Rams vs. Seahawks prediction: Can Los Angeles tighten its grip on NFC West and No. 1 seed?

Seattle looks to avenge its loss to Los Angeles back in Week 11 while taking control of the division.

In the Week 16 edition of "Thursday Night Football," the Seattle Seahawks host the division-rival Los Angeles Rams. 

These two teams played back in Week 11 with the Rams prevailing 21-19. Los Angeles turned Seattle over four times in that game, so even though Seattle controlled time of possession (37:49 to 22:11) and outgained the Rams by more than 160 yards, L.A. pulled out the victory.

The Rams have won eight of their past nine games, with their only loss during that stretch coming three weeks ago against the Panthers, in a matchup where they committed an uncharacteristic three turnovers. They have otherwise been winning most of their games fairly handily, and they have ascended to the No. 1 seed in the conference as a result.

Seattle has also won eight of nine, with the only loss during that stretch coming to the Rams. It struggled offensively last week in its win over the Colts, and has generally been inconsistent on that side of the ball since the loss to L.A. in Week 11. The Seahawks are looking to avenge their loss here and overtake the Rams for the top seed.  

Will the Rams strengthen their hold on their division and conference leads, or will the Seahawks get their revenge? We'll find out soon enough. But before we highlight some key storylines, here's a look at how you can watch the game. 

Where to watch Rams vs. Seahawks

• Date: Thursday, Dec. 18 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• Location: Lumen Field (Seattle)
• Stream: Prime Video
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Odds: Rams -1.5, O/U 42.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook

Key storylines

• Playoff picture. The Rams are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and hold the lead over the Seahawks in the NFC West race due to their having won the first matchup between the two teams. If they capture a win here, they'll have almost wrapped up the division title, because they'll need to fall a full game behind Seattle in order for the Seahawks to win the division, and because they're already a game ahead of the 49ers and have an easier path to going 5-1 in division games thanks to the fact that they get the Cardinals in Week 18, rather than the Seahawks. Seattle, of course, can complicate things immensely for Los Angeles by pulling off the win here and sliding into the No. 1 slot in the conference. 
• The MVP race. Matthew Stafford is the heavy favorite heading into the final three weeks of the season, with the odds implying that he has a 75% chance to win the award, which is pretty incredible. For him to keep this stranglehold on the award, the Rams probably need to hang onto the top seed in the conference down the stretch. Especially if he puts together a strong performance against a Seahawks defense that is one of the best in the NFL, he'll have the opportunity to create a really powerful narrative heading into the stretch run. Sam Darnold has an outside chance at crashing the party if he puts together a spectacular stretch run and the Seahawks take the No. 1 seed, but he's more likely to merit down-ballot votes in that scenario than to actually capture the trophy. 
• Davante Adams injury. Adams has been nursing a hamstring injury and appearing on the injury report, and he appeared to aggravate the issue last week. He didn't practice in advance of this game and likely won't play here. In his absence, the Rams will almost surely funnel as many targets as possible to Puka Nacua, but they'll also likely utilize more of their multi-tight end sets. Colby Parkinson has been playing his best football lately and could be a big factor here. 
• Sam Darnold vs. Chris Shula. Darnold is probably seeing Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula in his nightmares. He has had a terrible go of things in his last two matchups with Shula's defense: In Week 11, he threw four interceptions in a two-point loss to Los Angeles. In the playoff matchup vs. the Rams last year, Darnold was sacked a career-high nine times in an 18-point defeat. He has looked utterly lost in both games, seeing the kinds of ghosts that he did against Bill Belichick and the Patriots back during his days with the Jets. Unless he can figure out a way to exorcise those demons, the Seahawks are drawing dead here. 

Prediction

Even without Davante Adams, I feel comfortable rolling with L.A. here. That's mostly because of what I expect to happen on the opposite side of the ball. Again, Darnold is probably seeing Shula in his nightmares given what has happened to him in their last two matchups. The Seahawks have also just not looked very good offensively for a few weeks now. I suspect we'll get a lower-scoring game here, but I like the Rams to win it. 

Pick: Rams 20, Seahawks 16