The Los Angeles Rams will travel to Seattle on Sunday to take on the Seahawks for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. These two have been the best teams in either conference. While both teams have arrived at the same destination, they have taken very different paths to get there. The Rams are coming off a nail-biting overtime thriller against the Bears in the snow, while the Seahawks eviscerated the 49ers 41–6.
Photo Cred: Everett Herald
The Seahawks dominated from the opening kickoff, which they returned for a touchdown. Seattle will look to continue riding its dominant defense to the Super Bowl, though that unit did show vulnerability against this Rams offense just a few weeks ago in Week 16. In that matchup, Matthew Stafford threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams scored 37 points in Seattle in a one-point loss.
Los Angeles did that without its No. 2 wide receiver, Davante Adams, who caught the most touchdown passes in the league this season despite missing three games due to injury. While the Seahawks’ offense cannot be relied upon to match the Rams in a shootout, it is unlikely they will need to. Their defense has been elite and Stafford’s recent stretch of less-than-elite play. Although the Rams still possess the better combination of offense, defense, coaching, and overall roster talent, they have consistently played up or down to their competition.
This tendency has left them with far less margin for error than they should have and has magnified one or two critical mistakes in games that should have been decided in blowout fashion. As has been the case all season, if the Rams continue to play with fire instead of reaching their full potential, those small mistakes could cost them a trip to the Super Bowl on Sunday.
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With the Denver Broncos forced to play backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix broke his ankle last week against the Bills, and the Patriots failing to impress against the Chargers and Texans, the NFC Championship Game could function as the de facto Super Bowl this year. Both the Rams and Seahawks would likely be heavy favorites against either AFC opponent, a dynamic that mirrors a thirteen-year stretch from 1984 to 1996 when the NFC won every Super Bowl, many in historically dominant fashion.
