Once in a great while the stars align to give us something truly special in the playoffs. The NFC Championship is that game. Sunday will see the Rams and Seahawks complete their NFC West trilogy with a rubber match to finally settle who is better between these two juggernauts. It’s a game that could very well be better than the Super Bowl itself, because these teams have already given us two classics during the 2025 season.

It’s not simply that these teams are meeting for a third time that makes the NFC Championship game so special, but it’s the how these teams have played against each other which takes it to an entirely new level. The first meeting was settled by two points, the second by one in overtime — a single extra point decided the regular season balance between these two teams, and to have that span two games is absolutely unheard of. Now we dive into those two games, see what made them tick, and decide if we can learn anything about the NFC Championship by looking at the history between these teams during the regular season.

November 16, 2025 — Los Angeles Rams win at home

The most stunning factor in the first meeting between these two teams was how bad the collective quarterback play was. Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold were in the conversation for MVP at the time, and both passers came out looking extremely flat — especially Darnold.

Seattle’s QB was completely overwhelmed by the two-high safety defense the Rams utilized. The majority of opponents that failed against the Hawks in 2025 were over reliant on using man coverage to try and limit the effect of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Instead the Rams decided they were content on letting JSN get as many receptions as he wanted, so long as that didn’t result in explosive plays. This was a brilliant strategy, because while Smith-Njigba caught 9 passes for 105 yards, his longest reception of the day went for 11 yards.

This lack of production was frustrating to Darnold, who couldn’t find a way through the Rams’ Cover 6 defense. The result was forced passes, as Darnold tried desperately to will big plays into existence — throwing four interceptions as a result. This was coupled with an ineffective running game that also didn’t generate explosive plays.

Matthew Stafford wasn’t good on the other side of the ball, either. Finishing with a season low 130 passing yards, Stafford was largely ineffective outside of two goal line passing touchdowns. Like Seattle the Rams also struggled to generate explosive plays, and it spoke to how evenly these teams were matched.

In the end the only hair of difference was that the Rams were able to convert their red zone opportunities into touchdowns, whereas the Seahawks had to settle for field goals.

December 18, 2025 — Seattle Seahawks win at home

The second meeting between Seattle and Los Angeles had a different result, but all felt very similar. Perhaps the most unique thing about this second game was a fundamental lack of defensive adjustments on both sides of the ball. It’s almost as if the Rams and Hawks knew they could be meeting in the playoffs, and didn’t want to show too many of the wrinkles they installed since the last game.

Los Angeles ran the same two-high safety shell inside the Cover 6, and generated some similar results against Darnold, intercepting two passes — but also allowed two touchdowns. Similarly, the Seahawks did a very good job preventing explosive plays from Matthew Stafford until overtime when Puka Nacua caught a 41-yard touchdown pass.

The core difference was that the Rams allowed some explosives on the other side of the ball, which they didn’t in the first meeting. This allowed Seattle to get touchdowns, rather than settle for as many field goals — while this time it was the Rams who had to settle for more kicks. This ultimately took the game to overtime, where the Seahawks’ aggressiveness paid off by scoring a game-winning two point conversion.

What can we expect out of the third game?

Part of what makes this NFC Championship so fascinating is that we really don’t have any idea. These are two of the most cagey coaches in the NFL with Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald being masters of offense and defense respectively — and notably neither did anything different in their second meeting.

While it’s certainly possible that the collective believe was to simply forge ahead using the same strategy, there’s more of a feeling that they wanted to mask potential wrinkles for a more important game down the road: This one.

So the question becomes: How can each team alter their approach? The biggest factor for Seattle is the pass rush, which was relatively quiet across the two prior meetings. This season we’ve seen Stafford at his best, but he can also become flappable when hit with interior pressure out of the A-Gap. This is what we saw in both of Los Angeles’ games against the Panthers with Derrick Brown collapsing the pocket from the inside, which Byron Murphy II is also capable of. It simple becomes a question of how the Seahawks’ mask it.

Meanwhile on the other side a lot will be determined by Sean McVay’s tight end integration into the offense. McVay had an overreliance on Puka Nakua in both games, particularly the second when Davante Adams was out injured. What we saw was a total of 13 targets to tight ends in both Seattle games, but these playoffs we’ve seen the offense swell to use the position more as a receiving threat. In the Bears game alone tight ends were targeted 13 times, with Adams back in the lineup. That can be a huge factor for the Rams in this game if they can diversify their passing offense.

It’s a brutally tight game that might as well be a tossup, but the Seahawks are favorites by the narrowest of margins. This will be a home game, where Seattle can get loud and masking pressure is functionally easier than pivoting the passing offense for the Rams.

Still, it can’t be stressed enough that this is anyone’s game. We are seeing the NFL’s best two teams meeting for a third time in a series where nobody has been dominant. One thing is certain: It’s going to be fun as hell.