NFL play-offs: Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos to reach Super Bowl, says Phoebe Schecter

If you asked that question midseason, everyone would say, “The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.” But Matthew Stafford and his team have struggled lately, so Seattle won the NFC West and moved into the NFC’s top seed.

I was at the Rams’ wild card game in Carolina and they had a bit of a tough outing. Now they face an incredible defense in Seattle. These guys operate at every level. You have forward DeMarcus Lawrence, linebacker Ernest Jones, and then you go to cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

Seattle allowed the fewest points this season and led the league in defense at third. They play like the best defense in the league.

this is it! [Seattle head coach] Mike Macdonald improved while in Baltimore. They had a clear identity and defensive style that made the Ravens so special and now the Seahawks so special.

Aden Durde also played a big role as defensive coordinator. Good old Eden. I was coaching with him and it’s incredible to see what an English coach does; moving through the player transfer system, first to the Dallas Cowboys, then to the Atlanta Falcons. He is currently in Seattle and participating in head coach interviews.

Mike Macdonald is the defensive play caller, but Aden still leads a room. He’s got to get the guys on the right track fundamentally, mentally, culturally, and that’s also an Aden defense, right? He has played as a defender and his style is one of the reasons why Mike Macdonald chose him because they have very similar philosophies in that sense and we have seen that come to life with defence.

This puts them in a position where Sam Darnold doesn’t need to do anything spectacular. The Seattle center likes to run in play action, so you pass the ball off and then you can send shots to Jaxon Smith-Njigba down the middle. I think that’s kind of their game plan on this.

But Darnold had the most giveaways by a quarterback this season (20), and the Seahawks lost a hit or two with their running backs because Zach Charbonnet is out with a knee injury.

Kenneth Walker will carry a lot more load than usual, and this Rams defense will look to force the Seahawks into long and almost certain pass back situations.