During the offseason, the Rams were the team that drew the loudest buzz in the NFC. They had moved past the defending champion Seahawks in the eyes of many, not just as the better roster, but as the favorite to win the conference and push for a title.
Six weeks into the season, that picture has flipped in a way few would have predicted. Both teams have stumbled, but Los Angeles has taken the harder fall. At 2-4, the Rams have left Seattle with an opening, even though the Seahawks themselves are sitting at 3-3 and haven’t exactly been sharp.
That gap matters because the Seahawks don’t need to be great right now to stay in the race. They just need the Rams to keep slipping.
Seattle has dropped three of its last four, but Los Angeles has lost two straight and, in both cases, looked like a team that should have found a way to win. Instead, the Rams are the ones helping clear a path in the NFC West.
A mix of Sean McVay's questionable coaching decisions, Matthew Stafford's up-and-down play, the absence of Myles Garrett, special teams woes, and defensive pressure issues has made life easier on Seattle. The Seahawks suddenly have more room for error, and that can change the feel of a division race fast.
That room is one thing. Time is another. Seattle may not be close enough to catch the San Francisco 49ers, who might already have the division in hand, but the Seahawks do have enough runway to sort through their own issues, figure out what’s broken, and try to build momentum for the back half of the season.
Right now, the most glaring problems are different for each team. The Rams have been undone by special teams.
Seattle’s trouble spots are the passing game and turnovers. The key question is which side fixes its issues first.
As the source piece frames it, the edge sits with Macdonald, with Darnold improving and an offense waking up.
There’s also no reason to expect a dramatic fix for Los Angeles on special teams. “The 'Rams' special teams have never looked good under McVay, so there's no reason to believe things will change 180 degrees in the next 11 games.”
Zooming out, the overall state of the NFC is working in Seattle’s favor. The East is wide open, the South looks like it belongs to the Carolina Panthers, and the North remains a toss-up with the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers still needing to prove how real they are.
That leaves the conference looking messy and unsettled, with the 49ers standing out as the one true threat. For the Seahawks, that’s a useful setup. They may not need to obsess over the 49ers’ win total so much as keep an eye on how far the Rams continue to fall.
At this point, Seattle’s postseason outlook may end up being shaped less by what the Seahawks do than by what the Rams fail to do.
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Seahawks Trade Buzz Centers On A Star RB Philadelphia May Not Move
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Philadelphia, though, is not exactly operating from a position that invites easy trade talk, even with the team dealing with its own struggles and injuries. Barkleys recent production only adds to the intrigue, but the bigger question remains whether the Eagles would even consider moving a player of his caliber before the market gets any farther along. [Read more 🡒]