During the offseason, one of the dominant storylines was how the Los Angeles Rams had leapfrogged the Super Bowl defending champions, the Seattle Seahawks, as not just the better team, but as NFC and championship favourites.
Six weeks into the season, while both teams are going through their respective struggles, that offseason narrative is looking significantly more down on the Rams than the Seahawks, and Seattle isn't even playing well.
Furthermore, given Seattle's struggles, if the Rams were playing to their potential and at the level they were projected to be, things would look considerably worse for the Seahawks with their 3-3 record. Instead, with the Rams sitting at 2-4, the Seahawks actually have the edge.
L.A. Rams and a weak NFC gives the Seattle Seahawks time to figure things out
The 3-3 Seahawks looking better than the Rams has everything to do with the Rams more than anything else. Of course, "looking better" may not be the proper words to describe the distance between the two teams. For the sake of argument, though, those are the words.
Because of the Rams’ poor play, especially against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend, the Seahawks still have a very realistic shot at the division and a strong playoff run, because, all things considered, the Rams look cooked.
A combination of Sean McVay's questionable coaching decisions, Matthew Stafford's up-and-down play, the absence of Myles Garrett, special teams woes, and defensive pressure issues has helped the Seahawks by easing pressure in the NFC West and giving Seattle a larger margin for error as both teams navigate their own early-season struggles.
For one, there's breathing room. Despite the Seahawks dropping three of their last four games, the Rams have dropped two in a row; in both games, they had no business losing. With the Rams falling backward, the division opens up considerably wider for the Seahawks to dig themselves out of their inconsistencies.
It also gives them time. Not enough to catch the San Francisco 49ers, who might already have the division in the bag, but enough time to fix, evaluate, and improve before finishing the second half of the season strong. The Rams look much further behind Seattle, which is to their disadvantage.
What's killing the Rams the most is their special teams. What's killing the Seahawks is their passing game and turnovers. The question from here on out is: which will improve first and fastest? As great a coach as McVay is, the odds are in Macdonald's favour—Darnold improving and an offense waking up.
The 'Rams' special teams have never looked good under McVay, so there's no reason to believe things will change 180 degrees in the next 11 games. On a larger scale, a weakened NFC is benefiting the Seahawks and, if need be, saving them.
The East is entirely up for grabs, it seems, and the South looks like it belongs to the Carolina Panthers, a team the Seahawks shouldn't worry about. As for the North, well, it's far more compelling and interesting, but also a complete toss-up. How real the Minnesota Vikings are remains to be seen; the same goes for the Green Bay Packers.
The NFC is a jumbled mess, with the 49ers appearing to be the only true threat. Again, this is good for the Seahawks. They may not have to worry about how much the 49ers are winning, only about gaining momentum from how much the Rams are losing. At the end of the day, the Seahawks' postseason chances may come down to the Rams above all else.
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