The NFC West has looked like the best division in the conference for most of the season, and now the division will have two teams playing for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday as favorites.
The Seahawks opened as 2.5-point favorites on BetMGM. The tight spread makes sense given how the two matchups between these teams went this season. The home team won both games, and both were very close.
In Week 11, the Rams won 21-19 with Seattle kicker Jason Myers missing a 61-yard field goal on the last play. Sam Darnold threw four interceptions, but the Seahawks still had a chance to win it at the end.
In Week 16, the Seahawks won an overtime thriller in one of the best games of the season. The Rams led by 16 points with less than 10 minutes to go, but Seattle scored two touchdowns and succeeded on two-point conversions both times to tie the score. In overtime, the Rams scored first on a touchdown, but the Seahawks responded with a touchdown and completed a hat trick of two-point conversions to win 38-37.
If those games are any indication, Sunday’s showdown could be a classic.
The path to this game couldn’t have been more different for the Seahawks and Rams. The Seahawks returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and never looked back in a dominant 41-6 home win against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. The Rams endured cold weather, a snowy field, a raucous Chicago crowd and a miraculous fourth-down touchdown in the final minute to beat the Chicago Bears 20-17 in overtime.
The point total is listed at 47.5, which is a full touchdown more than the number for Broncos-Patriots in the AFC. The number is a middle ground between the low-scoring first meeting and the high-scoring rematch. The Rams won’t have January Chicago weather to deal with, but there is a chance of rain in Seattle next Sunday.
The Rams had the highest-scoring offense in the NFL regular season (30.5 points per game) while the Seahawks defense allowed the fewest points points per game (17.2).
Both teams are on winning runs in conference championship games. Seattle has won its last three NFC title games and the Rams have won their last four dating to their time in St. Louis.
Seattle last made it to the Super Bowl 11 years ago and last won it 12 years ago. The Seahawks are 3-1 in conference championship games and 3-0 in NFC title games. The Raiders beat the Seahawks in the 1983 season when Seattle was still in the AFC.
The Rams won the Super Bowl four seasons ago and are seeking a third Super Bowl appearance in eight seasons.