Sunday Night Football open thread: Seahawks at Rams

The NFC West is the NFL’s best.

The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are two of the hottest teams in the league sitting at 10-2, but the Los Angeles Rams are also in the hunt at 7-5. Tonight’s match will see the Seahawks try to remain atop the division and the Rams looking to gain ground in the Wild Card race.

The Seahawks have won five straight games, and their only two losses have come against 10-2 teams: the Ravens and Saints. Russell Wilson added a pair of touchdowns last week versus the Vikings, but it was the run game that took the spotlight. Chris Carson ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Rashaad Penny ran for 74 yards with both rushing and receiving touchdowns. Tyler Lockett was surprisingly held catchless, but that is an indictment of the depth of Seattle’s offense.

The Rams are coming off a dominant win over the lowly Cardinals. Jared Goff went over 400 yards passing, with Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee going over 100 yards each. Todd Gurley nearly reached 100 yards rushing. The Rams have taken a step back this season after their Super Bowl run, but they are still worthy of a playoff spot. The NFC remains a competitive conference, and their biggest foe for the last Wild Card spot will be the Vikings or Packers.

This is a critical match for determining playoff positions. Here’s how to watch:

Date: Sunday, December 8, 2019
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum—Los Angeles, CA
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Michele Tafoya (sidelines)
Online: NBCSports.com