By james art 
The Seattle Seahawks have lost four of their last five games, most recently falling to the Buffalo Bills in their worst loss of the 2024 season. Now, staying at home for the second straight week, Seattle faces the Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle (4-4, 0-1 NFC West) is playing just its second divisional game of the season, starting a five-game stretch that includes four divisional contests. The Rams (3-4, 1-1 NFC West), who have won two straight games, have a chance to send Seattle to the bottom of the division standings.
Something will have to give. The Seahawks are 2-3 at home this season and have now lost three straight at Lumen Field. Los Angeles is 0-3 on the road this season.
The Seahawks and Rams kick off at 1:25pm on Sunday. Here are five storylines to watch for in Seattle’s Week 9 home game against Los Angeles.
Against the Bills, we got our first look at what Ryan Grubb’s Seahawks offense looks like without their primary deep threat. It wasn’t pretty, as Seattle scored a season-low 10 points, the running game continued to be stuck in the mud and Geno Smith’s pass-catching opportunities were limited. Now, in addition to DK Metcalf, tight end Noah Fant is out with a groin injury.
Fant is on pace for his best season with the Seahawks, racking up 27 receptions for 285 yards in eight games. He never topped 500 yards receiving with Seattle. Metcalf, before spraining his MCL in Week 7, was nearly matching his career-high 81.4 yards per game average in 2020. He was accumulating 81.1 yards per game and was the fourth-leading receiver in the league.
While Metcalfe’s pure production fuels the offense, his impact as a decoy is just as important. The Bills had much less respect for the verticality of Seattle’s offense with Metcalf out, and rightfully so. If the running game struggles again against the Rams, the Seahawks offense will have a hard time not tracking.
Metcalfe’s absence reinforces this fact even more. Seattle is 29th in rushing yards per game (89.3) and had a season-low 32 yards against Buffalo. It was the fewest total yards since the Seahawks lost 37-3 to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9 last season.
If Smith is forced to carry the load, the lack of balance makes Seattle’s offense much easier to defend. Offensive line struggles have only made matters worse as pass rushers can pin their ears back and give themselves up to the rush. We saw that against the Bills and at various times throughout the season even with Metcalf on the field.
The Seahawks’ backroom is too talented to struggle this much eight games into the season. Grubb and the offensive coaching staff are aware of this, but have yet to find a solution. That solution needs to be found soon if this offense is going to live up to its potential.
This is especially true if the running game fails to start. Smith’s up-and-down year had another bad day in Week 8, as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 212 yards and an interception. Center Connor Williams didn’t help his cause on many occasions, but Smith should eventually be better — regardless of the state of his porous offensive line.
Early on, Smith was one of the main catalysts for the team’s 3-0 start. Now that Seattle has lost four of its last five games, he has had some of his worst performances since donning a Seahawks uniform in key losses for the team.
Smith has just eight touchdown passes (seven interceptions) on the season, which is 16th in the league. He needs to start putting points on the board even though the forces are working against him. Seattle needs the best from Smith if this team is to get back on track.
The Seahawks rookie cornerback had a solid start in Week 8, recording a team-best 15 tackles. But he was with the team just four days before game day. Ernest Jones IV has a chance to be even better against the Rams — his former team — with a full week of practice behind him.
The side of revenge cannot be avoided either. Los Angeles opted to trade Jones to the Tennessee Titans for peanuts instead of giving him a second contract. He was then traded again to the Seahawks.
“I was definitely surprised,” Jones said Thursday that the Rams traded him. “The word I used was definitely shocked by the decisions they made, but they taught me a lot in the process. It taught me a lot about business — you’re never safe, no matter what you’ve done. So that’s something I’ve learned in this position.
Veteran defensive end Jarran Reed said Wednesday that the Seahawks are “angry but even-keeled.” They’ll need that energy Sunday as the team tries to avoid falling below .500 for the first time this season.
The offense has its issues, but the defense should be better with Mike McDonald leading the unit. They need to stop Rams running back Kieron Williams so they can go after Matthew Stafford. Combined with the needs of the offense, this will be the key to a win against Los Angeles.
Key matchups to watch as the Seahawks host the Rams in Week 9
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