Rams, Seahawks have eerily similar resumes since Week 8

No team has done more to help Sean McVay’s head coaching resume, and potentially Aaron Donald’s three (make it four?) Defensive Player of the Year awards, than the Seattle Seahawks. McVay is 7-3 against the Seahawks, including last year’s wild card victory, and Donald has dominated his matchups against Russell Wilson since getting his second career sack in his first career game against Seattle in 2014.

But even as the LA Rams are set to host the 5-8 Seahawks this Sunday, the two NFC West teams have done almost the exact same things over the most recent six games.

LA Rams: 3-3 over last six games

Wins: 37-7 vs Jaguars, 38-22 vs Texans, 30-23 vs Cards

Losses: 36-28 vs Packers, 31-10 vs 49ers, 28-16 vs Titans

Points for: 159

Points against: 147

Passing Yards allowed: 1,370 (22nd)

Passer Rating allowed: 90.9 (20th)

Rushing Yards allowed: 525

YPC allowed: 3.22 (2nd)

Seattle Seahawks: 3-3 over last six games

Wins: 31-7 vs Jaguars, 33-13 vs Texans, 30-23 vs 49ers

Losses: 17-0 vs Packers, 23-13 vs Cards, 17-15 vs WFT

Points for: 122

Points against: 100

Passing Yards allowed: 1,662 (32nd)

Passer Rating allowed: 88.6 (17th)

Passing TDs allowed: 7

Interceptions: 5

Rushing Yards allowed: 569

YPC allowed: 3.21 (1st)

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Both Los Angeles and Seattle have wins against the Jaguars and Texans, with a 30-23 victory over an NFC West opponent in the last six games. Both teams have also lost to the Packers, both teams have dropped a game to a divisional opponent, and both teams are roughly in the same position in how they rank as a defense against the pass and the run.

The Rams and Seahawks both have exceptional quarterbacks, and each of them has two really talented players at wide receiver.

Where Los Angeles should plausibly have an advantage is the presence of Aaron Donald—as has been the case for the last eight years—but the Rams are dealing with a Covid-19 breakout that threatens to keep a significant number of players off of the field (including Jalen Ramsey and Odell Beckham, Jr), while Seattle doesn’t have any players on that reserve list.

The Rams have every reason to believe that they should beat the Seahawks for the eighth time in their last 10 tries, but both teams know that they can’t waste their current two-game winning streaks by losing to the other team on Sunday.