Key Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Battle Rams in Critical TNF Rematch
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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) makes a fingertip catch against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Clashing for the second time in five weeks, the Seattle Seahawks will be seeking payback as the Los Angeles Rams come to town with first place in the NFC and NFC West standings on the line.
In a high stakes battle on Thursday Night Football, which positional matchups will carry the most weight in determining who exits with an inside track to the lone bye in the NFC playoff race? Here are six key matchups to watch at Lumen Field:
Seahawks tackles Josh Jones and Abraham Lucas versus Rams defensive ends Jared Verse and Byron Young: Playing minus one of their starting tackles for the first time this season with Charles Cross sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Seahawks will turn to an experienced veteran backup in Jones, who has 21 NFL starts under his belt but has not started a game in two seasons. The former third round pick out of Houston brings a solid athletic profile and good size to the equation at 6-7, 315 pounds, highlighting reasons why the organization pursued him as a free agent in March to bolster depth at the bookend spots. The playbook shouldn’t be impacted much in terms of what Seattle can call, including Klint Kubiak’s staple wide zone concept, but as is always the case for a backup, the coaching staff will have to be prepared to implement more support for Jones from backs and tight ends given the talent he and Lucas will be facing off against.
Beginning to stack sacks after a slower start in that department, Verse has hit half a dozen sacks on the season to go with 22 quarterback hits, continuing to emerge as one of the top young edge defenders in the league. His ability to turn speed into power as a bull rusher could pose major issues for the taller, leaner Jones, whose biggest issue in the past has revolved around opponents getting underneath his pads and standing him up. On the opposite side, Young leads the Rams with 11 sacks and 24 quarterback hits, primarily beating opposing blockers with a dynamic first step and speed flying upfield. Jones may match up better against that style given his own athletic traits, but that still remains a matchup that bears watching, particularly if defensive coordinator Chris Shula starts getting creative mixing in blitzes and stunts on his side.
Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori versus Rams tight ends Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Terrance Ferguson: Taking a dramatic detour from his past tendencies, Rams coach Sean McVay has pivoted from being a heavy 11 personnel team with three receivers on the field to leading the NFL in 13 personnel usage with three tight ends in the lineup. This departure has stemmed from the wide array of talents that Los Angeles has amassed at the position, including a former Seattle draft pick in Parkinson, whose two touchdown catches against Detroit last week pushed him to six scores on the season thus far. Away from Parkinson, Allen has caught three touchdowns himself, while the now-healthy Ferguson has been an explosive play machine on limited opportunities averaging 24 yards per reception during his rookie season, giving McVay a fun combination to deploy with heavy personnel packages.
Most teams haven’t been able to come up with an answer for the Rams’ newly-discovered love for tight ends, but the Seahawks may have the best equalizer in the league on their roster in the form of Emmanwori, who has come on as a multi-faceted playmaker who wears numerous hats in Mike Macdonald’s defense. The 6-3, 225-pound safety has played off-ball linebacker, slot cornerback, and even rushed as a defensive end on a few snaps, providing the rare versatility necessary to be able to counter Los Angeles without making a bunch of personnel substitutions. Coming into his own in coverage with four pass breakups and an interception in his past two games, the rookie will be counted on to match up with Parkinson and the rest of the tight ends, offering the size and speed to match up against them while also being a factor in slowing down the run game from the box.
Seahawks running backs Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet versus Rams linebackers Nate Landman, Omar Speights: For most of the Week 11 contest at SoFi Stadium, Seattle had a difficult time getting its passing game rolling, evidenced by Darnold throwing four interceptions in one of the worst performances of his career. But the tide started to turn in the fourth quarter in part due to the quarterback starting to take check down opportunities to his running backs, who were able to do damage matched up one-on-one with Landman and Speights as well as safeties. Walker finished with three catches for 44 yards as a receiver and started gaining traction on the ground late in regulation, scoring a touchdown inside three minutes to play that ultimately gave Jason Myers a chance to kick a potential game winning field goal.
In that game, Walker had his longest catch with Landman in coverage, turning a short dump off throw into a 23-yard gain. Since then, Landman has played sound coverage with few targets, while Speights has mostly performed well aside from a 27-yard completion allowed to Cardinals tight end Trey McBride last week. Still, neither of those players has the movement skills to run with Walker out in space, and even Charbonnet may have an athleticism edge if schemed into one-on-one situations against the Rams linebacker duo as a pass catcher. This could be a game where if the Seahawks can find a way to get a few quick completions to their backs, they not only would have a chance to do some damage after the catch, but those plays could help loosen things up in the run game down the line as a result. It also would help take some pressure off of Jones with quick passes limiting how long he has to block Verse or Young.
