The Los Angeles Rams are set to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11 and it may be the most-anticipated game of the 2025 season up to this point. Over the past month, it feels as if these two teams were on a collision course and set to play each other in a heated NFC West battle. Both teams sit at 7-2 and winners of four straight. The winner of this game will take firm control of the division and potentially the NFC’s top seed over the back half of the season.
For as much as the rivalry between
the Rams and San Francisco 49ers is talked about, the Seahawks have been right there. In 2010, the Rams and Seahawks battled in Week 17 for the NFC West crown and a spot in the playoffs. While the Rams were an average team at best under Jeff Fisher, they were 5-5 against the Seahawks, including winning four of five from 2014-2016.
The Rams beat the Seahawks in 2016 in their return to Los Angeles at the LA Memorial Coliseum. An injured Jared Goff led the Rams to a win in the NFC Wild Card round in 2020. An odd tiebreaker last season gave the Rams the NFC West title over the Seahawks.
An argument can be made that over the past 10 years, the Rams have played more important games against the Seahawks than they have the 49ers. It may not be considered the primary rivalry of the NFC West, but it is certainly a formidable one. This matchup on Sunday will only add to that.
Right now, these are arguably the two best teams in the NFL. Diante Lee from The Ringer ranked the Rams No. 1 and the Seahawks No. 2 in his power rankings. Said Lee,
“We’re past due for a high-stakes regular-season game. After slogging through some rough lineups early in the year, we’re being rewarded with Rams-Seahawks in Week 11, a game that will clarify the league’s hierarchy. Seattle’s defense has been excellent all season, physically dominating each opponent up front. If McVay finds a way to neutralize the Seahawks’ pass rush through his play calling, it will help him make the case that he’s the league’s best coach and establish his team as the NFC’s preeminent favorite.”
In NFL Network’s power rankings, this was flipped with the Seahawks No. 1 and Rams No. 2. While power rankings are meaningless in the NFL, it’s a good barometer for how good these teams are and how they are viewed. Many in the media consider these the best teams in the league.
That is certainly the case from an analytics perspective as well. FTN Fantasy has their team DVOA rankings. The Rams and Seahawks are the top two teams via DVOA. The Seahawks sit at No. 1 at 45.9 percent and are the ninth-best team in DVOA through nine games since 1978.
This will be the 13th game between the top two teams in DVOA since 2000. The Rams have been part of three of those games, losing to the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. As the No. 2 team in DVOA in 2018, the Rams beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-51. In the 12 games between the top two teams in DVOA since 2000, the series is evenly split 6-6.
It doesn’t just stop at DVOA. These are also the two highest-graded teams according to Pro Football Focus. The Rams are the top-graded team at 93.6 overall while the Seahawks are behind them at 92.9. The Detroit Lions are the only team with an overall grade higher than 90.
This game on Sunday feels less like a routine divisional matchup and more like a balance of power in the NFC. These are two teams playing their peak level of football at the same time with a chance to take early control over the second half of the season. A win would not just bolster the Rams’ playoff positioning, but solidify them as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
