Seahawks Enemy Overview: Reeling Rams Look to Get Right With Healthy Matthew Stafford

Following a decent start winning two of their first four games, the Los Angeles Rams have been mired in a slump for more than a month. But as the Seattle Seahawks learned the hard way in Week 1, they can't overlook the firepower of Matthew Stafford and an electric receiving corps in Sean McVay's offense.

Getting a new season off to a shaky start, the Seattle Seahawks coughed up a halftime lead against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1, allowing Matthew Stafford to carve them up for 334 yards in a 30-13 upset at Lumen Field.

Since that disappointing implosion by coach Pete Carroll's team, however, Seattle and Los Angeles have trended in opposite directions. Rebounding nicely from the defeat, the Seahawks have won six of their past eight games to jump into a two-way tie with the 49ers atop the NFC West, while Stafford and the Rams limped into their bye week losing four of their previous five games to fall to three games under the .500 mark.

As the two rivals prepare for their annual rematch at SoFi Stadium, with the gun-slinging Stafford and several other starters returning from injury off the bye, Carroll once again expects the Rams' best punch under the coaching of mastermind Sean McVay and knows his Seahawks will have to play their finest game in all phases to avoid another letdown on the road.

“We have to learn from it," Carroll said reflecting on Seattle's Week 1 defeat. "We were out ahead of that one and didn’t hold it. What we do know is how good Matthew Stafford is and how capable he is at really lighting it up. He’s a great quarterback, he’s one of the top guys in the NFL. He throws guys open as well as anybody in the league. He’s got all of it. He sees everything. It’s a real challenge to play against a guy of this stature. If anything, we’re weary of what he can pull off no matter what the situation of the game is. We’re very respectful.”

Matthew Stafford lit up the Seahawks in a Week 1 road win, but he has been nursing a thumb injury and the Rams have been reeling for the better part of a month / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Statistically, Stafford has cooled off substantially since throwing for over 300 yards in three of Los Angeles' first four games. Before suffering a thumb injury that caused him to miss a Week 9 loss in Green Bay, he completed under 60 percent of his passes and threw a pair of picks on losses to Pittsburgh and Dallas, struggling with poor protection behind a maligned offensive line.

But as Carroll and the Seahawks saw firsthand on September 10, when Stafford is wheeling and dealing at his best, the Rams have one of the most prolific passing games in the NFL. And unlike that first matchup, he will have star receiver Cooper Kupp at his disposal along with rookie sensation Puka Nacua and speedy wideout Tutu Atwell, giving him a full complement of weapons to challenge Devon Witherspoon and a talented secondary.

"Their receiving core is top notch," Carroll assessed. "To have the quality of two guys like that are so similar and that they can do everything; Cooper [Kupp] was a fantastic blocker in his early years, and he can still do all of that and he still does it. It gives you such flexibility, which a guy like Sean [McVay] is great at. To have those kinds of guys’ traits, he always uses those guys really well and maxes out their strengths. They’re off and running, and we’ll see what happens. Our hands are full of all kinds of problems this year with these guys.”

Seeking a bit of revenge after losing to their rivals on their home turf earlier this season, here’s a closer look at the Seahawks Week 11 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, a deep dive into scheme, and Carroll's evaluation of the Rams entering Sunday's rematch.

Series History

51st regular season meeting. The Seahawks hold a 27-23 edge in the all-time series, including sweeping both games against the Rams last season. Since Sean McVay took over as coach replacing Jeff Fisher in 2017, however, Los Angeles has won eight out of 13 regular season games between the two rivals and beat Seattle on the road in the wild card round in 2020 as well as Week 1 in September.

What's New?

Departures: After going all-in for several seasons trading away high draft picks for star players and spending big bucks in free agency, the financial day of reckoning came for the Rams this spring, leading to an exodus of talented veterans. Wanting to play for a contender, Wagner asked to be released and returned to the Seahawks in March, while Ramsey was dealt to the Dolphins in a major cost-cutting move for a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. In addition, veteran defensive tackles A'Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines, pass rusher Leonard Floyd, receiver Allen Robinson, and kicker Matt Gay all departed during the offseason, leaving several holes on the roster. The team also traded running back Cam Akers to the Vikings earlier in the season.

Additions: With minimal money available to spend due to dead cap hits, Los Angeles made few noteworthy moves in free agency, though they did bring back safety John Johnson after he spent the past two seasons in Cleveland. Despite not having a first-round pick, the Rams made 14 selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, including 11 in the final four rounds on day three. Among the key additions from this large class, they landed a potential long-term center/guard in Steve Avila and an athletic pass rusher in Byron Young in the second and third round respectively. Emerging as a fifth-round steal, McVay also landed BYU receiver Puka Nacua, who already has nearly 1,000 receiving yards and broke Kupp's rookie receptions record in just nine games.

Injury Report

Healthier after a much-needed bye week, Stafford and linebacker Ernest Jones were full participants on Wednesday, while tackle Rob Havenstein and Nacua were limited but are expected to play this weekend. Running back Kyren Williams, who scored two touchdowns in the first matchup against Seattle, landed on injured reserve and won't be available for the rematch.

Inside The Scheme

As has been the case since he first arrived in 2017, McVay's offense lives primarily in 11 personnel groupings with three receivers, a running back, and a tight end. So far through 10 weeks, the Rams and Panthers are tied for first in the NFL using 11 personnel on 88 percent of first down snaps. Sticking with status quo compared to prior years, Stafford has also taken nearly 45 percent of his snaps under center in singleback rather than in shotgun, which allows for more opportunities at simplified deception from a play calling standpoint.

In the run game, however, the Rams have departed from past trends being a zone-centric team - particularly running midzone concepts - in favor of downhill gap running schemes. With Mike LaFleur at the controls as offensive coordinator, per Pro Football Focus charting, the team has made a 180-degree shift running gap concepts such as power and counter on 65 percent of their rushing plays. Ranking in the bottom third in the league in rushing yards, they haven't leaned much on play action passes with Stafford ranking 24th in play pass attempts and 18th in yards.

With that said, McVay does scheme up shot plays for Stafford and the quarterback excels when those opportunities present themselves, as he leads all passers averaging 10.9 yards per attempt off play action.

"He’s one of the best play callers in the NFL," safety Quandre Diggs said of the challenges defending McVay's offense. "He has great personnel. You pick and choose who you want to take away and that’s one of those pick your poison things; they still run the ball well. He does a lot of different things and he’s very sound in what they do. They mix it up. It’s not always the same thing. We can run a lot of inside routes; we can run a lot of outside routes too. It’s all about switching up and when you have a veteran quarterback that can really dissect defenses and see what guys are in, it makes them very dangerous.”

Defensively, the Rams have dove head-first into the NFL's newest fad dialing up simulated pressures, or sending a rusher from the second or third level of the defense while dropping a defensive lineman or edge rusher into coverage. This disguises the look of a blitz without compensating coverage responsibilities by sending pressure from different areas of the defense. Currently, per PFF charting, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris calls sim pressures on 30.7 percent of defensive snaps, the fourth-highest rate in the league.

Coverage wise, Los Angeles has leaned towards middle of the field open concepts, running Cover 4 "Quarters" and Cover 6 at 22 percent and 18.8 percent clips, ranking in the top five in both schemes and well ahead of league average. With Aaron Donald still doing damage up front and an ascending rookie pass rusher in Byron Young already halfway to double digit sacks, the Rams have been a middle-of-the-road blitzing team, sending five or more rushers 26 percent of the time.

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