Sunday pits 2 NFC West rivals against eachother when the Rams travel to take on the 12th man in Seattle.
The Seahawks lead the all time series 23-16, and the teams split their 2017 matchups.
The Rams are coming off a 38-31 win against the Vikings on Thursday. Week 2, the Rams shut out the Cardinals 34-0, and the Rams beat the Chargers 35-23 in week 3.
The Seahawks are coming off a win as well, beating the Cardinals 20-17. Week 2, the Seahawks lost to the Bears 24-17, and beat the Cowboys 24-13 in week 3.
Las Vegas has the Rams as 7.5 point favourites on the road, with an O/U total set at 50.5.
The Rams come into their week 5 matchup 2nd in the NFL in points per game at 35. Jared Goff has taken huge leaps in each of his 3 years, and is playing at an MVP caliber level. Goff is 2nd in the league in passing yards (1406), T-2nd in passing TDs (11), 1st in YPA, and 3rd in completion percentage (72.4).
The Rams currently have a diverse passing attack, with 3 receivers who have over 300 yards receiving and all 3 average 13.5+ yards per reception. Todd Gurley has quietly accumulated 338 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 194 receiving yards and 2 touchdown catches. The offensive line has been stellar, allowing just 24 pressures on the year, and 4 of Jared Goff’s 5 sacks have really been his fault.
The defense had it’s first real blunder against the Vikings, but are still a very talented group sans Aqib Talib. Aaron Donald has an absurd 28 pressures thus far, and Ndamukong Suh has 17. The secondary was torched last week, with Sam Shields and Marcus Peters combining to allow 265 yards and 3 touchdowns, but Peters was playing on a bad calf, and has only allowed 94 yards outside of last week.
Injuries and Inactive Watch
EDGE Dom Easley (knee) – placed on IR
TE Tyler Higbee (knee) – questionable
The Seahawks squeezed by a bad Arizona Cardinals team last week, and Russell Wilson does not appear to have the same magic he has been so well known for the past few years. Wilson has 888 yards passing on the season, and owns a 7-3 TD-INT ratio. Seattle lacks a true #1 or #2 wide receiver outside of Doug Baldwin, who has struggled with injury this season. The running game has somewhat had a revival after being nonexistent since Marshawn Lynch’s departure. Mike Davis had 101 yards and 2 touchdowns last week in Chris Carson’s absence, and Carson had 177 yards in the first 3 games.
The offensive line is still pretty bad, but has been better this season. Germain Ifedi is the obvious weak link, having allowed 8 pressures and 3 sacks, but Russell Wilson has to take some of the blame for a lot of his pressure, holding on to the ball too long and trying to make something happen.
The defense is still a solid unit, but the loss of Earl Thomas will be hard to mitigate. Frank Clark has been a beast off the edge with 18 pressures and 3 sacks.
Injuries and Inactive Watch
S Earl Thomas (leg) – placed on IR
TE Will Dissly (knee) – placed on IR
RB Chris Carson (hip) – questionable
Rams WRs vs Seahawks CBs
Rams OTs vs Seahawks EDGE Frank Clark
Seahawks OL vs Rams DTs Aaron Donald & Ndamukong Suh
Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin vs Rams CBs
For years, while the Seahawks were dominating the NFC West and the Rams were perennial bottom feeders, the Rams seemed to always have the Seahawks number and be a thorn in their side. Last year, the Rams seemed to really assert themselves as the new kings of the NFC West with a 42-7 “changing of the guard” win in Seattle late in the year.
We think the Seahawks have the potential to be that kind of a matchup for the Rams now. While it will be hard for anyone to slow down the Rams offense, the Seahawks D matches up surprisingly well with the Rams offense. Frank Clark has the potential to get some pressure off the edge and bug Jared Goff all game, and superstar Bobby Wagner can shut down Todd Gurley.
The Rams run D has been very good this season, so don’t expect Chris Carson or Mike Davis to control the game. The Seahawks need to get Russell Wilson in a rhythm with the short passing game, and attack the middle of the field to keep the Rams offense on the sideline. Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh will live in the Seahawks backfield, so Seattle needs to take them out of the game as much as possible with quick passes.
As we mentioned earlier, I think the Seahawks have the potential to be a pain in the Rams butt, especially with a tough stretch coming up for LA. We are gonna take the points at home, and see if we can’t get some of that Russell Wilson magic back.
Final Pick: Seahawks (+7.5)
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