Mike Vrabel didn’t spend his press conference talking about the Seattle Seahawks, but Seattle still got a notable mention when a reporter brought up one of the NFL’s most persistent issues for defenses: explosive plays.
During the availability, Vrabel was asked about the Los Angeles Rams and how they were “one of the few teams” that cracked Seattle for a lot of “X plays” in their meetings, and whether there was anything structurally or schematically his team could borrow for the Super Bowl.
Vrabel didn’t reveal anything specific, but his answer was telling: the Rams’ big-play approach against Seattle is clearly the kind of tape teams keep revisiting.
Mike Vrabel Gets Asked About Rams ‘X Plays’ vs Seahawks
When the Seahawks help show up in a Super Bowl-week press conference, it’s usually because Seattle is tied to a trend, and that’s exactly what happened here.
After the question referenced the Rams’ success creating “X plays” against Seattle, Vrabel said his staff will “look at every single thing that we can that could potentially help us,” before turning it into a broader point about how important chunk gains are at the highest level.
“That’ll be critical, our ability to … create some of those X plays,” Vrabel said, adding that it has to show up whether his team is running or throwing the football. “Whether we hand it off we’re going to need to gain some chunks, and if we throw it we’re going to need to do the same.”
Even without naming Seattle again, the implication was clear: the Seahawks were the example used for how a good offense can find explosives, and those are the plays that swing postseason games.
What It Means for the Seahawks
For Seahawks fans, the uncomfortable part isn’t that the Rams were mentioned. It’s that “X plays” is exactly the kind of phrase that follows defenses around when opponents feel there’s a repeatable path to big gains.
In simple terms, “X plays” = chunk plays: the back-breaking explosive runs, deep shots, and broken-tackle gains that flip field position and put a defense on its heels. When an opponent believes those plays are available, the whole game change, play-calling gets more aggressive, and even short drives can become points.
Explosive plays are typically defined as runs of 10+ yards or passes of 20+ yards.
Over the last 10 weeks of the season, Seattle’s defense allowed an explosive play on 10.0% of snaps, which was 2nd-best in the NFL over that span (behind only New England at 9.6%).
Through Weeks 1-6, FTN’s data had Seattle allowing explosive plays on 6.5% of opponent snaps, which ranked 3rd-best in the league in that sample.
NFL.com noted Seattle’s playoff explosive-allowed rate climbed to 16.1% after the NFC Championship vs. the Rams, when they gave up a season-high 15 explosive plays.
Why the Rams-Seahawks ‘Big-Play’ Tape Gets Studied
The Rams aren’t shy about testing defenses vertically and horizontally, and the Seahawks are a familiar opponent in that chess match. That’s why a comment like Vrabel’s matters: when a coach says they’re studying “every single thing,” it’s a reminder that tendencies travel.
Teams keep a library of “this worked against shows-up-every-year opponents,” and rivalry tape often ends up in that folder, especially when it produces clean explosives.
Vrabel didn’t promise a copy-and-paste plan, but he didn’t dismiss the idea, either. Instead, he reinforced the underlying truth: big games are usually decided by chunk gains, and the league is always hunting for a reliable way to create them.
When the Patriots meet the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Seattle will have to especially be on guard against big plays.
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