The Seattle Seahawks will be in for a tough challenge when they host Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC Championship Game. Going against a Super Bowl-winning head coach and quarterback is always a complicated task.
Nevertheless, as talented and experienced as Matthew Stafford is, the Rams' quarterback isn't flawless. He -- just like the Rams' offense -- has struggled in the playoffs, and the Seahawks' elite defense can certainly exploit his main weakness.
As shown by NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, the league's Next Gen Stats show that Stafford has struggled mightily under pressure in the playoffs. That's music to Arden Durde's ears, as the Seahawks happen to be great at pressuring the quarterback.
The Seattle Seahawks must put pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford
Per Holzman-Escareno, the Rams' veteran quarterback has the worst passer rating when facing pressure in these playoffs (24.8). For context, a quarterback's passer rating without completing a pass is 39.6.
Stafford has completed just 9 of 23 passes for 119 yards, no touchdowns, and one pick when facing pressure in the playoffs. Those woes were also on full display in the Seahawks' overtime win in the regular season, as he completed 9 of 21 throws for 137 yards and one score when pressured. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns when given a clean pocket.
Per Football Reference, the Seahawks had the sixth-highest pressure rate in the league in the regular season (26.1 percent). They also logged the third-most pressures (180), the second-most hurries (73), and the third-highest hurry percentage (10.6 percent).
This team knows how to keep the quarterback on his toes. The Rams' offense looked out of sync for most of the NFC Divisional Round, and they had to resort to a late-game interception and a game-winning field goal to reach this stage.
The Seahawks' defense, on the other hand, made a huge statement in their win over the San Francisco 49ers. They set a new franchise record with 19 pressures on Brock Purdy, topping their previous mark by four (15 in 2016). In those pressures, they forced one fumble, had two sacks, and one interception.
They had a whopping 47.4 percent pressure rate in the win. Even if they can't put up those same numbers on Sunday, this defense should be able to exploit arguably Stafford's only flaw as a passer at this point in his career.