To borrow from the old holiday jingle: All I want for Christmas is the two top teams …
Look at any NFL power rankings these days, and you’ll see the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and their division rival, the Los Angeles Rams, as probably two of the top three teams, if not the exact top two teams in the league. And you get to see them face off on Christmas Day on FOX and the FOX One app (8:15 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), in what could be both an NFC Championship Game rematch and preview.
The cool thing about having two of the NFL’s top teams in the same division — in fairness, the San Francisco 49ers are usually in the top eight or so — is that between the Seahawks and Rams, only one of them gets to win the division and start the playoffs on their home field. So, a Christmas showdown in Seattle should have huge ramifications for which team gets that major advantage.
Here are five storylines to watch, looking ahead seven months to one of the biggest games of the entire season:
Can Rams’ New Corners Be Difference-Makers?
The Rams acquired Trent McDuffie in order to help slowdown the Seahawks’ offense. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Rams’ biggest offseason upgrade was to their defensive secondary, sending their first-round pick and three other selections to the Kansas City Chiefs for corner Trent McDuffie, who promptly got a massive $31 million per year extension. Los Angeles also signed McDuffie’s former Kansas City teammate, cornerback Jaylen Watson, for $17 million a year, hoping those two could bring their Super Bowl experience to help the Rams get back to the big game.
Los Angeles had the NFL’s No. 19 passing defense last year, and there aren’t many categories where it ranked that low. So, these are moves designed to improve a relative weakness, at considerable expense. Watson brings more size than what the Rams had in Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes last year, and McDuffie has the versatility to play inside at nickel or outside, depending what package they’re in. No defense ran more dime looks with six defensive backs on the field than the Rams did last year.
Will New Seahawks OC Brian Fleury Step Up To The Challenge?
Brian Fleury was hired from the 49ers by the Seahawks this offseason. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Right after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Mike Macdonald chose a relative unknown to take over Seattle’s offense in Fleury. He spent the last seven seasons as an assistant with the 49ers, so he knows the division well and is well accustomed to lining up against the Rams’ defense twice a year.
Fleury’s a first-time play-caller, no easy task for any team, let alone one with expectations as high as a potential repeat as NFL champs. He’ll also have to do it without Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, who was not re-signed and landed with the Chiefs in free agency. Last year’s No. 2, Zach Charbonnet, should be fully recovered from his late-season ACL tear by Christmas, and first-round rookie Jadarian Price is an intriguing prospect who never started once in college, playing behind Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame the last three years.
Does Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori Emerge As A Star?
Nick Emmanwori was one of the top defensive rookies last season. Will he become one of the top safeties in football this year? (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
Nick Emmanwori took second in the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, even though he missed three games and didn’t step into an every-down role until Week 6. His ability to play nearly anywhere on the field — safety, nickel, occasional edge rusher — makes him invaluable, and Seattle losing key defensive starters in free agency means Emmanwori will be asked to do even more in his second season.
Emmanwori set a career high with 11 tackles in the regular-season game against the Rams in Seattle, and the Seahawks will need his versatility to try to contain Stafford’s passing game. You can’t expect to give up 457 passing yards and three scores and win, and Emmanwori can help Seattle improve another glaring weakness, having a minus-3 turnover margin in the regular season last year.
Who Are The Future NFL Head Coaches In This Game?
Sean McVay (left) has built an extensive coaching tree, while one of Mike MacDonald’s assitants became a head coach last offseason. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Both offensive coordinators last year became NFL head coaches, with former Seahawks offensive coordinator Kubiak becoming the Raiders head coach and ex-Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur taking over with the Cardinals. Could the same two teams yield two more head coaches for 2027? If Seattle’s defense is a force again, defensive coordinator Aden Durde — born in London — should be a top candidate for the next wave of hirings, and new Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, still only 35, might be at the top of the list as a coveted young offensive mind. Don’t forget the Rams’ Kliff Kingsbury and Chris Shula or the Seahawks’ Jay Harbaugh as potential candidates after another deep playoff run.
Familiar Question: Can The Rams Win In Seattle?
Matthew Stafford had a pair of strong performances against the Seahawks in Seattle last season, but the Rams lost both games. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Here’s a cool one: There were five games in the entire NFL last season where a quarterback threw for at least 374 yards, three touchdown passes and had zero interceptions — and four of the five were from Rams star and NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. And two of those four came in losses to the Seahawks in Seattle.
Both Rams-Seahawks showdowns in Seattle last year were amazing games. The first, a week before Christmas, saw Seattle rally from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit, give up a touchdown in overtime, then rally to win on a touchdown and two-point conversion by Sam Darnold. The rematch, with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line, had the quarterbacks duel with similar three-touchdown gems, the Seahawks prevailing after their defense got three stops at the 6-yard line with five minutes left.
So the bar is set high after three great games last year, but it’s reasonable to think that the team that wins on Christmas might be the one that gets to host any rematch in the playoffs.
