Divisional rival games are weird. In part, divisional rival games are fun because they are weird. It turns out playing twice a year gives teams so much information on each other that nearly anything can happen on any given night.<\/p>\n
When the Seattle Seahawks play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, it will be the 56th time the two teams have faced off in regular season. It\u2019s 28-27 Seattle, for curious folks.<\/p>\n
But these Seahawks have never faced these Rams with the three particular advantages they now possess. It\u2019s a layer of newness to a rivalry that\u2019s been brought back to the forge of sports-hate since the two have become powerhouses once again.<\/p>\n
What a ridiculous free agent signing. At 33 years old, and nine games in, I\u2019m ready to propose DeMarcus Lawrence as the best edge player Seattle has had in eight years, when Frank Clark was traded. Hear me on this – he\u2019s not the best pure pass rusher in that span, but he is by far the best all-around defensive player on the end. The Seahawks defense grew worse and worse over the end of Pete Carroll\u2019s tenure until 2023, when it became legendarily bad<\/a>. In 2024 it was better. Much so.<\/p>\n In 2025 though, they took a very respectable defensive line and added Lawrence. Now it\u2019s dangerous.<\/p>\n Lawrence is having his best season in six years, with maybe only 2022 as the exception. He\u2019s already his totals from four of the last five seasons in: QB hits, Pressures, Tackles for Loss, Fumble Recoveries, and his 4 sacks better than three of the past four seasons.<\/p>\n This is new for Seattle because they\u2019ve not truly been able to threaten the Rams offensive tackle play in a number of years. Boye Mafe and the other defensive ends are good players, but the newness that Lawrence brings is elite power, and his game is so well-rounded that he\u2019s in the backfield regardless of what type of play it is.<\/p>\n This is the theme for these advantages, and is crucial for Lawrence\u2019s game against Los Angeles. Whatever Sean McVay wants to run in Lawrence\u2019s direction, he won\u2019t create a mismatch. Lawrence can still stop inside runs at top-of-NFL level. But he\u2019s also scary rushing the passer. He does not easily get beat to the outside. He recognizes\u2026everything really – double teams, routes, and screens.<\/p>\n McVay\u2019s advantage over defenses typically resides in his ability to deceive and utilize enough versatility to create mismatches. Lawrence is not often deceived or at a disadvantage; his fundamentals are too strong.<\/p>\n Also, offensive tackle is one of L.A\u2019s biggest weaknesses.<\/p>\n The first is in the roster itself. In addition to tackle, cornerback is another weak spot<\/a> for the Rams. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba now drawing either double coverage or a big play, Kupp should have a weaker cast attempting to cover him.<\/p>\n I\u2019m more intrigued by a different wrinkle, however. This is the first time Mike Macdonald has had a significant contributor from one of his rivals. And Cooper Kupp is not just anybody. People have said for years that Kupp is one of the smartest athletes<\/a> they\u2019ve ever been around; that someday he\u2019ll be a coach (if he wants to) wherever he wants.<\/p>\n And he comes straight to Seattle with McVay still designing the offense.<\/p>\n Every training camp this conversation comes up, and on that day it\u2019s meaningless noise. No, Marquez Valdez-Scantling is not going to go to the San Francisco 49ers and doom the Seahawks.<\/a><\/p>\n Cooper Kupp is not a training camp release. He\u2019s Cooper freaking Kupp. As to his own part, he has unsurprisingly downplayed<\/a> the significance of this week, refusing to call it a revenge game.<\/p>\n But I\u2019d argue you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find one NFL athlete who knows and can articulate any of their former team\u2019s process or vocabulary better than Kupp. Matt Stafford will not be able to use the same language on the field. Again normally I dismiss these theories out of hand, but not with this particular organization and this particular player. If ever there was inside information to be had, for once, Seattle has it.<\/p>\n Back to the matchups game. Nick Emmanwori is quickly becoming jack-of-all-trades, master of\u2026.most of them?<\/p>\n