The Rams–Seahawks rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 and were initially placed in the NFC West, where they faced the Rams for the first time. The following season, Seattle was moved to the AFC West, resulting in infrequent meetings between the two teams. As part of the NFL's 2002 realignment, the Seahawks returned to the NFC West, resulting in two meetings annually with the Rams. From the late 2000s through the early 2010s, the Seahawks held a significant advantage in the series, including a 10-game winning streak, and took a big lead in the overall record. In the late 2010s and 2020s, both teams emerged as regular playoff contenders, leading to more competitive matchups and narrowing the overall series margin to just a few games.
Geography plays a role in the rivalry, as Los Angeles and Seattle are approximately 1,100 miles apart along Interstate 5, connecting the western seaboard of the continental United States. Both teams experienced periods of success at different times, but the rivalry intensified after the Rams’ relocation back to Los Angeles in 2016. Between 2013 and 2021, both teams won a Super Bowl, which often elevated their biannual regular-season matchups into competitive contests with playoff implications.
The rivalry reached an apex during the 2025 season, during which the Seahawks and Rams were widely considered the best teams in the NFL. After two close match ups, including the Zachwards Pass game, the two teams tied their regular season series at 1–1, before the Seahawks defeated the Rams in the NFC Championship en route to a victory in Super Bowl LX.
The Seahawks lead the series 30–28. The two teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Rams winning two of three games.
History
Beginnings of the rivalry Originally, the Seahawks played in the NFC West during their inaugural season in 1976, but would be realigned to the AFC West the following season. Very little connected the Seahawks with any animosity towards their future rivals in the Rams and 49ers respectively for much of their existence leading up to the 2002 division realignment.
Notably, both the Rams and Seahawks encountered issues with fan attendance and outdated stadiums during the 1990s. The Rams found themselves unable to secure a new stadium in southern California and controversial owner Georgia Frontiere relocated the team to St. Louis in 1995. Seahawks' owner Ken Behring found himself increasingly unsatisfied with the declining condition of the Kingdome and later threatened to relocate the team to Los Angeles during the 1996 offseason. Unknown to the league; on February 2, 1996; Behring had relocated the Seahawks' team practices to the Rams’ former training facility in Anaheim, and sought a deal to lease out the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. However, much to the anger of the league owners; Behring had failed to properly format a bid for relocation and the league was unaware of any possible request or owners meeting regarding the move of the team. On February 5, the league threatened to heavily fine Behring and the Seahawks up to $900,000 daily unless they returned to Seattle immediately. Ultimately, Behring was involved in a forced sale of the Seahawks to Microsoft CEO Paul Allen in 1997.
2002–2009: Seahawks join the NFC West The rivalry between the Seahawks and Rams was finally established in 2002, after the Seahawks were realigned to the NFC West after the league had expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans that season. The Rams and Seahawks would share the division with fellow longtime-rivals the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals joined the NFC West after playing for 32 seasons in the NFC East. The Seahawks entered the division as an upstart playoff contender under third year head coach Mike Holmgren, meanwhile the Rams were experiencing the twilight of their famous "Greatest Show On Turf" era. The Rams' teams would begin to wane in comparison to their peak under quarterback Kurt Warner, and would only manage to win the division in 2003 for the final time before their relocation back to Los Angeles 13 years later.
The 2003 season saw the Rams boast a 12–4 record and take command of the division one final time. Seattle had been hot on the Rams’ heels through much of the year as the Seahawks started off with a 3–0 record, including a narrow victory over the Rams in week 3. Following the win, both teams followed varying paths to their respective playoff hunts. The Seahawks would stumble and win only 5 of their next 9 games while the Rams had run away with the division lead, winning 8 of their next 9 games. During the week 15 home matchup against the Seahawks, both sides engaged into a bitter contest as Seattle was fighting to regain their lead of the division from earlier that season. Though 2 games behind the Rams, the Seahawks entered the matchup with an aggressive performance. Following a safety after Rams’ quarterback Marc Bulger was tackled in the endzone, Seattle would find themselves down 12 points. Upon scoring their second touchdown, Rams’ receivers Tory Holt and Isaac Bruce notably taunted and engaged in a minor scuffle with Seahawks’ safety Ken Hamlin in the endzone. A drive from Shaun Alexander and Darrell Jackson helped Seattle regain momentum in the second quarter, however; following his touchdown, Jackson and Rams’ cornerback Aeneas Williams began jawing at one another as retaliation for the earlier gesture by the Rams’ receivers. Jackson was given a penalty for taunting following the touchdown. The Rams would find themselves able to outmuscle the Seahawks, the game displayed a heated running back duel of both Alexander and Rams’ future hall-of-famer Marshall Faulk. Rams’ safety Adam Archuleta proved to be the difference maker as he racked up a sack and 8 critical tackles to give the Rams the game. A controversial call as Seahawks’ wide receiver Bobby Engram dove for a crucial pass to possibly give Seattle the lead culminated in another fight with Rams’ defender after the failed catch. The victory clinched the division for the Rams in addition to a playoff berth. The Seahawks would clinch a playoff berth as the divisional runner-up with a 10–6 record, but they would go on to lose in a crushing overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Rams managed to clinch the second highest seed in the conference but would fall in an equally crushing double overtime loss to the eventual Conference Champion Carolina Panthers at home.
