Out-Adjusting Rams in Week 16, Can Seahawks' Offense Do it Again in Wild Card Round?

After scoring just six points in the first half, the Seahawks made several key adjustments on offense to help pull away late for a 20-9 win against the Rams three weeks ago. As the two teams face off again in the playoffs, what can offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer do next to stay a step ahead of the opposition?

In their Week 16 clash with the Rams just three short weeks ago, the Seahawks offense took notes and used them to win. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has enjoyed decent availability from his skill position players in 2020. The result has been additional wrinkles and new beaters in the offense with plays designed to ease the task of a struggling Russell Wilson.

When Seattle beat Los Angeles, this was most noticeable versus the Rams' style of man coverage. Ahead of the third encounter between these two teams - the Wild Card playoff round - it will be interesting to see the next step in this battle of technique and scheme.

The 3rd and 4 touchdown to Jacob Hollister was the culmination of film study throughout the game and adjustments. Troy Aikman highlighted it on the broadcast. Hollister shifted from out wide to the wingback position, telling Wilson he had man coverage. You can see Hollister communicate to Wilson that the offense has the look they need for this beater.

The defender assigned to Hollister, safety Jordan Fuller, went underneath the pick route of Freddie Swain covered by corner Darious Williams. This left Hollister separation on the wheel route to the back corner of the end zone. Wilson made a perfect throw for the crucial, NFC West-sealing touchdown.

Fuller isn't stupid for playing Hollister this way. Defenses have a decision to make when it comes to playing man coverage versus this route combination. You stagger the depths of the man coverage defenders to avoid collisions.

Then you need to pick what man coverage path each defender takes. You can either have the slot defender go underneath the pick route like Fuller did - good for stopping short stuff - or you can have the defender go over the top and aim to remove long stuff, at the risk of giving up immediate separation. Given the field position plus down and distance, the decision to go underneath made sense.

However, the true intelligence of the Hollister call was based in the fact that the Rams were choosing to go underneath all game. John Johnson III allowed separation on the wheel because of this technique. Look at how open Hollister’s wheel was earlier in the game thanks to the Rams’ aggressive style of man pass defense. 

The added genius to the play call from the Seahawks was that the Rams were likely expecting Hollister to run a shallow in-breaking route after his shift from out wide. Seattle loves this approach from this look. Not only did Hollister's initial stem inside sync up the pick-timing; it also encouraged anticipation of the in-breaker. Indeed, in this game the Seahawks had their tight end run a lot of routes over the short-to-intermediate middle, including with that pre-snap shift.

It’s poetic that the Seahawks came just short of winning the 2019 NFC West on a shallow throw over the middle to Hollister. This is exactly the kind of concept the Rams were camping on. Instead, Hollister broke outside and deep for the wheel route touchdown; the perfect man-beater. Seattle’s offense came full circle to win the NFC West title.

On Saturday, the Rams will mix in middle of field closed man defense as a change-up to their quarters-heavy game plan. If the Seahawks are running the ball well in the playoff matchup, we are likely to see increased man coverage rates.

In the cat-and-mouse battle of Xs and Os, will the Rams choose to play their man technique differently? Or will the opportunity to tight ends Hollister and Will Dissly be the exact same? With DK Metcalf commanding attention and Wilson cautious testing certain windows, this could be the explosive kick-starter Seattle’s passing game needs.