Damien Lewis and Gabe Jackson versus Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald: Any time these two teams get together, No. 99 seems to single-handedly destroy Seattle's offensive game plan. In 16 career games against the Seahawks, according to TruMedia, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle has sacked Russell Wilson 16 times and racked up 38 quarterback pressures. In Week 5, he dominated once again with seven pressures and a sack while also being on the receiving end of the follow through by Wilson that resulted in mallet finger. Efforts trying to neutralize him have been futile in the past for the most part, but the Seahawks have fared a bit better against him with a functional running game. If Jackson and Lewis can create movement at the line of scrimmage and Rashaad Penny can get going on the ground like he did last week against Houston to prevent Donald from teeing off on Wilson, Seattle has a chance to pull the road upset. If they can't, it could be a long, long Tuesday night.

--Seahawks defensive ends Carlos Dunlap, Darrell Taylor, and Alton Robinson versus Rams tackles Andrew Whitworth and Alaric Jackson: Even considering their offensive inconsistencies over the past month, the Rams have done an outstanding job protecting Stafford throughout his first season with the team. Leading the way up front, the 40-year old Whitworth continues to whip Father Time and has enjoyed another strong season, allowing just three sacks and 11 pressures per Pro Football Focus. Rob Havenstein has been equally as impressive, but the Rams will be playing without him for a second straight game and will also be without his backup Joseph Noteboom. With neither activated, they will likely to have to roll with Jackson, an undrafted rookie with nine offensive snaps on his resume. After failing to generate much pressure at all in the first matchup back in October with just two quarterback hits, Dunlap, Taylor, Robinson, and Benson Mayowa must find a way to turn up the heat a bit on Stafford and prevent his receivers from having all day to get open on the deep crossing routes that killed the Seahawks in the second half of that game. Havenstein and Noteboom being out should create a prime opportunity to make that happen.

--Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Dee Eskridge, and Freddie Swain versus Rams cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, David Long, and Darious Williams: During their first three encounters last season, Ramsey got the better of Metcalf, limiting him to just four catches and no touchdowns on 10 targets. But back in Week 5, Metcalf finally cracked the code against the All-Pro cornerback, beating him on a skinny post for a touchdown reception and hauling in three receptions on three targets for 58 yards. With Tyler Lockett out due to COVID, the third-year wideout should see plenty of targets going against his divisional nemesis, but he won’t be able to beat the Rams on his own and other receivers will need to step up against a banged up secondary that could still be missing Dont'e Deayon and Robert Rochell. Eskridge wasn’t available the first time these two teams met and his explosiveness from the slot could create problems for the opposition both as receiver and a runner in the jet motion game. With that said, Williams has had Wilson's number, picking him off three times in the past four games between these two teams. The quarterback will have to be cognizant of where he is at all times and look to make him pay for his aggressiveness jumping routes.

--Seahawks cornerbacks Sidney Jones, Bless Austin, and Ugo Amadi versus Rams receivers Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., and Van Jefferson: In the first meeting between these two teams, Jones endured a rough second start for the Seahawks, allowing veteran DeSean Jackson to slip behind him for a 68-yard reception and surrendered four catches for 100 yards. Since then, the former Washington standout has been lights out and will aim to continue his outstanding play going against Kupp, who already has 113 catches through 13 games and has been a thorn in Seattle’s side ever since breaking into the league. As if that isn’t a potentially problematic matchup on its own, Beckham’s activation from the COVID list coincided with Reed’s positive test on Sunday, leaving Seattle without its top cornerback at the worst possible time. With rookie Tre Brown and Gavin Heslop already lost for the season, seldom-used reserve Bless Austin will be called upon to take Reed's place across from Jones and draw matchups against Kupp, Beckham, and an emerging playmaker in Jefferson, creating a major advantage for the home team.

--Seahawks tackles Duane Brown and Jake Curhan versus Rams defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Von Miller: As if dealing with an uber-athletic wrecking ball like Donald in the interior wasn’t enough, the Rams continued to go all in and further bolstered their pass rush by acquiring Miller from the Broncos prior to the trade deadline. The former All-Pro has been relatively quiet since the trade, but he may be salivating at the thoughts of rushing against an inexperienced undrafted rookie in Curhan. The Seahawks also haven’t been able to successfully keep Floyd away from Wilson since he signed with the team last year, as the former first-round pick out of Georgia has 5.0 sacks and 17 pressures in the past three games against them. Keeping both of those rushers from being able to pin their ears back and hunt Wilson off the edge will be imperative, which is yet another reason why Seattle must be able to run the football and avoid becoming one dimensional. Getting the rushing attack rolling would take quite a bit of pressure off the tackles, particularly Curhan.