This time last season, the Rams were vying for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. This year, it’s been a different story. They most likely need to win at least three of their remaining four games, none of which will be particularly easy matchups.
It all begins with the Seahawks on Sunday night, who are leading the NFC West and hold the No. 2 seed in the conference. They’ve won five in a row, have the league’s third-ranked rush offense and look like one of the most complete teams in the NFL.
All indications point toward the Rams being underdogs in this one, which is how they opened the week. But since then, the betting line has flipped from the Seahawks being 2.5-point favorites to Los Angeles now being favored by 1.5 points.
The Rams winning wouldn’t technically be an upset, but they sure seem like the underdogs in this one. Can they pull it off and beat the division-leading Seahawks? That’s a difficult question to answer because of how close these teams always play. Most likely, this game is going to come down to one possession, potentially whichever team has the ball last.
The Seahawks won the first meeting this season, 30-29, after Greg Zuerlein missed a field goal in the final seconds. A lot has changed since then, including the additions of Jalen Ramsey to the Rams and Quandre Diggs to the Seahawks.
Los Angeles’ top priority has to be containing Russell Wilson, which is easier said than done. He has a league-high 26 touchdown passes and has only thrown four interceptions, so he’s not going to give this Rams offense many extra opportunities to score.
Los Angeles is on the other end of the turnover spectrum, giving the ball away 20 times this season – 22nd in the NFL. The Seahawks have forced 27 turnovers this season, which is the third-most in the league, including 11 in their last three games.
The Rams will need to take care of the football if they want to win this game, but I’m not so sure last week was a real indication of this team’s offense. More than likely, Jared Goff will have a turnover or two that will hurt the Rams in a big way.
Ultimately, I think the Seahawks will come away with a win, continuing to roll as the season goes on. It’ll be close, but Los Angeles will come up just short again.
Final score prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 27