After four straight weeks of solid play, the Seattle Seahawks’ offense sputtered against the Los Angeles Chargers. Seattle struggled to get anything going for most of the game, and it cost the team a victory. As a result, the Seahawks slipped from the sixth seed in the playoffs and are currently on the outside looking in.
In order to get back to their winning ways, the Seahawks will have to prevail in a re-match upset versus the Los Angeles Rams. Sunday will be the first divisional rematch of the year for the Seahawks, and they will look to avoid falling beneath .500 once more this season.
The Rams and Seahawks faced off in Seattle during Week 5, resulting in a Los Angeles’ victory. However, that game wasn’t the blowout many people were expecting. In one of the more exciting games of the season thus far, the Seahawks went blow for blow with the Rams’ high-powered offense. In the second half, the Rams actually had to keep pace with Seattle for a change.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the Rams were able to outlast them and barely escape Seattle with a narrow 33-31 victory. Now the Seahawks go on the road to play in Los Angeles. Regardless of if this game is played in LA or St. Louis, the Seahawks have struggled tremendously playing the Rams on the road. With a 2-4 road record since 2012, the Rams are one of only two franchises where quarterback Russell Wilson has a losing record with multiple games played.
In fact, the Rams are also the only NFC team Russell Wilson has a losing overall record against with a mark of 5-7. His seven losses to the Rams are also the most he has against any one team in the NFL.
However, despite the Rams already notching a victory and having a historical edge over Wilson, this is a winnable game for the Seahawks. It will be a significant challenge, but they have the ability to escape with a road win themselves. The Rams are coming off their first loss of the season, proving they are indeed beatable. Their much-lauded defense also hasn’t been remotely as dominant as expected, and the Seahawks have shown they are better at running the ball this season than they have in years past.
The key here will be to slow down the Rams just enough with a few critical turnovers. Last season the Seahawks forced five turnovers the last time they played in Los Angeles and managed to escape with a 16-10 victory.
Prediction: Seahawks UPSET the Rams 34-31
This may not be the defensive slugfest of last season, but look for the Seahawks to shake-off recent struggles with a shocking upset. Hardly any team plays as well with their backs to the wall like the Seattle Seahawks, and that is where they are at. Falling below .500 in a hot race for the final Wild Card spot with Minnesota and Green Bay would be a major blow.
When the Seahawks played the Rams the first time, they were coming off an ugly game against Arizona where they went 0-10 on third down. Now the Seahawks are facing the Rams following a similarly dismal offensive performance. The Rams defense is also shell-shocked after surrendering 45 points to the Saints and have had difficulty all year stopping opponents.
Seattle may struggle versus the Rams, but neither team is particularly good at sweeping the other in the season series. Since 2012, the Rams and Seahawks have swept the other only once apiece.
