The Seahawks and Rams meet in Los Angeles for a Week 18 matchup that could determine the Rams’ playoff seeding.
The Seattle Seahawks are 9-7 but were eliminated from playoff contention after the Falcons lost to the Commanders on Sunday Night Football in Week 17. Seattle won four straight out of the bye week to take control of the NFC West, but a 1-2 record over the past two contests wasn’t enough.
The Los Angeles Rams are 10-6 and after starting 1-4, they won nine of the next 11 games and five straight. The Rams are hot at the right time and the defense has held its last three opponents, the 49ers, Jets, and Cardinals to 24 total points. Los Angeles will either end up with the No. 3 or No. 4 seed depending on whether Tampa Bay beats New Orleans in Week 18.
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Game Details and How to watch the Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks on Sunday
· Date: Sunday, January 5, 2024
· Time: 4:25 PM EST
· Site: SoFi Stadium
· City: Inglewood, CA
· TV/Streaming: FOX
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Game odds for Seahawks vs. Rams
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Seattle Seahawks (-225), Los Angeles (+185)
Spread: Seahawks -6 (-110)
Total: 39.0
The spread opened at Seattle -3.5 and around -150 odds on the ML, so the Seahawks have taken most of the handle. The total dropped from 43.5 to 39.0 after Seattle was eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday, while the Rams secured its spot.
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the value of the Rams as the line continues to trend toward the Seahawks:
“There is a good chance we only see the Rams starters for a stint in this game, but the line movement from Seahawks -3.5 to -6 puts value on the home underdog.
If this passes +7, I will really like the Rams here as they are motivated to win in front of their home crowd, while the Seahawks have no real motivation besides ending the season on a high note against a team they blew an OT game against.
The Seahawks have been a mess over the last three weeks with a 30-13 home loss to the Packers, followed by another home loss to the Vikings (27-24) before a win at the Bears (6-3). Seattle is a puzzling team and I don’t think are worthy of backing in Week 18 even if they want to split the season series with Los Angeles.”
Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks team stats, betting trends
- Seattle is 6-9-1 ATS this season, tied for 8th-worst.
- Seattle is 3-2 to the Over as a favorite and 8-8 overall.
- The Seahawks are 1-3-1 ATS as a favorite but 4-1 on the ML.
- Los Angeles is 8-8 ATS and 3-5 ATS as the home team.
- The Rams are 3-2 ATS as a home underdog and 4-1 to the Over in those games.
- Los Angeles is 3-0 to the Under in the past three games.
- Matthew Stafford has three straight games under 200 passing yards.
- Kyren Williams has scored in two straight games and has six touchdowns over the last six games.
- Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 129 yards on 14 targets. He is 10 yards away from 1,000 on the season.
- Geno Smith has three touchdowns and three picks in the past three games.
- Zach Charbonnet ran for 57 yards on 15 rushing attempts and had -1, 54, and 134 yards over the past four games.
Quarterback matchup for Los Angeles vs. Seattle
Los Angeles: Matthew Stafford – Stafford could rest for at least half of this game and with three straight weeks under 200 passing yards, the 36-year-old could probably use a game off before the playoffs. Stafford has 3,762 passing yards (9th) and 20 touchdowns (T-13th) to 8 interceptions this year. Jimmy Garoppolo is the Rams backup quarterback. Jimmy G had 1,205 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions last season.
Seattle: Geno Smith - Smith is 5th in the NFL with 4,097 passing yards and has 17 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Smith has four straight games of a 72% or better completion percentage for a career-high 70.2 completion percentage that leads the league.
Rams and Seahawks injury update
Seattle’s DE Mike Morris (ankle) is questionable, while CB Artie Burns (toe) is doubtful. RB Kenneth Walker (ankle), LB Trevis Gipson (ankle), DB K’Von Wallace (ankle), DT Cameron Young (knee), and OL Stone Forsythe (hand) are all out.
Los Angeles’s OL KT Leveston (ankle) and LB Troy Reeder (hamstring) are out, and a plethora of Rams players will likely rest due to making the playoffs and knowing their seeding ahead of this matchup (TB vs NO at 1 PM ET).
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