SEATTLE – In a season where one division dominated so much of the NFL, it seems only fitting that the NFC West is set to have one of its teams playing in the Super Bowl.
What seemed an eventuality is now set as chapter three between the Rams and Seahawks will decide who is headed to Super Bowl 60.
The Seahawks will host the Rams in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday at Lumen Field with a 3:30 p.m. PT kickoff. The game will be broadcast by FOX.
Los Angeles advanced to the NFC title game by knocking off Chicago 20-17 in overtime on Sunday night at frigid Soldier Field.
It will be the first time two NFC West teams have played in the conference title game since the Rams and 49ers faced off in January 2022 and just the fourth time since NFL realignment in 2002 that division foes will meet for the NFC title. One of those previous matchups was the Seahawks beating the 49ers in January 2014.
It will also be the third playoff matchup all-time between the Rams and Seahawks. The previous two both took place in Seattle and both times the Rams walked away with the victory.
The St. Louis Rams beat the Seahawks 27-20 in the NFC wild-card playoff game on Jan. 8, 2005 when Marc Bulger hit former UW standout — and current UW radio analyst — Cam Cleeland on a 17-yard TD pass with 2:11 remaining for the deciding touchdown. It was the second straight season the Seahawks were eliminated in the wild-card round. The Seahawks rebounded a year later and reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
The most recent playoff matchup between the teams was also in the wild-card round in January 2021, but was played without fans inside of Lumen Field due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The Rams led 20-10 at halftime and rolled to a 30-20 victory behind 131 yards rushing from Cam Akers, who now finds himself on the Seahawks practice squad.
The two games this season between the Rams and Seahawks were decided by a total of four points and both came down to the final snap of the game. The Rams won 21-19 in Los Angeles in November on a day Sam Darnold threw four interceptions. But the Seahawks held the Rams to just 249 total yards and despite the turnover issues from Darnold still had a chance to win it on the final play only to see Jason Myers’ 61-yard field goal attempt come up short.
That was a solid first chapter. The encore was even better.
Playing on a Thursday night in Week 16, the prime-time showcase for the two teams lived up to the billing. The Rams rolled up 581 total yards, including 457 yards passing by Matthew Stafford, and led 30-16 midway through the fourth quarter. Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown and AJ Barner’s 26-yard TD catch from Darnold sent the game to over time.
In the extra session, Puka Nacua caught a 41-yard TD to take the lead, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 4-yard TD catch and Eric Saubert’s two-point conversion reception gave the Seahawks a 38-37 win.
The victory became one of the big reasons why the Seahawks landed the No. 1 seed in the NFC and why this championship game will be played at Lumen Field where Seattle has never lost in the championship round of the playoffs winning the three previous times it’s hosted the NFC title game.