The 2023 season gets underway for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon when they face the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. It’s the first of two meetings between these teams this season and the 14th since Sean McVay took over as the Rams’ head coach in 2017.
It’s a rare early-season battle between the Rams and Seahawks, who haven’t even met in the month of September under McVay. Looking ahead to this divisional matchup, here are six stats and facts to know for the Rams-Seahawks game this weekend.
1
Sean McVay has the best record of any active coach in September
McVay and the Rams have their work cut out for them this September, facing the Seahawks, 49ers and Bengals in the first month of the season. But entering this season, McVay has owned the best record of any active coach in the month of September. He’s 16-4 since 2017, a winning percentage of .800. For comparison, Pete Carroll ranks 10th with a record of 36-21 in September.
2
Matthew Stafford is 3-3 in his career vs. Seattle
Stafford has only faced the Seahawks six times in his career, and just twice with the Rams; he missed both games last year. He’s 3-3 against Seattle in those six meetings, with a perfect 2-0 record as a member of the Rams.
Against the Seahawks in 2021, Stafford threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions, totaling 609 yards passing on 66 attempts. He hasn’t put up huge numbers in his career against the Seahawks, but Stafford has been decent against them.
3
Rams and Seahawks are among 7 youngest teams in NFL
This is a matchup between two of the youngest teams in the league. The Rams rank as the second-youngest with an average age of 25.56, while the Seahawks are seventh with an average age of 25.87. So, there will be a lot of youth on the field this weekend when these two NFC West teams square off.
4
Rams are 8-3 vs. Seahawks with Cooper Kupp, 0-2 without him
The Rams have been excellent against the Seahawks since Sean McVay and Cooper Kupp arrived in 2017, going 8-5 in their 13 meetings. However, they’re 8-3 when Kupp is on the field and 0-2 when they don’t have him.
Of course, the Rams will be without Kupp on Sunday as he recovers from a hamstring injury, so history isn’t on their side when it comes to facing the Seahawks sans Kupp.
5
Rams are 5-1 in season openers under McVay
As good as the Rams have been under McVay in the month of September, they’ve been even better in season openers. Since he took over as the head coach in 2017, McVay has led the Rams to a near-perfect record in Week 1. Los Angeles is 5-1 in the first game of the season, with the only loss coming to the Bills last year.
The Rams will look to improve their Week 1 record on Sunday and avoid a three-game losing streak to the Seahawks dating back to last season.
6
Two of Rams’ narrowest losses last season came vs. Seahawks
The Rams didn’t lose a lot of close games last season. Only four of them were by seven points or fewer and two of those were against the Seahawks. So had it not been for a 27-23 loss and a 19-16 loss to Seattle, the Rams could crept closer to .500 and finished the year 7-10 – a bit more respectable than the 5-12 record they ended with.
Granted, no Rams fan would’ve rather them finish with a 7-10 record instead of a 5-12 mark when it comes to draft positioning, but Los Angeles would’ve loved to beat the Seahawks instead of getting swept.
