The NFC could come down to this.
The Seattle Seahawks host the division rival Los Angeles Rams in a decisive Thursday Night Football matchup that will determine who takes control of the NFC East and becomes the frontrunner to clinch the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Los Angeles (11–3) secured a postseason spot for the third season in a row with a victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 15. Seattle (11–3) hasn’t punched its ticket to the playoffs just yet, but can clinch with either a win or a draw on TNF — or if the Lions lose or tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers later this week.
The Rams and Seahawks first met during Week 11 in LA, where the former edged a narrow 21–19 victory.
For the rematch, the Seahawks will continue leaning heavily on veteran quarterback Sam Darnold, who has dazzled in his first year in Seattle while turning in some of the season’s most electric performances under center.
Kickoff from Lumen Field is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. The Seahawks enter as narrow 1.5-point home favorites, while the Rams sit as +102 underdogs. The game’s total is set at 42.5 points.
Ahead of Thursday night’s primetime matchup, here’s my favorite Sam Darnold prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Sam Darnold Prop Bet for Rams vs. Seahawks
Best Bet: Sam Darnold 240+ Pass Yards (+130)
The Seahawks weren’t sure what they were getting when they signed the 28-year-old Darnold on a three-year, $100.5 million deal ahead of the 2025 season.
Though he was coming off a resurgent year with the Minnesota Vikings, the journeyman signal-caller had bounced from the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers before serving as Brock Purdy’s backup with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. And after capping the 2024 campaign with a pair of rocky starts, questions lingered about whether Darnold could sustain his success.
But any doubts that arose were quickly dispelled, as Darnold is delivering yet another strong season headlined by sky-scraping yardage totals.
Now in his eighth NFL season, the former third overall pick has completed 67.4% of his passes for 3,433 yards — ranking sixth in the NFL — along with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Darnold has surpassed 240 passing yards in nine of 14 games this season, including four of his last five and two straight. He hurled for over 330 yards against both the Buccaneers and Commanders, logging four scores in each outing.
Darnold’s chances of repeating that success Thursday night are twofold: Not only have the Rams allowed the 12th-most passing yards this season, they also surrendered 279 to the USC product in their first meeting. And that just so happened to be his worst performance of the season, as Darnold was held scoreless and dished out four interceptions.
Even on an off night, Darnold can pile up yards through the air. Flanked by star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and facing a team he’s already moved the ball against, count on the Seattle field general to top 240 passing yards once again in primetime.
