Dominant Seahawks favored over Rams or Bears in early NFC Championship Game odds

The Seattle Seahawks were the favorites to win Super Bowl LX before Saturday night's Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers. And then the game kicked off and, literally, they strengthened their position.

Starting with Rashid Shaheed's electrifying 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the Seahawks dominated and obliterated the Niners. The defense suffocated Brock Purdy, forcing three turnovers. The offense shook off injury concerns about quarterback Sam Darnold and rushed for almost 200 yards as Kenneth Walker scored three second-half touchdowns.

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All in all, it an impressive and comprehensive performance in the 41-6 victory that further made believers of even NFL oddsmakers. The Seahawks were so dominant that they scored their 41 points with Darnold completing only 12 passes and NFL leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching making only three grabs.

The Seahawks, now 15-3 on the season, will host the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 25 at Lumen Field. No matter who they play, they will be favored.

In the early, look-ahead odds posted on Fanduel, Seattle will be favored by 1.5 against the Los Angeles Rams and 5.5 against the Chicago Bears. Those teams play Sunday night at frigid Soldier Field to determine who comes to the Pacific Northwest next weekend. The Rams are 4.5-point favorites in their Divisional Round game.

"The cold weather plays to the advantage of the Bears because they've played in frigid conditions the last 6-7 weeks of the season," FOX analyst Tom Brady said during the fourth quarter of Seattle's blowout win. "It's going to be Herculean task for Sean McVay and the Rams to go in there and win that game. Whoever wins and has to come here, they better hope the Seahawks play less than their best."

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The Seahawks split two games against the Rams during the regular season, losing 21-19 in L.A. and winning an overtime thriller, 38-37, in Week 16 to help win the NFC West. Seattle beat the Bears in Chicago, 6-3, at the end of the 2024 regular season in the teams' most recent meeting.

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Leonard Williams | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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