Rubber match: Seahawks and Rams face off for third time this season | Seattle 57 - 56 Los Angeles

Two teams, two games and just three points. That’s all that separated the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks in their two regular season matchups. Now the two teams square off for an all or nothing rubber match with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Seahawks lead series by a point

The historical match up couldn’t be much tighter. Seahawks lead the series but just by a game and the Rams could draw level with Seattle in what is certainly the biggest match up in the history of the series. Seattle have scored 57 points in their two games agains the Rams, while Los Angeles has scored 56, but right now all that matters is the game on Sunday afternoon from Lumen Field.

• Week 11: Seahawks 19 - 21 Rams
• Week 16: Rams 37 - 38 Seahawks

The Seahawks earned the right to host the NFC Championship by winning the one seed in the NFC on the last game of the season. They beat the Rams in Week 16 to take the advantage over LA, and then had to go into San Francisco and beat the 49ers in a winner take the one seed match up from Levi’s Stadium.

Sam Darnold has been sensational in his first year in Seattle. The Seahawks took a chance on him after the Minnesota Vikings let him walk in free agency, and the born again QB has not just repeated his form from last year, he has improved on it. Now after another win over the Niners in blowout fashion they are one win away from returning to the Super Bowl.

Rams offense vs. Seahawks defense

While Darnold has been great, it’s been the defense that has made the difference in Seattle. They held their opponents to a league low 17.2 points a game and have a top three run defense in the league. The one blow they will have to overcome is the loss of Zach Charbonnet who tore his ACL in the game against the Niners. Charbonnet was their second leading rusher with 730 yards, and had 12 TDs as the Seahawks red zone specialist. Now it will be up to Kenneth Walker III to carry the load. He led the team with 1,027 yards, and 5 TDs during the regular season.

The Rams have been considered the top team in the league by a lot of the experts and analysts. In a year in which a clear cut favorite never pronounced itself, the Rams were always in the running. They had a couple of losses late in the season that cost them the one seed but that hasn’t scared people away from betting on the Rams.

With an MVP candidate QB in Matt Stafford and maybe the best WR in the league in Puka Nacua this top rated offense is hard to slow down. The weather in Chicago did it’s best to shut down Stafford and the Rams but they were able to hold on and now they set their sights on Seattle. It will be chilly on Sunday from Lumen Field but the skies should be clear and there won’t be a fraction of the wind they saw in Chicago.

Odds and and precision

These two teams have already played twice this year and they were two classics. LA picked off Darnold four times but only one by a missed field goal from the Seahawks late in the fourth quarter. The second game went to overtime and Seattle had to make a miraculous comeback in the fourth quarter to beat the Rams in the extra session. This one is truly anyone’s game.

• Spread: Seattle (-2.5)
• Over/Under: 46.5
• Moneyline: LA (+130), Seattle (155)

Prediction

Like I said earlier, this is anyone’s game. Seattle’s defense has to set the tone on Sunday night. If they allow Stafford to get into a groove and get time in the pocket they will be in trouble. If the Rams can rattle Darnold early on, that this game might be over in the first half. LA had SEA fans booing the offense before they mounted the massive comeback but I doubt they’ll be able to cover their mistakes twice in two games.

I’m going with LA to win 35-17.

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