The Seattle Seahawks‘ defense made life miserable for the San Francisco 49ers in their 41-6 divisional round win. Head coach Mike Macdonald and his defensive unit will look to replicate the same performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game.
In their last seven games, only one team has scored 20 or more points against the Seahawks’ defense, and that was the Rams in the thrilling 38-37 overtime win by Seattle on Dec. 18 at Lumen Field.
As a result, Los Angeles might know what to do to take advantage of the Seattle defense. Rams QB Matthew Stafford appeared on the latest episode of “Let’s Go!” and shared his thoughts on the Seahawks’ defensive unit.
“As good a defense as we faced all year, we faced them obviously twice,” Stafford said in a video posted by SiriusXM NFL Radio on Jan. 23. “Seattle is a swarming group. You throw a ball to a check down, you’re getting three or four tops. They’re not allowing catching runs. Big challenge for us, but an opportunity that we’re looking forward to.”
Matthew Stafford Talks Edging Seattle Defense
Moreover, Stafford revealed that the Rams will be trying to get the best of the Seattle defense as both teams look to punch that one ticket to the Super Bowl.
“You have to have a sustained level of execution when you play those guys,” Stafford added. “Their goal is to, no doubt, knock you backwards and create these long yardage situations. But it’s also, hey, if you’re going to go score, you’re going to have to do it by consistently executing long drives.
“We did that a few times when we played them. I think the other thing is, can you create explosive plays? Whether that’s handing the ball, having a back break a tackle, and make a long run, or like we did last time we played them, we had a few passes for over 40 yards, I believe it was, maybe three or four.”
Stafford had a passer rating of 103.1 with 587 yards and five touchdowns in two games against the Seahawks this season, per StatMuse. As a result, his remarks have led to success against Seattle, where other teams have struggled when facing that unit.
Seahawks Need to Make Matthew Stafford Uncomfortable
Despite the success Stafford has had this season against the Seattle defense, former Seahawks standout Cliff Avril noted that the Seahawks defense needs to pressure and hit Stafford when they have the opportunity, to make him uncomfortable.
“I have nothing but respect for Staff and what he’s been able to do and see what he continues to keep doing and just like any other quarterback, but especially the older quarterbacks like Stafford, none of them like being hit, right?” Avril said during a Jan. 22 appearance on “The Jim Rome Show.”
“I think that’s key, is being able to continue, keep putting pressure on them. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be hit. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sacks. It can be hits, hurries, just making them feel uncomfortable.”
Rams’ Matthew Stafford Doesn’t Hold Back on Seahawks Defense