{"id":18189,"date":"2026-01-25T14:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T14:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=18189"},"modified":"2026-01-25T14:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T14:58:22","slug":"the-nfc-championship-game-could-be-the-greatest-nfl-playoff-matchup-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=18189","title":{"rendered":"The NFC championship game could be the greatest NFL playoff matchup of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams meet for the NFC championship Sunday night, it will be \u2014 by at least one measure \u2014 the best NFL showdown of nearly the last five decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy DVOA, the NFC Championship Game is essentially the best NFL matchup of the last 47 years, and by a lot,\u201d Aaron Schatz, the chief analytics officer of FTN Fantasy, posted on X<\/a> in the lead-up to the game. <\/p>\n

DVOA, for those unfamiliar, stands for \u201cDefense-adjusted Value Over Average.\u201d What is measures is a \u201cteam\u2019s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent.\u201d More simply put, it\u2019s a measure of how good a team is, weighted for situation and opposing team. <\/p>\n

And the Rams and the Seahawks have the highest combined DVOA of any two playoff teams of the last 47 years.<\/p>\n

If the analytics don\u2019t get you hot and bothered, though, don\u2019t worry, because there are plenty more storylines headed into Sunday\u2019s game. It\u2019s a clash of division rivals who played two incredibly close games in the regular season (the combined margin of victory was three points). It\u2019s a clash of an offensive wunderkind (Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay) and a defensive genius (Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald). It\u2019s also a battle between two highly drafted quarterbacks (the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold) in wildly different parts of their careers who both still have something to prove. <\/p>\n

This matchup basically has everything you could want in a football game.<\/p>\n

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The Rams enter as an offensive juggernaut, leading the league in the regular season in yards per game, passing yards per game and points per game (30.5).<\/p>\n

The Seahawks, in contrast, enter as defensive stoppers. Seattle allowed the sixth-fewest yards per game in the regular season and the fewest points per game (17.2).<\/p>\n

Both head coaches were able to maximize their rosters in large part because of unique strategies. The Rams were successful using \u201c13-personnel,\u201d or formations using three tight ends. Los Angeles used such formations at a 30.5% rate in the regular season, compared with the league average of 5.3%. <\/p>\n

The Rams have succeeded using such formations because the size helps them run, while Stafford has also been able to have success throwing even though there are fewer receivers on the field. <\/p>\n

\u201cThirteen personnel causes a lot of problems for\u201d the defense, Los Angeles tight end Terrance Ferguson told The Athletic<\/a> in December, adding that it forces defenses to choose between putting more linebackers or more defensive backs on the field. \u201cIt makes it easier on us. It\u2019s the mismatches 13 personnel creates with the big bodies blocking safeties, and if you want to put big guys out there, we can run routes, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Seahawks, though, are one of the few teams equipped to handle the three-tight-end formations. Seattle played the most snaps in the regular season with at least five defensive backs on the field, but the Seahawks were still able to stop the run despite eschewing size for speed. That\u2019s in large part because of nickel cornerback (and rookie) Nick Emmanwori, who can cover receivers while tackling like a linebacker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a group that can play a so-called lighter grouping because they go draft guys that they have a vision for. Nick has done a hell of a job,\u201d McVay said during the week. \u201cHe\u2019s playing outside linebacker for them, he\u2019s playing safety, he\u2019s playing star, he\u2019s playing the \u2018dime money\u2019 spot. They move him all around, and they can be a nickel, but they can basically present a bunch of different base structures because of his versatility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Macdonald in December of his rookie\u2019s unique ability: \u201cWe\u2019ve never really had a player like him, so we are kind of making it up as we go to a certain extent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chess match between the coaches will ultimately determine who makes the Super Bowl. In November, the Rams ironically won the defensive thriller, 21-19. Seattle, meanwhile, won the shootout, scoring a 38-37 overtime victory in an instant classic in December. <\/p>\n

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Sunday\u2019s game will also be a legacy moment for the quarterbacks. Will Stafford get to another Super Bowl and add to the Hall of Fame r\u00e9sum\u00e9 he has built in Los Angeles? Or will Darnold prove himself on a big stage against a defense that has historically troubled him? <\/p>\n

All the strategies will be laid bare and all the questions will be answered in what is one of the most intriguing NFL games ever. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a hell of an atmosphere, an environment,\u201d McVay said. \u201cWe\u2019re excited about it. Those are the moments you feel the most alive as a competitor, and we got to go handle it against a freaking damn good football team. But I wouldn\u2019t expect anything less in the NFC championship if you expect to advance to a Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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When the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams meet for the NFC championship Sunday night, it will be \u2014 by at least one measure \u2014 the best NFL showdown of nearly the last five decades. \u201cBy DVOA, the NFC Championship Game is essentially the best NFL matchup of the last 47 years, and by … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-NFC-championship-game-could-be-the-greatest-NFL-playoff.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18191,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189\/revisions\/18191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}