Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle (FieldTurf, outdoors)
When: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Spread: Seahawks by 10.5
Forecast: Mid-40s and sunny.
Records: Seahawks (10-5; 2-3 NFC West); Rams (7-7-1; 4-0-1 NFC West)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Sept. 30, 2012: Rams 19, Seahawks 13; Dec. 12, 2011: Seahawks 30, Rams 13 Series record: Seahawks lead 17-12.
What matters: Going undefeated at home. A win over the Rams would give Seattle its first perfect home record (8-0) since 2005, was also the year the Seahawks played in their only Super Bowl. Besides the perfect home record stuff, a win over St. Louis does something else -- it gives the Seahawks an outside shot at winning the division. If Seattle wins and San Francisco loses to Arizona, then the Seahawks will be the NFC West Division champions. The Seahawks also have an outside chance at a first-round bye. A win combined with the 49ers and Packers losing would give Seattle the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye.
Who matters: QB Russell Wilson. He played one of his worst games of the season in Seattle's first meeting with St. Louis, throwing a season-high three interceptions in a 19-13 September loss. The rookie has been impressive in rematches though. After losing to Arizona and San Francisco, he's thrown a combined five touchdown passes in December wins over the Cardinals and 49ers that came by a combined score of 100-13. Wilson's been on fire in the month of December (eight touchdown passes, two interceptions), don't look for him to cool down too much against a St. Louis defense that ranks 15th in the NFL.
Key matchups: Wilson vs. the Rams' defense. On paper, the Rams' defense doesn't look threatening -- they're 16th in the NFL against the run and 15th against the pass -- until you take a look at their sack totals. St. Louis has 46 sacks, tied with Green Bay for third in the league. If St. Louis DE Robert Quinn (9.5 sacks) and Chris Long (8.5 sacks) put continuous pressure on Wilson, look for the Seahawks to counter with more zone read option plays.
Injuries of note: CB Walter Thurmond (hamstring) is the only player ruled out for Sunday. Thurmond hasn't played since the Seahawks' 58-0 Week 14 win over Arizona on Dec. 9. Other injuries include OL Breno Giacomini (elbow) and LB Leroy Hill (hamstring), who are questionable.
Inside stuff: A win over the Rams would give Seattle its 11th win this season. The Seahawks have only won 11 or more games twice in franchise history -- 1984 and 2005. The 1984 season (12-4) ended with a divisional playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins, and the 2005 season (13-3) ended with the Seahawks' only Super Bowl berth, a 21-10 loss to Pittsburgh.
Stat you should know: The Seahawks have outscored their last three opponents by a combined 120 points (150-30). That's not good news for the Rams, who have been outscored by 123 points (199-76) in their last seven trips to Seattle, where they're 0-7 since 2005. Of the seven St. Louis losses, five have come by at least 15 points.
Record watch: One of the more hallowed rookie passing records could fall Sunday. Two touchdown passes against the Rams would give Wilson 27 for the season, breaking Peyton Manning's rookie record of 26, set in 1998.
Record watch 2: If the Seahawks beat the Rams, Wilson would become the first rookie in NFL history to lead his team to an 8-0 record at home. Wilson is 7-0, which is tied with Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (2004). Roethlisberger didn't start the Steelers' home opener in 2004, which Pittsburgh won to go 8-0 at home.
Looking ahead: The Seahawks will need to keep a close eye on Sunday night's game between Dallas and Washington. If Seattle doesn't win the NFC West, the Seahawks will go on the road in the wild-card round to play the winner of the Cowboys-Redskins game. The only way Seattle can win the division is if San Francisco loses to Arizona and the Seahawks beat St. Louis. If that were to happen, the Seahawks would either get a No. 2 seed and first-round bye or No. 3 seed and a home playoff game in the wild-card round.
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 13
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Seahawks blogger John Breech follow@JohnBreech and @CBSSeahawks.
