After crushing the division rival San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks will turn their attention to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, who they’ll face in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at Lumen Field.
The Seahawks’ defense’s sole focus in this playoff game will be containing Stafford, who is having the best season of his playing career and has a solid chance of being named NFL MVP for his performance during the 2025 campaign.
Leonard Williams Details Challenge of Facing Rams QB Matthew Stafford
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams
Ahead of the playoff clash between these NFC West division rivals, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, star defensive tackle Leonard Williams spoke to the media and talked about the tall task the team’s defense has ahead of them with the MVP favorite coming to town.
“If you watch the games, he gets the ball out extremely fast,” Williams said of Stafford. “I think what they do a good job at is putting them in third and manageable downs. I think they have the shortest distance on third downs in the league, which allows for quick passes. You don’t have to sit back and drop back and read coverages and all those things when you only need three to five yards for a first down. There’s a lot of times where he just catches the ball and knows exactly where to put it. Sometimes he’s not even looking, and he knows exactly where to put it.
“He’s a great quarterback, and I think that’s why I said I think we’re going to have to do a good job on first and second down, stopping the run, getting them a little bit more backed up on third downs.”
Stafford has been incredible during the 2025 campaign, throwing for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s been so impressive that he’s been named an NFL MVP finalist and is currently favored to win the prestigious award.
Mike Macdonald Believes ‘Effort’ Will be the Difference Against Rams
GettyHead coach Mike MacDonald of the Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald recently opened up about the effort that his team plays with and how that has played a significant role in the team’s success and being one win away from reaching the Super Bowl, via Seahawks.com.
“I don’t think I’d be standing here right now talking to you guys if our team hasn’t decided to play with that type of effort,” Macdonald said. “And that’s really all three phases. So that’s a decision that they’ve made that they want to play to.”
As of Thursday, the Seahawks are considered the slight favorites (-2.5) to come out on top against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
If they can beat Stafford and company in Seattle this weekend, they face either the New England Patriots or Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Seahawks Star Leonard Williams Issues Blunt Message on Stopping Matthew Stafford