Sam Darnold, Seahawks Facing Biggest Game in Years Battling Rams For NFC West Supremacy
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) prepares to take a snap during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images [/caption]
Whenever someone defines a “big game” for the Seattle Seahawks, the criteria is always a little different depending on circumstances. It could be in hindsight, where the game seemed to have such importance after the fact, even if it wasn’t appreciated or recognized before, such as the Week 4 game against the Detroit Lions in 2022. That ended up being the deciding factor in sending the Seahawks to the playoffs when the Lions defeated the Packers in the final game of the year to tie with Seattle.
Then there’s games that each side anticipates all week. The tension builds throughout the week up to the game. The national shows all pay attention to it, helping build the intrigue and anticipation. Everyone knows it’s a big game before it even happens.
That would be an accurate description of this Sunday’s game between the Seahawks and Rams in Los Angeles.
The Rams and the Seahawks are both 7-2, tied for first in the NFC West with Seattle holding the tiebreaker based on division record and sitting in the No. 2 seed currently. They are the only two teams that are inside the top five in both scoring offense and defense. They are the top two teams in point differential in the NFC. As of right now, these are the top two teams in the NFC by pretty much every metric.
They will meet Sunday afternoon with a chance to go up one full game in the division. Whoever wins controls their own destiny for a division title and perhaps even, the top overall seed in the NFC and a bye heading into the playoffs.
Needless to say, there’s a ton on the line Sunday. How big is this regular season game for the Seahawks? And when was the last game they played with such big stakes in the regular season?
Let’s set the parameters as “big” being defined as a matchup we all saw as a big game before it happened, where something was clearly on the line for both teams.
You might need to go at least back to the final matchup of the 2020 season against these two teams. The Seahawks beat the Rams 20-9 in Seattle on December 27, 2020. The two teams were separated by one game in the division. Had the Rams won that game, they could have gone on to win the NFC West. However, in hindsight, the Rams won the playoff game in Seattle that the Seahawks had earned from winning the division. For Seattle fans, there’s a little bitterness there.
You can go back to 2018, when the Seahawks hosted the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. A young Patrick Mahomes came to town, about to win his first MVP that season. They came into that game in Seattle at 11-3, with the Seahawks 8-6 and fighting for their playoff lives. Seattle found a way to win, propelling them to a playoff berth.
You can make an argument that this is the biggest regular season game since that season finale in 2019 against the 49ers. The winner won the NFC West. Seattle fell short at the goal line, yielding the division to San Francisco.
You could even go all the way back to 2013, when the Seahawks lost a 19-17 contest to the 49ers in Week 14 with both teams in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, eventually setting the stage for their rematch in the NFC Championship Game that season.
That isn’t an exact comparison for any of those aforementioned examples, given this is game No. 10 and not the season finale. Whoever wins this game technically clinches nothing. Whoever loses can still win the division. This game feels big not so much because the winner clinches something while the loser is eliminated in some fashion. It’s big because these are two clearly talented teams humming along in the same division. One of these teams will win the division and maybe even have a bye and the other will be a Wild Card team playing on the road in the first round.
A win against the Rams this week would likely catapult the Seahawks into the conversation of best team in the entire NFL. National media will be forced to admit they are a Super Bowl contender. And they will have announced their arrival in this new era of Seahawks football with Mike Macdonald at the helm and Sam Darnold at quarterback. Beyond the standings, this game feels symbolic as a test of whether the “new era” Seahawks are ready to seize control of the NFC West again.
While this game isn’t exactly the Avengers-versus-Thanos-in-Endgame kind of colossal, it’s a big opportunity for a statement.
This week is a huge game. While it won’t directly decide a division title like that game against the 49ers in 2019, it’s like one of, if not the biggest regular season game for the Seahawks since then, and it could carry substantial weight regarding not only who wins the division, but potentially lands the coveted top seed in the NFC in January.
