Rams offense vs. Seahawks defense is a heavyweight battle fit for an NFC Championship Game

It’s very rare that you get rubber matches in the NFL, but that is exactly what is on the docket for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams and Seahawks played two of the best games of the year in their NFC West home-and-home this season, with each team coming out on top on their home field. Back in Week 11, the Rams picked off Sam Darnold four times and Jason Myers missed a long field goal as time expired as Los Angeles walked away with a 21-19 win.

Just over a month later in Week 16, the two heavyweights played one of the games of the year on Thursday Night Football, as the Seahawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get a 38-37 overtime win. It will be the Seahawks who get this game at home after securing the No. 1 seed and demolishing the 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional Round. On the other side, the Rams have squeaked out a pair of three-point wins on the road against the Panthers and Bears.

All four units in this game are elite, which is to be expected coming into a championship game. However, the Seahawks defense and the Rams offense are arguably the two best units in football and have been for a lot of this season. So, who has the edge when Los Angeles has the ball on Sunday?

Can the Rams run the ball on Seattle’s front?

Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams get a lot of the buzz for this Rams offense in the passing game, but this group is at its best when the running game is clicking on all cylinders. Sean McVay and company have done that effectively for much of the year, finishing with a top five rushing attack in terms of both EPA per rush and rushing success rate.

Los Angeles had mixed results on the ground against the Seattle defense in their two meetings, which is better than a lot of other offenses have fared. In the Week 11, game, it was a bit of a boom-or-bust endeavor for the Rams, who were stuffed for one yard or less on more than 30% of their carries. However, Los Angeles still ran for 119 yards on 22 carries and generated positive EPA for the day on the ground.

The Week 16 meeting was a tale of two halves for the Rams on the ground, as LA bludgeoned Seattle on the ground early on before faltering in the second half, allowing the Seahawks to pull off that epic comeback. For the day, the Rams finished with 124 yards on 39 carries, but Seattle seemed to start winning that battle up front as the game went on.

One of the ways that the Rams had success running the ball in that game was to put more tight ends on the field. Davante Adams didn’t play in that Week 16 game,...