Game Predictions: Seahawks Week 18 vs. Rams

The Seattle Seahawks have one more chance to reach 10 wins in the season finale on Sunday. Can they achieve that milestone for the first time since 2020?

Nov 3, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) stiff arms Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (14) after making a catch during the second half at Lumen Field. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

With one game remaining in the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks can no longer earn a playoff berth. But they can make the road to a Super Bowl appearance harder for their NFC West rivals.

The Los Angeles Rams (10-6) host Seattle (9-7) on Sunday in the regular season finale for both teams. A win for the Seahawks would drop the Rams from the No. 3 to the No. 4 seed in the NFC, and it would award Seattle a 10-win season for the first time in four seasons.

LA will be sitting most of its offensive starters the entire game, and it will likely pull the starting defense early. Seattle is playing to win, thus adding some intrigue in an otherwise meaningless game in the lense of postseason contention.

Can Seattle get to double-digit wins? Our writing staff has a few predictions and players to watch in Sunday's Week 18 game against the Rams.

Predictions For Week 18

While the Rams won't be playing most of their starters on offense, coach Sean McVay still has a quarterback with Super Bowl pedigree to throw into the ring in Jimmy Garoppolo as well as a pair of capable running backs in Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers. Defensively, at least for the start of the game, most of their starters will be suiting up as well, so the Seahawks can't take the opposition lightly in a finale that unfortunately now carries little meaning.

With that said, there's no reason why the Seahawks shouldn't be able to seize control of this contest from the outset. All of their starters with the exception of tackle Abraham Lucas will be dressing and with players such as Geno Smith, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Zach Charbonnet all having opportunities to set personal or franchise records, the offense should be coming out of the gate with a sense of purpose even if there isn't a playoff spot up for grabs anymore.

Meanwhile, Seattle's defensive line should be salivating at the thought of hunting Garoppolo behind an offensive line missing both starting tackles as well as guard Kevin Dotson, Los Angeles' best offensive lineman. Leonard Williams will have extra incentive to ball out after being snubbed from the Pro Bowl and the trio of Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall will have a chance to feast on backups Joe Noteboom and Warren McClendon off the edge against a quarterback with limited mobility at this stage of his career.

This won't be the exciting NFC West title game many hoped for, but the Rams can still make this one interesting playing at home and the starters who do suit up will want to help their team maintain a hold on the three seed. The Seahawks can, to an extent, play spoilers in that regard if they can take advantage of the talent gap with all of their starters playing, but execution will remain key against a well-coached opponent. -Corbin K. Smith

Corbin's Pick to Click: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Taking a star turn in his sophomore season, Smith-Njigba's breakout game came in Week 9 against the Rams when he racked up 180 receiving yards in an overtime loss, and he could have had well over 200 yards in that game if not for a pair of penalties that wiped out big gains through the air. He has an excellent chance to surpass teammate Tyler Lockett's single-season record for receptions, needing just five catches to etch his name in the books, while he's also 183 receiving yards behind DK Metcalf for that single season record as well.

Getting past Metcalf seems unlikely, if not improbable, but Smith-Njigba already approached that number against the Rams and the Seahawks will likely be slinging the ball all over the yard as Smith pursues a number of contract incentives. Don't be surprised if he pulls in double digit receptions to break Lockett's record and makes a serious push at Metcalf's record as well to close out a fantastic campaign and truly emerge as the team's No. 1 wideout moving into 2025.

Corbin's Prediction: Seahawks 24, Rams 13

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The Rams sitting much of their starters makes this game far less intriguing from an opponent's standpoint. But it's still NFL players on the other side, and Seattle will have less film on the LA players they will be facing. That presents a different challenge that isn't typically present on a week-to-week basis during the season. The Seahawks should be a heavy favorite in the game as a result, since head coach Mike Macdonald has already confirmed they are playing to win.

Seattle's pass rushers, in particular, should be able to tee off on a Rams offensive line that will be almost completely made up of backups. With starting edge rushers and defensive linemen in the game, LA quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will have a tough time getting going. the Seahawks' front seven has been among the best in the league during the back half of the season. They can play with immense confidence in this game.

This will be a good opportunity for Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to try out some things he was maybe hesitant to test in the team's critical late-season games. He should run Zach Charbonnet early and often, set up the play-action passing game, and see what they have in backup running back Kenny McIntosh. Seattle's offense just has to do enough to outscore a second-team Rams offense. If they can't do that, it would absolutely be the final nail in Grubb's disappointing inaugural season in the NFL. - Connor Benintendi

Connor's Pick to Click: LB Ernest Jones IV

This is Ernest Jones IV's homecoming game. Jones played three seasons with the Rams from 2021-23, and he hasn't been back at SoFi Stadium as LA's opponent yet this season since the team traded him. That, and Jones said he wants to be in Seattle even though contract talks have reportedly stalled between him and the Seahawks. It's another good reason for him to close the season strong.

Connor's Score Prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 16

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