Seattle seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks (6-3) @ Los Angeles Rams (3-6)
SoFi Stadium | Sunday November 19, 2023 | 1:25p PST CBS
The Los Angeles Rams have had an up and down season emotionally despite the 3-6 record.
Expectations of the Rams season were low entering week 1 when the Rams and Seahawks had their first meeting against each other in Seattle at Lumen Field. After that game and a 30-13 win by the LA Rams, expectations shifted and fans then began wondering how far this team could go this season with a young roster and many question marks surrounding talented, but unproven players.
Pair that with some very strong performances against very good football teams and Rams fans were left wondering if the 2023 Rams were actually… good? Crazy to think if you follow Rams creators on social media.
Those high hopes have all but come crashing down after the Rams last two road games. The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers both completely shut down the Rams and in both match ups, it didn’t really feel like at any point the Rams were going to be able to turn it on and pull out a victory.
The bye week came at a perfect time for the Rams even if it was just one week too late.
Entering week 11, the Rams have an opportunity right now to either shake off the last two games and string together some wins in hopes of making a playoff push. On the flip side of that, the Rams could also fall completely on their faces and end up with a top 5 draft pick.
At this point of the season, either of those options feels extremely likely. The Rams are just two games out of the number 1 overall pick, but just three games out of a playoff spot.
The next two games should give us a good gauge on how weeks 13-18 will go. The Rams host the Seahawks and then hit the road to take on the Cardinals in the desert. These are two teams the Rams have not only defeated so far this season, but won handily with a 30-13 win in week 1 against the Seahawks and a 26-9 victory over the Cardinals in week 6.
While we will wait another week to fully dive into the Cardinals game, the Rams have a tough match up against the Seahawks who will surely be looking to prove that week 1 was a bit of a fluke.
The Rams enter week 11 with the 15h ranked offense going against the Seahawks 25th ranked defense. The Seahawks defense has some talented players, but schematically doesn’t feel very creative. The Sean McVay led offense of the Rams with a returning Matthew Stafford should be able to find a way to move the chains and put up points.
The Rams offensive line gets the veteran back this week as Rob Havenstein will hold down the right tackle spot after missing two games leading up to the bye week. His absence was felt along the front as the Rams OL had a difficult time allowing both Stafford against Dallas and Rypien against Green Bay to settle in.
The number one player I’m keeping an eye on this week is Rams WR Cooper Kupp. Kupp returned from IR and has yet to be part of a Rams win this season. With someone as competitive as Kupp, the fire should be present in this game as the combo of 9 and 10 should be able to get rolling against a team that the Rams tend to have some success against.
On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks offense has not felt very explosive and QB Geno Smith is looking more and more like the Geno we all had grown accustom to seeing and not the Geno of 2022 that seemed to have turned a corner in his play. The Rams defense had a chance to catch it’s breath over the bye week and now could come back and look like they did at the beginning of the season where teams were having a difficult time move the ball through the air.
The Rams might be the healthiest they have been all season entering week 11 which feels essentially completely opposite of last season. With health and a young team who just got smacked in the mouth two times straight before the bye week, I think I’m most curious to see how the team plays in this game.
Will the Rams come out with a refreshed mindset ready to make a run to play games past week 18? Will they come in flat and force the conversations amongst content creators about who the Rams could be adding to their roster in April?
Only way to find out is to watch the action unfold. The Rams and Seahawks kickoff at 1:25p PST and will be aired on CBS. To see if the game will be televised locally in your area, check out Rams Showcase on social media for the distribution map.
@RamsShowcase | @SheriffJoeBags
