The Seattle Seahawks have a lot to prove on Thursday Night Football in Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams. This goes well beyond quarterback Sam Darnold simply proving that he can play great in the biggest games. The team overall needs to show it can beat the Rams in meaningful games.
Seattle did get a win against LA in Week 18 last season, but the outcome meant nothing. Seattle already knew it was going to miss the postseason, and the Rams already knew they had won the NFC West. Los Angeles also sat key players such as Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp during the game.
But entering Week 16 of the 2025 season, anything is still possible for the Seattle Seahawks. The team is currently tied atop the division at 11-3, and each team has a good chance at the top seed in the NFC. One issue Seattle has could set them back on Thursday, however.
Seattle Seahawks could be missing Charles Cross versus the Rams in Week 16
Left tackle Charles Cross, arguably one of the three or four most important players on the roster, injured his hamstring on the team's game-winning field goal in the final seconds of Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts. The injury initially looked as if it might be worse, and the team hasn't yet ruled out Cross for Week 16.
That said, he has yet to practice ahead of the game (though both sessions have been walk-throughs and not full practices). Perhaps the team is listing him as a "did not participate" while understanding that he knows the offense extremely well and doesn't need the reps, even figurative reps. That would be looking at the situation positively, though, and maybe too much so.
Hamstring issues don't tend to heal quickly, and the fact that the injury happened so late in Week 15 complicates the problem. Seattle has been fairly fortunate in that most of the offensive line has stayed healthy in 2025. Losing Cross would be the most crippling of injuries.
The Rams have a fearsome pass rush, ninth in sacks with 37, but blitzing only 19 percent of the time (29th-most in the NFL and fewer times than the Seahawks), which means they get a lot of pressure with their front four. This also means they tend to beat good offensive tackles at the original point of attack.
If the Seahawks don't have Charles Cross (and he might be a game-time decision, though the Seahawks will release their final injury report on Wednesday afternoon), that would mean Josh Jones will play. Jones was a free agent signee this past offseason, and he hasn't started a game since 2023. The good part is that he is decent in pass protection, but lousy in blocking for the run.
That could mean that in primetime on Thursday Night Football, a lack of good run-blocking for the Seattle Seahawks turns the team into a one-trick pony offensively, relying on Sam Darnold to win the game. That is unlikely to happen after having four interceptions in Seattle and the Rams' previous matchup this season, but one may have to hope for the best.