The 2004 season saw the Rams begin the year strong as they managed a 4–2 record to start the season, but they would stumble the rest of the year and lose 6 of 10; finishing one game behind the Seahawks for the division lead. The first playoff matchup between the two teams as divisional rivals would occur in the Wild Card Round of the 2004 playoffs. Despite finishing the year one loss behind Seattle, the Rams managed to sweep them during the regular season, culminating in a high octane grudge match between the two rivals. Out of the gate; the Rams pulled ahead to a 4-point lead despite inconsistent play from quarterback Marc Bulger, The Seahawks would respond with their own passing attack as Matt Hasselbeck managed a quick touchdown and an interception to start the 2nd quarter. The second half would see Seattle briefly take the lead before Bulger managed a 17-yard touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. Despite the best efforts of the Seahawks, the Rams refused to give up the lead. Bulger and Hasselbeck would combine for 654 passing yards and the game would also be the final game played by Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice. The Rams would not manage another playoff win until the 2018 season, meanwhile Seattle would later boast a 10-game home playoff win streak would that would end in 2020, ironically after the Rams beat the Seahawks in the 2020–21 wild card round.
The late 2000s saw a decline in the rivalry as the Seahawks consistently qualified for the playoffs, while the Rams struggled as "The Greatest Show on Turf" would disband. Seattle won 10 straight meetings from 2005 to 2009.
2010–2015: Seahawks hire Pete Carroll, win Super Bowl XLVIII
Despite the sharp decline in competition from the Rams through the earlier half of the decade, moments of animosity between the two teams would still occur during the Rams' final years in St. Louis even whilst Seattle managed to become a Super Bowl contender and even earned a victory at Super Bowl XLVIII. Prior to the 2010 season, the Seahawks would hire Pete Carroll, who would be Seattle's head coach for the next 14 seasons and build his famous "Legion of Boom" defense. Both teams faced off in the final week of the season for the NFC West title despite both having losing records. The Seahawks would prevail, becoming the first 7–9 team in NFL history to win a division title and have a playoff berth.
Jeff Fisher would join the Rams as head coach for the 2012 season. Particularly against the Seahawks, Fisher would be known to use trick plays to bring his team to win. During a 2013 game in St. Louis, Seahawks receiver Golden Tate taunted Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins by waving at him following a failed interception on the pass, whilst Tate returned the ball for a touchdown.
During the 2014 season, the Rams hosted the Seahawks for a week 7 matchup. Prior to halftime; the Rams had managed to lead the game 14–3. Star returner Tavon Austin was the designated punt return man on a play in which he acted as if he was calling for a fair catch, but the ball had actually been punted to the opposite side of the field, where Rams alternate returner Stedman Bailey was preparing to return the punt. With the entire Seattle coverage team focused on Austin, Bailey was left with a wide-open field and returned the punt 90 yards for a touchdown; culminating in the Rams winning 28–26 in an upset victory. The two teams later met for the season finale in week 17 in Seattle. The Rams' offense struggled mightily as they managed two field goals prior to halftime, though their defense capitalized on an interception from Russell Wilson and a recovered fumble lost by Seahawks' running back Marshawn Lynch during their possession. The Seahawks managed two field goals of their own into the end of the third quarter as neither team's offense managed to gain any momentum. During the start of the fourth quarter, Rams' quarterback Shaun Hill threw a critical interception; giving the Seahawks the ball on the 26 yard line as Lynch later retaliated with an unstoppable touchdown run. The Rams' hopes for a comeback were later crushed as Hill threw another interception to Seahawks' linebacker Bruce Irvin who returned the ball for a touchdown; all but sealing the victory for Seattle, giving them the highest seed in the NFC.
In 2015, Rams punter Johnny Hekker shoved Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril following a 45-yard punt. Seahawks lineman Michael Bennett later attempted to tackle Hekker for retaliation, and would later refer to Hekker as "acting like a little girl" in the postgame interview. Following the Rams' victory in Seattle during week 16, Bennett would also take shots at Rams star rookie running back Todd Gurley on Twitter, after Gurley was awarded 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year claiming, "he's average to me, personally. I've seen better running backs."
2016–2019: Rams move to Los Angeles and hire Sean McVay