Field Gulls
Divisional rival games are weird. In part, divisional rival games are fun because they are weird. It turns out playing twice a year gives teams so much information on each other that nearly anything can happen on any given night.
When the Seattle Seahawks play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, it will be the 56th time the two teams have faced off in regular season. It’s 28-27 Seattle, for curious folks.
But these Seahawks have never faced these Rams with the three particular advantages they now possess. It’s a layer of newness to a rivalry that’s been brought back to the forge of sports-hate since the two have become powerhouses once again.
What a ridiculous free agent signing. At 33 years old, and nine games in, I’m ready to propose DeMarcus Lawrence as the best edge player Seattle has had in eight years, when Frank Clark was traded. Hear me on this – he’s not the best pure pass rusher in that span, but he is by far the best all-around defensive player on the end. The Seahawks defense grew worse and worse over the end of Pete Carroll’s tenure until 2023, when it became legendarily bad. In 2024 it was better. Much so.
In 2025 though, they took a very respectable defensive line and added Lawrence. Now it’s dangerous.
Lawrence is having his best season in six years, with maybe only 2022 as the exception. He’s already his totals from four of the last five seasons in: QB hits, Pressures, Tackles for Loss, Fumble Recoveries, and his 4 sacks better than three of the past four seasons.
After nine games.
This is new for Seattle because they’ve not truly been able to threaten the Rams offensive tackle play in a number of years. Boye Mafe and the other defensive ends are good players, but the newness that Lawrence brings is elite power, and his game is so well-rounded that he’s in the backfield regardless of what type of play it is.
This is the theme for these advantages, and is crucial for Lawrence’s game against Los Angeles. Whatever Sean McVay wants to run in Lawrence’s direction, he won’t create a mismatch. Lawrence can still stop inside runs at top-of-NFL level. But he’s also scary rushing the passer. He does not easily get beat to the outside. He recognizes…everything really – double teams, routes, and screens.
McVay’s advantage over defenses typically resides in his ability to deceive and utilize enough versatility to create mismatches. Lawrence is not often deceived or at a disadvantage; his fundamentals are too strong.
Also, offensive tackle is one of L.A’s biggest weaknesses.
For a couple reasons.
The first is in the roster itself. In addition to tackle, cornerback is another weak spot for the Rams. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba now drawing either double coverage or a big play, Kupp should have a weaker cast attempting to cover him.
I’m more intrigued by a different wrinkle, however. This is the...
