Comparing Rivals: How Do Seahawks, Rams’ Offenses Stack Up Against Each Other?
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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) can’t hang on to the ball in the end zone for a 2-point conversion as he is defended by Los Angeles Rams safety Jaylen McCollough (39) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images [/caption]
RENTON, Wash. - While an NFC West title or a playoff spot cannot be clinched on Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams will face off in the biggest game of the 2025 season thus far, putting their respective 7-2 records on the line with a chance to jump into sole possession of first place in the division.
Understanding the magnitude of the game, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald acknowledged Sunday’s situation will be a different one than his team has encountered to this point. But at the same time, the message has remained unchanged, seeing it as just another test in the regular season.
“Every time we go out there, it's going to be a test of what kind of team we can become,” Macdonald said. “This is a different scenario that we haven't necessarily been in yet, but last week was a scenario we haven't been in. We haven’t been in a situation where we're coming off a decisive victory and coming back home. So that was last week, this is this week, now we're going to play the Rams on the road for the first time this season. Every week's a new challenge and the guys have been up for them.”
Looking ahead to the much-anticipated first matchup between the NFC West rivals this season, how do Seattle and Los Angeles’ top-five ranked scoring offenses stack up against each other? And who holds the edge at each positional group?
Quarterback
If this comparative analysis was based on past track records, Stafford would easily be the pick here as a Super Bowl champion, multi-time Pro Bowl selection, and likely future Hall of Famer. Prior to the 2024 season, Darnold flamed out with the Jets and the Panthers before spending a season as a backup with the 49ers, not even being in the same zip code in terms of production and accolades as his fellow former top-five pick.
But right now, good luck trying to distinguish between which signal caller has had a better start to the 2025 season. On one hand, Stafford leads the NFL with 25 touchdown passes and has only thrown two interceptions, benefiting from an impressive supporting cast in an always evolving Sean McVay offense. On the other hand, Darnold leads the league averaging 9.9 yards per attempt with a stunning 72 percent completion rate on passes traveling 20-plus yards through the air, nearly 30 percent higher than any other qualified quarterback. Both players have been dicing up defenses with no shortage of explosives downfield while being among the league’s quickest at getting the ball out of their hands.
One player may wind up outperforming the other on Sunday, but trying to determine which team has the advantage under center right now will likely leave a person tying his/herself into knots. They’re both playing MVP-level ball with similar stat lines in most regards for top-five scoring offenses.
Edge: Draw
Running Back
Neither the Seahawks nor the Rams have been overly effective running the football, at least compared to league average. Seattle currently ranks 16th in rushing yards per game (114.3) with Los Angeles two spots below them at a near-identical number (113.4), while both teams also sit in the bottom third of the league for yards per rush attempt.
But while neither team has exactly lit it up on the ground, the Seahawks have been the more explosive team running the football. According to TruMedia, while the two teams sit right next to each Seattle has produced eight runs of 20-plus yards, tied for the sixth most in the league, while the Rams only have three such runs. Ken Walker III has led that charge with five runs of 20 or more yards, fifth-most among NFL running backs through the first 10 weeks.
In a 180 degree turn from last season, the Seahawks have also been one of the best rushing teams in the red zone in 2025. Led by Zach Charbonnet’s six scores, they have rushed for 11 touchdowns inside the opposing 20, five more than the Rams have to this point. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum offer a solid duo in McVay’s offense, including Williams being a viable pass catcher, but Walker, Charbonnet, and George Holani offer more juice to rip off big runs as well as being effective finishers in short yardage.
Edge: Seahawks
Receiver
Putting up historic numbers in Klint Kubiak’s offense, Jaxon Smith-Njigba deserves to be atop the NFL’s receiver hierarchy right now. Aside from being on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yardage record, the former Ohio State star ranks second among qualified wideouts averaging 16.5 yards per reception thanks to a league-best 18 receptions of 20-plus yards and has turned 63 receptions into 45 first downs and five touchdowns.
But while Smith-Njigba could easily stake a claim to the best receiver in Sunday’s game and has done the equivalent of damage to the top two or even three receivers for many teams, the Rams have as dynamic of a one-two punch as any team in the NFL with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams snagging passes from Stafford, as they are the only pairing from the same team to sit in the top 20 in the league in receiving yards. Additionally, Nacua ranks in the top three in receptions (66) and receiving yards (775), while Adams has scored more receiving touchdowns (nine) than any player in football this year.
The arrival of speedy Rashid Shaheed at the deadline to go with Cooper Kupp gives the Seahawks a strong trio - and that’s without a healthy Tory Horton, who has caught five touchdowns as a rookie thus far - that would stack up favorably against most teams. But right now, no duo has been been better than Nacua and Adams, shifting this advantage towards the home team.
Edge: Rams
Tight End
In a pivot from previous seasons, McVay has placed a much higher emphasis on multi-tight end personnel groupings, including running 13 personnel with three tight ends on the field a league-high 16.9% of the time, per TruMedia. Given this increase in usage of the position, which has happened in part due to injuries at receiver over the course of the season, it shouldn’t come as a surprise Los Angeles has used tight ends often in the passing game with great success.
All three of the Rams main tight ends - Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen- have caught at least 10 passes apiece and combined for six touchdowns as a group. Rookie Terrance Ferguson, who has missed a couple of games due to injury, has also been electric on limited chances averaging north of 27 yards per reception with a touchdown, giving McVay a four-headed monster at his disposal to complement Nacua and Adams. The Seahawks have been pretty productive at tight end as well, with AJ Barner catching 21 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns along with rookie Elijah Arroyo coming on as of late with 14 receptions for 174 yards and a score.
Los Angeles has more depth, especially with Eric Saubert currently on injured reserve for Seattle, but the Seahawks have two impact pass catchers in Barner and Arroyo who have been bigger pieces in Kubiak’s offense. Both have also held up well as blockers and adding in fullback/tight end hybrids Robbie Ouzts and Brady Russell to the mix, Seattle has something special going with this group.
Edge: Seahawks
Offensive Line
Offensive line play hasn’t necessarily been a strong suit for either the Seahawks or the Rams in recent seasons. In 2024, both teams finished 25th or worse in Pro Football Focus’ pass protection grades and they finished outside the top 20 in that metric in the season prior. They also each ranked 20th or worse in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate metric last year, struggling to protect Stafford and Geno Smith.
This year, however, both Seattle and Los Angeles have taken a significant step forward in the trenches, fueling top-five scoring attacks. Darnold has only been sacked 11 times in nine games, while Stafford has been brought to the turf 14 times, and while the quarterbacks deserve some credit for that, there’s no question pass blocking has been much better for both teams. Both rank in the top 10 in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate as well as Run Block Win Rate this year, a clear sign of the dramatic improvement. At the tackle spots, the duos of Charles Cross/Abraham Lucas and Rob Havenstein/Alaric Jackson have been quite comparable, with each pairing giving up four total sacks.
If the Seahawks were at full strength in this contest with center Jalen Sundell available, this positional comparison is so tight that the visitors could take this one, especially with rookie guard Grey Zabel yet to give up a sack and playing at a Pro Bowl level. But Olu Oluwatimi will be in the lineup instead, and Kevin Dotson remains a substantially better player than Anthony Bradford at right guard, swinging this close battle between ascending units to the Rams favor.
Edge: Rams