Seahawks edge rushers Uchenna Nwosu, Demarcus Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall versus Rams tackles Warren McClendon, Alaric Jackson: While the sack numbers have been inconsistent, especially for Mafe and Hall with a combined two sacks all season, the Seahawks can throw as deep and talented of a pass rushing stable at opposing offensive lines as any team in the league. Nwosu has rounded back into 2022 form with 39 pressures and six sacks, Lawrence has been a one-man wrecking crew with five sacks and two fumbles returned for touchdowns, and even without sacks, Hall and Mafe each have produced at least 34 quarterback pressures and Hall has nine quarterback hits, just one behind Lawrence for the team lead. Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde have continued to masterfully rotate their quartet of edge rushers without having to worry about a drop off defending the run, playing a key role in the team’s recent defensive dominance.
Keeping that in mind, Nwosu, Lawrence, and company could be licking their chops with a chance to compete against a backup tackle in McClendon, who has replaced injured starter Rob Havenstein in the past four games. To his credit, the former Georgia standout has played quite well in reserve duty, allowing only seven pressures and no sacks in pass protection this year. But this will be the toughest front he has faced since taking over in the lineup with four vastly different defenders stylistically to have to worry about, and the Rams may have to pull a few pages from Kubiak’s expected playbook providing extra support for him. Meanwhile, on the other side, Jackson has been playing through a nagging ankle injury, and how he looks at less than 100% will be worth keeping tabs on.
Seahawks receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, and Cooper Kupp versus Rams cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes, Darious Williams, and Cobie Durant: For his part, including a miraculous one-handed catch, Smith-Njigba had a typical strong performance eclipsing the 100-yard mark against the Rams in Week 11. But as for the rest of his receiver mates, Darnold didn’t have much success targeting Kupp or Shaheed, who only was in his second game with the team after coming over at the trade deadline. The quarterback slightly underthrew a deep ball to the speedy Shaheed that could have been a touchdown, only for Forbes to make an outstanding play tipping the pass away at full extension in the end zone, contributing to the receiver finishing with only two catches for 27 yards. In his first game at SoFi as a member of another team, Kupp’s homecoming wasn’t riveting either, as he only caught three of seven targets for 23 yards.
For the Seahawks to enact revenge on Thursday, they will need far better distribution of the football to playmakers not named Smith-Njigba, as the Rams will be hoping the quarterback stares down his top target again and tries to force the issue, leading to picks such as the one Durant had jumping a comeback route. If there’s a reason for optimism on that front, Shaheed has started to come to life with over 67 receiving yards in each of the past two games, and he did have Forbes cooked on the aforementioned play that should have been six points. Kupp also has been playing a bit better as of late, catching a touchdown in a win over the Falcons two weeks ago, and could be a significant benefactor from the absence of do-it-all defensive back Quentin Lake, who won’t be suiting up as a slot defender in the rematch.
Seahawks cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Josh Jobe versus Rams receivers Puka Nacua, Jordan Whittington, and Tutu Atwell: Just as the Seahawks won’t be quite full strength without Cross, the same goes for the Rams minus one of their top weapons in Davante Adams, whose reaggravated hamstring injury should keep him out for Thursday night. The veteran wideout has been Matthew Stafford’s go-to weapon in the red zone and offered a bit more downfield punch than anyone else on the roster, so him being in street clothes takes away a bit of the big play firepower McVay’s offense has thrived on. With that said, Nacua’s savvy route running and strength breaking tackles after the catch make him a rare receiver who can take over games on his own, and Whittington’s jitter bug ability with the ball in his hands adds more juice to the short and intermediate passing game as a trade off, so there’s still plenty of weapons for Macdonald’s defense to worry about.
On the outside, Woolen allowed two catches to Nacua in the first matchup last month, while Jobe produced a nice pass breakup knocking the ball out of the star receiver’s hands. None of those three players gave up more than 26 yards in coverage against him, while Witherspoon wasn’t even targeted when he lined up across from Nacua. Without Adams drawing extra attention, Macdonald should be able to focus even more resources towards limiting Nacua, but tackling will be critical for everyone on Seattle’s defense. Once he has the ball in his hands, if they can promptly get him to the ground and avoid giving up YAC, that will go a long ways towards limiting explosives and sustained drives. But if he and Whittington can break tackles regularly and start generating chunk plays as a result, particularly in wet, windy weather, that could be the kryptonite necessary for the road team to steal one under the lights.
