The Seattle Seahawks are rolling. The team has won eight straight games and 12 of its last 13. That includes a win against their NFC Championship game opponent, the Los Angeles Rams. The victory did not come easily, though.
In fact, Seattle trailed 30-14 in the second half before Rashid Shaheed scored on a punt return, and the narrative of the game changed. After that, quarterback Sam Darnold began playing better, and Seattle won 38-37 in overtime.
The game should have given Darnold even more belief in himself that he is capable of winning the biggest games. But the scary part was that Seattle's elite defense was thrashed by head coach Sean McVay and his Rams offense in Week 16. LA had 581 total yards, the most ever allowed by a Seahawks team.
NFL insider Joel Klatt firmly believes in the Seattle Seahawks
The good part is that Seattle is very unlikely to have such a dismal defensive performance again, not under head coach Mike Macdonald, at least. When the two teams met in Week 11, for instance, the Rams had just 49 total yards. LA won 21-19 in part because Darnold threw four interceptions.
The Seahawks and 12s have reasons to believe that Seattle can beat the Rams and win the Super Bowl. NFL analyst Joel Klatt believes that, too. He said as much on Seattle Sports 710 AM's Brock and Salk show in the days leading up to the NFC Championship game.
"Normally, I get to this point in the season and I think it’s a coin flip for any of the four teams to win it all," Klatt said. "But man, I gotta tell you guys, I don’t remember a year that I felt like a single team was this much better than the other three in a long time...the way Seattle is playing now, New England and Denver aren’t going to beat them, certainly not (the Broncos) with Jarrett Stidham. … (The Rams barely) escaped the Panthers and Bears. And meanwhile, Seattle is just beating down their opponents."
Not only does Klatt believe Seattle can beat Los Angeles for the second time this season, but he also believes that, should the Seahawks play their best, they are easily the best team among the last four remaining. Basically, it all comes down to execution for Macdonald's team.
Seattle must get pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and the Seahawks weren't able to do that in Week 16. Allowing Stafford to stand back and have the time to go through his progressions would be a grave mistake.
Sam Darnold also cannot afford too many mistakes. If he plays as he did in Week 11, LA will win.
But should the Seattle Seahawks get past the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, whether it is a close game or not, most NFL fans will believe as Joel Klatt does and think Seattle is going to win the Super Bowl this season.