Seahawks Entering Game vs. Rams With 'Sense of Urgency to Grow'

The Seattle Seahawks have a big Week 9 game looming against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks are in a challenging NFC West, going into Week 9 with each team within a game of the division lead.

The Seahawks, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, are sitting at .500 with a 4-4 record. Meanwhile, the Rams, who face off against the Seahawks this week, are just one game back at 3-5, but they have won two straight games, including a big Thursday Night Football victory against the Minnesota Vikings.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is looking forward to the test the Rams bring.

"You have to look at it like this is game one," Macdonald said. "Some teams are like, the Rams are coming in super confident. They've won a couple of games in a row. Trying to take the next (step). Everyone's kind of on their own little journey ... so there's some context behind the game one analogy. But I think with us, it's saying 'Hey, we've had a lot of opportunities where our record could have been better. It's not. It is what it is.' There's an opportunity here to really take a next step and get a win where we can put ourselves in a great position to go get another win. Still, there's a lot of football to be played, but definitely a win puts you in a lot better position. It kind of furthers the story that you're trying to develop as a football team throughout the season."

With a bye coming in Week 10, the Seahawks will only face divisional opponents in the month of November, so these next few weeks could be a big deciding factor in how the division plays out.

"It's a sense of urgency to grow," Macdonald said. "That's what it is. We could be playing a team from Germany, it just doesn't matter who you play. It's the mentality as a team for us to grow and improve and fix the things and make right the things that are plaguing us right now." 

Divisional games ultimately have more meaning, especially in a year like this where the Wild Card teams could all come outside of the division. That means the Seahawks may have to win the NFC West to make the playoffs, and they are fully capable of doing so, but they have to lock in and execute in these coming weeks.

Kickoff between the Rams and Seahawks is set for 1:25 p.m. PT on Sunday at Lumen Field.

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