NFC West lead at stake as ’Hawks host Rams

SEATTLE — Perhaps it’s a strange quirk in the way the schedule falls. For each of the past eight seasons when December or early January arrived, the Rams make a visit to Seattle.

None of those chilly December trips to the Northwest carried the amount of significance as today’s meeting between the Rams and Seahawks.

There have been games of importance with playoff implications, including a 2010 pillow fight between below-.500 teams in Week 17 that decided the NFC West title. But today’s meeting represents one of the few opportunities over those eight seasons when the Rams can gain the advantage and knock Seattle from its pedestal on top of the division.

“It’s obviously going to be a big one,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said. “A big one for us, a big one for them.”

If Seattle wins, the Seahawks (8-5) would be in first place in the division thanks to holding the tiebreaker over the Rams after winning in Los Angeles earlier this season. Seattle would still need to beat Dallas and Arizona to claim its fourth division title in the past five seasons. The Rams (9-4) would need Seattle to stumble in the final two weeks, or avoid any loses themselves to have hopes of a wild-card berth.

If Los Angeles wins, the division race would likely be over and Russell Wilson’s unblemished run of making the playoffs every season would be in serious jeopardy after two straight losses.

“Hopefully, here we are in a great finish mode with all of this stuff that’s out there to be had,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re going to rely on what’s brought us and see if we can pull it off.”

There’s a good chance this won’t be another 16-10 score as in Week 5 in Los Angeles. The Rams remain one of the top offences in the NFL with Goff’s continued maturity, the top running back in the NFC in Todd Gurley, and a talented receiving corps that’ll get better with the return of Robert Woods. Seattle’s defence is far different than two months ago, potentially down as many as five starters due to injuries.

That puts a huge responsibility on Wilson to rediscover his MVP form that slipped last week. Wilson was again great in the fourth quarter with two late TD passes, but threw three interceptions earlier in the game that helped contribute to the loss to Jacksonville.

Twice this season Seattle has faced the No. 1 offence in the league at the time. Both times, the Seahawks held their opponent to 10 points, including the first matchup with the Rams. It’s one of the few times this season the LA offence was stymied. Los Angeles has scored at least 20 points in 12 of 14 games, with Seattle and Minnesota the only two teams to hold down the Rams, both losses.

The biggest issue for Los Angeles in the first game was a seasonhigh five turnovers.