Week 5 Thursday Night Football Preview: Rams vs. Seahawks

Week 5 Thursday Night Football Preview: Rams vs. Seahawks

Tyler Vaysman
2 years ago
2 min read
Week 5 Thursday Night Football Preview: Rams vs. Seahawks

In the NFC West, every game feels more important, as the competitiveness of the division from top to bottom makes each contest vital to avoid falling behind. That is especially true of division games, which the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will participate in on Thursday Night Football. With both teams looking up at the Arizona Cardinals in the standings through four weeks, this Week 5 matchup carries significant weight.

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams suffered their first loss of the 2021 season last week when they were outclassed by the Arizona Cardinals. Los Angeles allowed 37 points to the Cardinals in that contest, halting their momentum ahead of this matchup with Seattle, who they played in the postseason last year. And things are not expected to get any easier for the Rams' defense in this matchup.

In this matchup, the Rams will have to work to defend the vertical passing game that the Seahawks bring to the table. But they will also have a chance to take advantage of the suspect defense of the Seahawks in the game as well. Whichever side gets the better of the deep passing action in this contest should have a huge advantage and should come out of this one with a victory.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle picked up a surprising victory in Week 4, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara to snap a two-game losing streak. In that victory, Russell Wilson only threw for 149 yards but didn’t need to do much down the stretch as the Seahawks had things under control in what would normally be crunch time. This week, Seattle can expect a stiffer challenge, as the Rams will look to get back on track after a dismal performance last week.

For the Seahawks, a big question will be what their running game looks like again this week. Chris Carson’s status is uncertain for this game after he only had 30 yards last week against the Niners. Seattle averaged under four yards per carry last week, which may not get better against a defense led by Aaron Donald.

Keys to the Game

The biggest key to this game for the Los Angeles Rams will be overcoming the first adversity that they have faced with Matthew Stafford as their quarterback. The Rams have been extremely efficient with the exception of last week. Now the question is whether or not they can regain their previous form, or if this will be the beginning of a losing streak for SoFi Stadium’s NFC inhabitant.

For the Seattle Seahawks, the major key to this game is going to be their passing game. With the rushing attack and its personnel not being a certainty coming into this game, the Seahawks will need Russell Wilson to deliver consistent yardage to keep the offense moving down the field. Wilson is typically reliable in that regard but did struggle against the Rams defense in the playoffs last year, making his performance here far from a given.

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