There is the saying that styles make fights and this Week 11 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks is the ultimate clash of styles. These are two teams that were built to beat each other. When you look at the offensive side of the ball, many of the Rams’ strengths line up with what the Seahawks also do well. Some of the same can be said for when the Seahawks are going up against the Rams’ defense. Whoever wins this game is going to take early control of the NFC West.
In recent years, these are the games that the Rams have gotten up for. Matthew Stafford is 5-0 against the Seahawks since joining the Rams. Over the last two years, the Rams are 5-0 in NFC West games after October taking away a Week 18 loss in which they played backups. In the Sean McVay era outside of 2022, they are 17-1 after the month of November against NFC West opponents not named the 49ers. Last season, the Rams got back into the NFC West with a win against the 4-4 Seahawks. This is the biggest game of the NFL season up to this point. Here are five keys to victory.
1. Find Success in Run Game
It’s going to be key on both sides of the ball for the Rams to have success on early downs. The Rams need to be able to get into a positive game script and avoid third-and-long. On the defensive side of the ball, winning on early downs will allow the Rams to get into the dime packages that they want to live in more than other teams. However, from an offensive perspective, that starts by finding success in the run game.
One of the more interesting matchups in this game is how the Seahawks will match the Rams in heavier tight end looks. The Seahawks match 12 and 13 personnel with their base defense at the lowest rate in the NFL. In fact, when facing sets that feature multiple tight ends, the Seahawks defense has matched with five or more defensive backs 75.3% of the time this season. A big reason they are able to do this is because of Nick Emmanwori’s skillset and Demarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Jarran Reed are all fantastic against the run. Lawrence and Nwosu do a nice job setting the edge and forcing things inside where Reed and Lawrence eat space and get up-field.
When the Rams are in 12 or 13 personnel and they run against nickel, they have just a 52 percent success rate which ranks 16th. Against base, that improves to fourth at 54.7 percent. The Rams have to be able to find success in the run game against the Seahawks in nickel to get them into base. It’s a small sample size of just 12 plays, but the Seahawks rank 32nd in EPA per rush when defending 13 personnel. When the Seahawks are in base, they rank just 18th in EPA per rush.
The Rams need to have success running against the Seahawks in nickel to earn the right to get them in base. It’s what the Rams did last year. In Week 9 of last year, the Rams moved to more 12 personnel. The Seahawks initially matched in nickel, but then moved to base. On the touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson that won the game, the Rams were in 12 personnel and the Seahawks were in base. The Rams rank seventh in rushing success rate this season with Kyren Williams ranking first. Williams needs to take over this game on the ground.
2. Limit Explosives on Defense
The Seahawks aren’t necessarily a boom or bust team, but a lot of their success comes from their ability to run play action and hit the deep shots off of that. On play-action passes, Sam Darnold’s average depth of target of 14.4 is first in the NFL by a wide margin. Ironically, Matthew Stafford is second at 10.1 yards. The gap between Darnold at one and Stafford at two is the same as Stafford at two and Tua Tagovailoa at 25. Darnold is going to hit the in-breakers and underneath stuff on early downs to set up play action passes down the field.
This season, the Seahawks offense leads the NFL in explosive pass rate at 22 percent. Meanwhile, the Rams defense is built to limit explosives. On the season, they rank sixth in explosive pass rate allowed. The Seahawks offense is operating at a historical rate and are going to have success. However, it’s more about what the Rams can do to limit the explosives and the damage off of them. This is a game that can be 14-0 very quickly and that is a game-script that the Rams can’t get into. They can’t allow this game to snowball. The cornerbacks are going to be tested on the outside and need to make plays on the ball.
3. Make Sam Darnold Uncomfortable
This one should seem obvious, but the Rams have to be able to get pressure on Sam Darnold. That may be easier said than done as two of the Rams’ worst games when it comes to getting pressure have come against the San Francisco 49ers. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak comes from Shanahan’s coaching system.
A big reason why the Rams had success against Sam Darnold and the Vikings was because of their ability to get pressure. The Rams sacked Darnold nine times in the playoffs. In the Week 8 matchup, Darnold was sacked three times. A lot of that was from interior pressure. Olusegun Oluwatimi is a quality player to have as depth, but it’s rarely a good thing to be changing centers against a good pass rush. The Rams have to be able to get interior pressure on Darnold.
Darnold has been one of the least pressured quarterbacks this season. However, when he’s been under pressure, he averaged -0.45 EPA per dropback which ranks 22nd. That’s worse than Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix. Darnold has been pressured at the fourth-lowest rate. With that said, Darnold has been pressured at over a 30 percent rate in three games. The Seahawks have lost two of those.
This goes beyond just making Darnold uncomfortable inside the pocket. The Seahawks have not trailed since being down 6-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars a month ago. This Seahawks offensive line as well as Darnold were not built to become a dropback passing team. If the Rams can flip the game-script and keep this game close or have a lead going into the fourth quarter, it’s another kind of pressure that Darnold hasn’t dealt with this season.
4. Play Opportunistic
Playing opportunistic doesn’t mean playing reckless. At the same time, the Rams need to be ready to make a big play-call, make a play on the ball, and simply take the opportunity when it happens. The Seahawks lead the NFL in fumbles this season with nine. Nate Landman and the Rams defense leads the NFL with eight turnovers via fumble. Landman has become an expert of the ‘peanut punch’ and he may get his chance in this game for another one.
The Rams have been one of the best fourth-down teams in the NFL with a 73.3 percent conversion rate. This isn’t to say that Sean McVay should be reckless in this area, but given the Rams’ kicking game, if the offense faces fourth-and-short, that should be considered a ‘go’ situation. It is worth noting that the Seahawks rank second in the NFL in special teams DVOA and have been one of the better punt return teams as well.
Offensively, the Rams can’t live in empty, but on 32 dropbacks out of empty this season, they rank second in success rate and first in explosive plays. The Seahawks are 11th in success rate defending empty and 14th in explosives allowed. On defense, the Rams shouldn’t be too aggressive, but on 3rd-and-long, Darnold is just 9-for-15 against the blitz this season. Four of his six interceptions have come while being blitzed. Chris Shula will need to pick his spots.
5. Use ‘Eye-Candy’ with the tight ends
This is a game in which the Rams should be able to continue utilizing the tight ends in the passing game. The Seahawks have allowed the sixth-most yards to tight ends this season and the second-most receptions. Below is how tight ends have performed against the Seahawks in 2025:
- Week 1 – George Kittle, 4 receptions, 25 yards, 1 touchdown
- Week 3 – Juwan Johnson, 6 receptions, 51 yards
- Week 4 – Trey McBride, 7 receptions, 52 yards
- Week 5 – Cade Otton, 4 receptions, 81 yards
- Week 7 – Dalton Schultz, 9 receptions, 98 yards
- Week 9 – Zach Ertz, 4 receptions, 46 yards
- Week 10 – Trey McBride, 9 receptions, 127 yards, 1 touchdown
While many of McBride’s yards last week came in garbage time, this is still a team that has given up a lot with the tight ends. As mentioned previously, the Rams should be able to get a step on Emmanwori with ‘eye-candy’. Emmanwori is extremely athletic, but is still processing what he’s seeing on the field. This could end up being a big Terrance Ferguson game. The Rams should also be able to get Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson, and Tyler Higbee involved in the passing game as well. This Seahawks defense plays very fast and using motion and forcing them to think more can slow them down just enough.
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