Seahawks Legend Has One Simple Message Going Into NFC Championship Game

Adjustments are the name of the game for tomorrow's NFC Championship, which will be the fourth conference title game in Seattle Seahawks history. Seattle has a strong history in these matchups, but this Los Angeles Rams team may be the toughest squad they've ever faced in the playoffs.

In their two meetings earlier this season the Seahawks and Rams played eachother as tightly as possible, with just one point and less than five yards total separating them in a 1-1 split.

The primary reason LA has been able to play Seattle so tough is defensive coordinator Mike Shula's approach to stopping Sam Darnold.

In the first half of the season, the Seahawks offense faced a ton of heavy boxes, as opponents were geared in on stopping the most run-heavy scheme in the league. That made Darnold's work easy, and he carved those light secondaries up. Things changed for Darnold starting in Week 11 in the first matchup with the Rams, who went the other direction - throwing tons of dime and nickel looks at Darnold and daring Seattle to run the ball.

It worked - and Darnold threw four intereptions in the Seahawks' loss.

The answer is a relatively simple one - and it's something that's trending in the right direction at just the right time. Here's Seahawks legend Richard Sherman with a simple message for the team going into the NFC title game: run the ball.

Richard Sherman: Run The Ball

Sherm x Mitch with ONE message for the SEAHAWKS | “RUN THE BALL”!#Seahawks #Patriots pic.twitter.com/VpVXjiao5N
— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) January 23, 2026

This is the way.

Not only has Kenneth Walker III been red hot over his last four games, this has been LA's biggest weakness during the same period.

Tough as they've played Seattle this year, the truth is the Rams are trending down, having barely survived the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. That followed on the heels of a rough finish to the regular season, as LA lost two of its last three games.

The first loss was Seattle's epic comeback winin Week 16, when Walker posted 100 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. The other loss came against the lowly Atlanta Falcons, when Bijan Robinson went off for 195 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts. The Falcons run a similar scheme to the Seahawks' run game, which has been trending up since that Week 16 meeting.

One potential hiccup for the run-the-ball-down-their-throat strategy is the season-ending injury to backup Zach Charbonnet, who suffered an ACL tear last week against the 49ers. Charbonnet has been a major part of the Seahawks' rushing attack this season, especially in the red zone.

On the other hand, Walker is performing so well right now that it's a little nuts to hand the ball off to anybody else, unless he needs a breather after breaking off a big run.

The RB2 spot against the Rams will go to George Holani, who was just activated off injured reserve. While he hasn't seen much action this year, Holani has only managed 73 yards on 22 carries (3.3 yards per attempt).

The right path forward is to spam Walker until the Rams prove they can stop him - or he gets injured.

Ken Walker — Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) leaves the field following an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Richard Sherman: Run The Ball

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