For the third time this season, the Rams and Seahawks meet, this time with a trip to Super Bowl LX and the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
The Rams won the first game on November 16, intercepting Sam Darnold four times en route to a two-point, 21-19 victory. One month later, on December 18, the Seahawks got their win back, albeit in controversial fashion, via two-point conversion, 38-37.
Much has been made of the Seahawks’ defensive efforts of late, including limiting the San Francisco 49ers to just nine points in their last two games. Los Angeles, though, has proven to be Seattle’s kryptonite. In their December match-up, Matthew Stafford threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns, and that was without wide receiver Davante Adams available.
The Rams will have their full arsenal of weapons available to them in this third, rubber match.
Of course, none of that matters if the offensive line cannot protect against arguably the best front four in football and the defense cannot stop the run game, led by Kenneth Walker III. If either of those two areas dictates the championship game, it will be Seattle heading back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Russell Wilson’s ill-fitted, goal-line throw that lost his team the game against New England.
Ultimately, the game will be decided by which quarterback can make the plays needed, when they are needed most. Stafford has made a career of thriving in the biggest moments, leading his team down the field and to victory. We have seen it thus far in the playoffs, with the potential league MVP putting a dagger in the Panthers with a touchdown to Colby Parkinson, then finding Adams along the sideline for a crucial first down in Chicago.
We have not seen Darnold make those same plays on a stage like this. He has the potential Offensive Player of the Year to throw to in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but until he proves it on a stage as big as this, it is difficult to instill one’s faith in him to get the job done.
All year, the Rams have found ways to win. As long as the referee’s do not decide the game on another controversial two-point conversion, there is reason to believe that Stafford, Adams, Puka Nacua, a big-game defense and head coach Sean McVay can overcome the mighty Seahawks and cash their ticket back to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LX Prediction: Rams over Patriots, 27-24
