The best team in the NFC will have one final challenge before packing their bags to San Francisco. The Seattle Seahawks will host the Los Angeles Rams for their third and final meeting of the season, and it doesn't get any bigger than this.
Rams and Seahawks alternated wins this season, with both games going down to the wire. Like all divisional matchups, there's no love lost between these two teams, and pride will also be a major factor in this game.
With that in mind, we're going to share our three boldest predictions for this matchup. And while we expect Mike Macdonald's team and their league-best defense to come out on top, it won't be an easy watch or suited to sensitive hearts.
3 bold predictions for the NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams
Sam Darnold will be a mixed bag
Sam Darnold's arm talent is off the charts. He can make every throw in the book, and the game just comes easily to him when he's at his best. When he isn't, however, things can get pretty ugly in no time. We've seen him be a bit of a mixed bag vs. the Rams in the past, and that might be the case again on Sunday.
The former New York Jets can light it up, even if he's somewhat limited with an oblique injury. He's more than capable of putting up nearly 300 yards and at least two scores against a Rams defense that gave up the 19th-most passing yards and the tenth-most points per game this season.
That being said, they picked him off six times in two games this season, so he's more than likely to give the ball a couple of times as well.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba will top 150 receiving yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba cooled off a bit in the second half of the season, but he still had nine games of 100+ yards in the regular season. He topped the 120-yard mark in six of those games, including two with 160+ receiving yards.
As such, we expect him to be the primary offensive factor on Sunday. He's coming off a modest outing in the win vs. the San Francisco 49ers, hauling in just three of four targets for 19 yards. However, the passing game didn't need to do much in that game.
He had 105 and 96 receiving yards with one touchdown against the Rams this season, and with a potential shootout, he's going to have plenty of big-play opportunities in this game.
The defense will get one final stop
The Rams and Seahawks know one another quite well. This game will also feature two elite tacticians, one on each side of the ball. The Rams won the first game by two points, and the Seahawks got back at them with an overtime win. Both games came down to the wire, and this one won't be the exception.
As such, we expect Mike Macdonald's defense to prevail with one final stop. After throwing just two picks in his first eleven games of the season, Matthew Stafford has tossed seven interceptions in as many games since.
The Seahawks had the fifth-most interceptions in the league this season (18), and after picking off Brock Purdy in the NFC Divisional Round, they will punch their Super Bowl ticket with a game-sealing interception on Sunday.