The way of the NFC West is that the Seahawks dominate the 49ers, the 49ers dominate the Rams, and the Rams dominate the Seahawks. Nobody cares about the Cardinals. Coaches have received much of the credit and blame for this round robin of repeating wins and losses. Some of that is fair. Some of it is just trying to push a narrative.

Sean McVay, for example, has been given tons of credit for the Rams domination of the Seahawks during his tenure. Those in that camp seem to forget that Jeff Fisher had similar success against better Pete Carroll teams and with far less talent in most cases. Is Jeff Fisher a great coach? The Rams have also enjoyed both a major talent advantage over most teams in the NFL and an incredibly lucky streak of health. The former has eroded, and the latter has disintegrated.

This Rams team is on pace to be the worst Super Bowl winner in history. Injuries have hit their quarterback, their backup quarterback, their top receiver, their second receiver, and now their best player in Aaron Donald. This team is so bad, they may do the most harm to the Seahawks by losing to the Broncos in a few weeks.

Seattle, on the other hand, has crashed back to earth after two brutal defeats to mediocre (or worse) teams. Their defense is no longer defensible. Their offense is now one-handed, without the ability to run. They can lose to any team with a defense this bad. That will be tested this week against what may be the worst offense in the NFL.

Do not be fooled into thinking the defense is back on track if they play well in this game. The Rams have not scored more than 20 points in the last five games, and have only scored more than 20 points twice all year. They managed 198 yards against the Chiefs last week, and just 82 yards passing. What should give Seattle some concern is their inability to pass has turned them to focus on running the ball. The Seahawks run defense could turn a dripping faucet into Niagara Falls.

Still, the Seahawks have the fourth-ranked scoring offense in the NFL and Aaron Donald likely will not play. That should be enough to give Seattle a win.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories.

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Seahawks Offense vs Rams Defense

Rams key advantages on defense

Donald appears out with a high ankle sprain. A’Shawn Robinson, their other starting defensive tackle, is out for the year. The Rams still feature Jalen Ramsey at corner and Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker. They are one of the best run defenses in the NFL. The loss of Donald could effect that.

It shocked me to see they were tops in the league in limiting both explosive passes and explosive rushes. Teams have not been getting big plays against them.

Seahawks key advantages on offense

McVay has gotten all this credit for out-coaching Carroll, but it has often been the Rams defense that kept Seattle from winning. Donald is in the conversation for best defender in the history of football. He could make a lot of coaches look good.

Seattle should be able to use the passing game to work their way downfield, and should find enough running room to be a bit more effective than they have been of late. If Seattle can somehow be consistent in the run game, they could put up a lot of points.

Rams Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Rams key advantages on offense

No Cooper Kupp. No Matt Stafford. Andrew Whitworth retired. Allen Robinson has been bad and is out for the year. The highest-rated healthy Rams offensive player via PFF is Jake Gervase, a linebacker who caught a fake punt pass for a first down. Bryce Perkins, their third string quarterback, was their leading rusher last week (44 yards). Van Jefferson was their leading receiver. Truthfully, and I’ve never written this before, they have no advantages on offense.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

The Seahawks defense has been pitiful recently, but even they can look down on this offense. They should be able to dedicate as many players to the box as they want to stop the run game and not be too concerned about passes.