When the Los Angeles Rams take the field in Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks, Sean McVay's team is going to look noticeably different than in weeks passed.
For one thing, Matthew Stafford has officially been benched in favor of his 2024 backup, Jimmy Garoppolo. Now granted, that sounds a whole lot worse than it is, as Stafford, despite playing some meh ball over the past few weeks, is only being held out of the contest for precautionary reasons, resting against the Seahawks with the division officially won. Still, what does this 2024 offense look like with Garoppolo under center, especially if some of his key targets, like Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp, end up on the sidelines instead of the field, too?
Furthermore, with the best season of his professional career locked up, amassing a career-high 1,299 yards on 316 carries plus 14 touchdowns, it's hard to imagine Kyren Williams will see the field much in Week 18 either, with his backups, Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers, likely getting the nod instead.
Factor in other starters who are unlikely to see the field in Week 18, with Rob Havenstein almost certainly out with a shoulder injury and the defensive rotation likely skewing young and reserve-heavy even if the team's young core all get the start – could Emmanuel Forbes make his defensive debut in Week 18? – and this isn't so much a game the Rams are trying to win but instead one they would like to leave in one piece.
And yet, should it be? Remember, the Rams are not guaranteed the third seed in the playoffs, with a potential matchup against either the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings a very real possibility if they can't get things done vs. Seattle, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – featuring LA's old friend Baker Mayfield – take care of business against their division rivals, the New Orleans Saints.
Should LA be playing for the win for a matchup against either the Washington Commanders or the Green Bay Packers? Clearly, the team believes the answer to that question is a resounding no, but based on how their foes look heading into Week 18, LA might just get to have their cake and eat it, too. Why? Because the Seahawks haven't looked particularly good down the stretch and are dealing with injuries all over the field at key positions.
1. Jimmy Garoppolo still airs it out in Week 18
On the season, the Seahawks have actually been pretty good in the passing game, attempting it and defending it. With one game left to play, they have allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards despite being targeted 528 times, which ranks 16th in the NFL, and through it all, they've only allowed an average of 1.5 passing touchdowns per game, which also ranks 16th in the NFL.
And yet, over the past few weeks, things haven't been going so well for the Seahawks' defense, especially when it comes to slowing down the pass.
Over their last six games dating back to Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks have allowed at least 200 passing yards on four occasions, with their lone exceptions coming against the New York Jets on December 1st and their Week 17 Thursday Night Football win over the Chicago Bears, which might just go done as one of the worst football games of all time. While the Seahawks are 4-2 over that stretch, they have a point differential of +10 over the contests, which doesn't exactly highlight a team playing winning football.
The last time the Rams played the Seahawks, Stafford completed 25 of his 44 passes for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception despite getting just 11 yards out of Nacua on his lone catch. While Garappolo won't have some of the same offensive weapons for this game, with some players injured and others likely getting some well-deserved rest, he'll be facing off against a defensive secondary that includes starting third-year Alabama UDFA Josh Jobe in nickel, and he isn't even a guarantee to play considering he's questionable with a knee injury. If the Rams can keep Garoppolo upright with enough talent around him to remain competitive, don't be surprised if he throws for over 200 yards in his first start of the season, too.
2. Blake Corum proves why he was drafted in the third round
In 2024, one of the more confusing storylines of the season has been the usage – or, sometimes, the lack thereof – of rookie running back Blake Corum.
Widely considered one of the better talents in the NFL draft coming out of Michigan, the idea of bringing Corum to LA to play alongside a back with a very similar set of skills in Williams made more than a few talent evaluators scratch their heads. Why move away from the traditional thunder and lightning 1-2 punch when that had long been very successful at the NFL level? Well, as it turns out, that was by design, as the Rams wanted to be able to cycle in and out the backs at will without forcing McVay to have some plays set aside for one player and others for the other.
“One of the things that jumped off is there's a lot of traits that reminded me of Kyren Williams,” McVay told reporters back in April. “Obviously I love Kyren and he's been so important, and just the human being, but then also when you just look at the way he works at it, the production, and the things that he was able to bring to our offense last year, and even really some of the things that he worked through his rookie year. I think there's a lot of similarities.”
So far this season, that 1-2 punch really hasn't materialized, with Williams rushing the ball 316 times and Corum only coming in at 56 – 26 more than notoriously non-moble Stafford – but in Week 18, could that change? Not only could he, but he darn well should, as there's no reason to risk Williams' health against a defense that has allowed an average of 111.25 rushing yards per game over the last four weeks.
With Byron Murphy II out, Roy Robertson-Harris questionable, and both Trevis Gipson and Joshua Onujiogu on IR, there's no reason to believe that, if given enough carries, Corum couldn't record his first 100-yard game as a pro and prove to fans in LA that he still has plenty of room to grow into Year 2.
3. The Rams secure a hard-fought victory over the Seahawks
Could the Rams come out on the wrong side of the win-loss collum in Week 18, dashing their dream of 11 wins and putting their playoff destiny into the hands of the Buccaneers? Yes, and if that happens, fans will have every right to be upset, especially if the Lions or Vikings put on a whooping in their lone home playoff game in 2025.
But what if they win? What if the Rams, emboldened by having Jimmy G under center, decide to really give it to the Seahawks and run the ball down their throats, using play-action to really take the top off of things to boot? Who knows, maybe McVay could even use this game as a way to get some tricky activities on tape in order to make their playoff foe have extra homework heading into the Super Wildcard Weekend.
If that happens, which is an if but isn't unrealistic, then who knows, maybe Garoppolo will go undefeated in Rams blue, yellow, and white, and LA will look like the NFC's smartest team. Unlikely? Maybe so, but in the NFL, stranger things have happened.
