NFC Championship: Rams at Seahawks – who has the edge?

RAMS at SEAHAWKS

When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 226, 228

Line: Seahawks by 2.5

Notable injury designations

Rams: OUT: RT Rob Havenstein (ankle/knee); QUESTIONABLE: OLB Byron Young (knee).

Seahawks: OUT: LB Chazz Surratt (ankle); DOUBTFUL: OT Amari Kight (knee); QUESTIONABLE: FB Robbie Ouzts (neck), OT Josh Jones (knee/ankle).

What’s at stake? An NFC championship and a trip to the Super Bowl, the Rams’ first since the 2021 season and Seattle’s first since the 2014 season.

Who’s better? After their two regular-season games, these teams were separated by one total point and one total yard, each winning one of the contests. The fifth-seeded Rams are probably the more balanced team in terms of talent on each side of the ball, but the top-seeded Seahawks are the hottest team in the NFL.

Matchup to watch: Rams head coach Sean McVay vs. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. The game is determined by the players on the field, but the chess match between the best offensive play-calling head coach and the best defensive play-calling head coach will be a fascinating one. Macdonald’s scheme has evolved to combat McVay’s 11-personnel base, but the Rams head coach has mixed in some new elements this season that could put heavier personnel against the Seahawks’ preferred nickel grouping.

Rams win if: They can hold the Seahawks below 100 yards rushing, allowing the Rams to get into their preferred nickel and dime packages on defense and put pressure on Seattle QB Sam Darnold. …

Fantasy sleeper: Rams TE Tyler Higbee. These are the kinds of games he tends to get involved early and give the Rams’ offense a boost. We’ll see if he can tap into that ability again in Seattle.

Prediction: Rams 21, Seahawks 17. Beat reporter’s record: 15-4 overall; 12-7 against the spread.