Both winners of two straight with a blowout over a terrible opponent, you can justify a pick on either side of this game if you want. The Rams, however, have been the far more trustworthy team this season, and they now have an opportunity to win a game that will get them closer to the NFC's No. 1 seed. Los Angeles is more talented on both sides of the ball and is only missing Tyler Higbee, while Seattle must make do without a more important piece in Tyler Lockett. This was a nine-point game on the road a couple months ago, and a rested Rams team should win by a similar margin at home given they had a couple days to get their defense right (and get Von Miller back).

The sexy pick tonight will be the Seahawks to backdoor cover but I want nothing to do with that. This is a must-win for Los Angeles and Sean McVay knows it. Blood in the water. Arizona's surprising loss to Detroit is a gift and the Rams will take full advantage of it. Not to mention McVay saw the Raiders and Vikings' contests yesterday vs. teams affected by covid and their refusal to shut the game down early which led to somewhat surprisingly close finishes at the end. Not tonight. The Rams score early, often and Seattle without Tyler Lockett is a massive problem for a potential comeback. The Seahawks are playing much better football, but like many of their players this week, it will be put on pause.

Postponing this game allowed the Rams to get back Von Miler, while Seattle placed a pair of defensive starters on the COVID list on Sunday. Despite that, I'm still rolling with the Seahawks. Their offense has improved mightily over the last few weeks as Russell Wilson has gotten closer to full health, and Rashaad Penny injected life into the rushing attack last week. The Rams defense surrendered 28+ points in three straight games before shutting down the Jaguars (congrats) and then limiting Arizona to 23 points, but the Cardinals did rack up 447 yards of offense in that game. This feels like a close divisional game where Wilson can backdoor cover even if the Rams go up early.

The Seahawks put up 63 points the past two weeks to keep alive their slim playoff hopes. In those games, Russell Wilson hit 47 of 65 passes for 491 yards and four TDs, with one INT. Tyler Lockett is among a few important Seahawks who are out, but the Rams also will be missing key guys like right tackle Rob Havenstein, safety Jordan Fuller and tight end Tyler Higbee. Wilson thrives in the underdog role. Seattle has covered 15 of its last 21 when getting points. This line is a bit too steep, so I'm taking the desperate Seahawks.