It’s finally here, the game of the year. The 7–2 Seattle Seahawks face off against the 7–2 Los Angeles Rams. The winner of this game will not only take sole possession of first place in the NFC West but will also gain a huge advantage in playoff tiebreaker scenarios. This is without question the biggest game of the season for both teams, but I’d argue it’s a little bit bigger for the Seahawks.

Going into this year, there were a lot of question marks about Seattle, everything from the quarterback position to several of their free-agency signings. One of those signings being Cooper Kupp, who will be making his first visit to SoFi Stadium facing off against his former team. After winning 10 games last season, many people still didn’t believe the Seahawks were legit. They quieted their critics early this season, but until they beat another legitimate contender like the Rams, the Sam Darnold non-believers will continue to diminish Seattle’s early-season success.

For the Rams, expectations were already sky-high. After barely losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round, winning the NFC West for the second year in a row was the standard. And after signing Davante Adams in free agency plus Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua having career seasons the Rams offense has been a force to be reckoned with.

Both teams enter this matchup on four-game win streaks. This game is as evenly matched as it gets, with both teams sporting top-five scoring offenses and defenses, quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 in passing yards and touchdowns, and receivers in the top three in receiving yards. The Seahawks have their work cut out for them, but it’s definitely not a task they can’t handle. Seattle is coming into this game off two dominating victories, so momentum is running high in the Pacific Northwest. But will it be enough to take down the Rams?

Here are my three keys for a Seahawks win. 

1. Get off to a good start

The Seahawks have outscored their opponents 69–14 combined in the first half of their last two games. They’ve scored at least 30 points in the first half three times this year, which is absolutely bonkers. Am I saying they need to do that again against the Rams? No. But getting off to an early lead especially in a divisional game on the road will be crucial.

2. Force turnovers

Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with 25 touchdown passes this season… and he’s thrown only two interceptions. That’s right two. The Seahawks have forced 12 turnovers this year, and that number will need to increase if they want to win. Stafford is an MVP frontrunner largely because of how efficient he’s been with the ball. Since joining the Rams in 2021, Stafford is 5–0 against Seattle. If the Seahawks want to put a blemish on that record, they’re going to have to force him into mistakes.

3. Run the ball effectively

Listen, I’ve talked about the run game a lot in my recaps and previews. I’m running out of ways to say it. So hopefully this is the last time: I don’t care who gets the bulk of the carries Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, hell, I don’t care even if it’s the fullback Robbie Ouzts. If the Seahawks want to win, they need to run the ball effectively. Last week against the Cardinals, they rushed for a season-high 198 yards. We need more of that! If the run game works, everything else will too.

Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PT on Sunday. I hope you’re glued to your seat, because you know I will be.