“(The Rams) are a really good team. They play hard. They play together. They got really talented players. Got a great scheme. It’s just a great matchup. It’s right where we should be at this point of the year. It’s pretty cool.”
Said defensive tackle Leonard Williams, “I was just expecting it to happen this way. I think it’s interesting that only two teams we played in what feels like over a month is the Niners and the Rams. But I think it’s a testament to how good this division has been this year. A lot of respect for both of those teams, but I have even more respect for my team and confidence in my team, and just the way we make it about us is special to me. I think every week obviously no matter how many times we’ve played them we’re trying to find new ways to attack them and ways to get after them. At the same time, I think our team does a great job making it about us every day.”
The Seahawks and Rams seemed destined for this third meeting not just because they won a lot of games, but because of how they won them, with the Seahawks having the league’s best point differential at plus-191, while the Rams were second at plus-172. They were both also two of the more complete teams in the league, with the Seahawks allowing the fewest points in the league while scoring the third most, while the Rams led the league in scoring while allowing the 10th fewest points.
Based on DVOA (defense-adjusted value over opponent), an advanced statistic that evaluates teams’ efficiency, the Seahawks were the No. 1 team in the league while the Rams ranked second. And it isn’t just that the Seahawks and Rams were good this year, they are, by DVOA standards, in historic company, with the Seahawks ranking seventh among all teams since 1978, and the Rams checking in at ninth.
And of course, the games between the two teams also indicated that neither was going was going to run away with the division, nor would either have an easy path to the Super Bowl. In Week 11, the Rams took control of the game thanks to four interceptions, but the Seahawks clawed back into the game and had a chance at a game-winning field goal, but Jason Myers’ 61-yard attempt missed. Five weeks later, the Seahawks overcame a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to win in overtime.
“In the playoffs you’re going to play the best teams,” tight end AJ Barner said. “I would think we were the two best teams in the NFC throughout the regular season, so it was only a matter of time before we faced them again.”
Added quarterback Sam Darnold, “They’re a really good team. Obviously it’s the NFC Championship, so two best teams in the NFC going at it. It’s a really good opportunity to just play good football, have that kind of next-opponent, next-game mentality. We know the stakes. Like I said last week, it’s win-or-go-home at this point. We look at it as another game. We trust our process throughout the week and go about it that way.”
