Sam Darnold poised for payback, 4 other things to know about Seahawks vs. Rams

It’s a battle of NFC West heavyweights at SoFi Stadium, and whoever manages to win the game will have outright the outright lead in the division. And depending on what happens on Sunday night at Philadelphia between the 6-3 Lions and 7-2 Eagles, either the Seattle Seahawks (winners of 10 straight road games) or the Los Angeles Rams could own the best record in the conference.

Both Mike Macdonald’s improving club and Sean McVay’s defending NFC West champions not only own identical 7–2 records, each team is riding a four-game winning streak.

A year ago, both of these clubs also finished 10-7 marks. The Rams won the NFC West thanks to the strength of victory tiebreaker, and the Seahawks failed to make the playoffs.

Both Seattle’s Sam Darnold and Los Angeles’ Matthew Stafford are playing at high levels, most notably the latter. He’s thrown 20 touchdown passes without an interception in his last six outings.

This could come down to which team can protect its quarterback the best, and which club can avoid the fatal turnover. For Darnold, it’s a chance to avenge two losses to the Rams in 2024 (including a playoff setback) when he was a member of the Vikings.

Seahawks vs. Rams History

While the Seahawks spent their inaugural NFL season in the NFC West in 1976, these clubs have only been genuine divisional rivals since the league realigned in 2022. Since McVay’s arrival in Los Angeles in 2017, Seattle is a mere 6-11 in this series—including a home playoff loss in 2020. A year ago, the Rams came away with a 26-20 overtime win in Seattle in Week 9, while the ‘Hawks prevailed at SoFi Stadium in Week 18 over the Stafford-less Rams, 30-25.

Hang On Sammy, Sammy Hang On!

Despite their winning ways, Darnold and the Seahawks must do a better job of taking care of the football. Entering Week 11, only the Dolphins (17) had committed more turnovers than Macdonald’s club (16). The Seahawks’ quarterback has 10 of those miscues—three last Sunday despite the team’s win over Arizona.

Stafford has played in five of the eight meetings vs. the Seahawks since joining the Rams in 2021. His team owns a 5-0 mark in those games, Stafford with six TD passes and four picks. Seattle’s pass rush has come up with only six sacks in those games—four in one outing. The Rams are winless in the other three games.

Rams’ Unsung OLB Byron Young Bears Watching

Seattle’s ground attack averages 114.3 yards per game. The team has been held below 100 yards on the ground four times in nine outings. However, the Seahawks exploited Arizona’s run defense last Sunday for 198 yards. The Rams’ defense is ranked ninth in the league vs. the run—giving up 96.9 yards per game.

Jared Verse was the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he’s having a solid second year with four sacks and three forced fumbles. But third-year pro Byron Young leads the team with a career-best nine sacks. He and Verse are tied for the club lead with 17 QB hits. Young has 24.5 sacks in two-plus seasons.

Seahawks vs. Rams History

Hang On Sammy, Sammy Hang On!

Rams’ Unsung OLB Byron Young Bears Watching

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