It’s a battle for the NFC West crown and the No. 1 seed in the NFC on Thursday Night Football. That’s how we start Week 16 as the Los Angeles Rams visit the Seattle Seahawks in prime time. The teams with the best record in the NFC (11-3) just happen to be in the same division, which means the runner-up for the NFC West will likely find themselves on the road in the postseason as a wild card.
L.A. is the first NFC team to clinch a playoff berth, and it would come one step closer to clinching the division with a win over Seattle this week. A win for the Rams in Week 16 means they’d have swept the Seahawks and control their path to a division title and No. 1 seed in the conference. Matthew Stafford is having an MVP-worthy season, leading the league in touchdown passes (37), first downs (88) and passer rating (112.2).
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Seattle is currently the fifth seed in the NFC, but with a win Thursday, the Seahawks would jump into the No. 1 spot atop the NFC and the West division. At 11-3, the Seahawks’ path to the No. 1 seed is simple in theory. If they win the final three games of the season, including Week 16 against the Rams, they’d claim the NFC West crown, the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Rams-Seahawks start time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lumen Field | Seattle
TV channel, live stream: Amazon Prime Video, NFL+
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Rams take on the Seahawks on Thursday night:
Live19 updates
Thu, December 18, 2025 at 6:22 PM PST
Andy Backstrom
And yet, the Rams are up only 13-7. That’s what poor red-zone efficiency will do a team that’s otherwise dominating.
L.A. already has 252 total yards of offense.
Andy Backstrom
Terrance Ferguson has his touchdown. The rookie tight end had one wiped off the board because of a controversial ineligible receiver downfield penalty late in the first quarter.
Now, late in the second quarter, he’s the recipient of a 3-yard pass that found pay dirt. That capped an 11-play, 62-yard drive that chewed 6:41 of clock.
Andy Backstrom
Once again, the Seahawks’ defense buckled down in the red zone.
A drive that featured 54-yard and 19-yard hookups with receivers Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington ended with a 28-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis.
Andy Backstrom
That’s costly. The Rams’ run game has been so reliable of late, and now will it have to be supported by a backup right guard.
Andy Backstrom
Puka Nacua is a do-it-all receiver. He can make the contested catches, and he can do damage after the catch.
The latter was on full display as he authored a 54-yard gain that ultimately saw him take Seahawks safety Julian Love for a ride to the Seattle 34-yard line.
Andy Backstrom
A touchdown pass to rookie Terrance Ferguson was negated because of a controversial ineligible receiver downfield penalty on fellow tight end Davis Allen just past the goal line.
The Rams decided to settle for a 23-yard field goal attempt.
Mevis drilled it to make it a 7-3 game.
Andy Backstrom
The Seahawks lost track of Rams tight end Davis Allen on the third play of their next drive. That mishap resulted in a 27-yard L.A. gain.
The Rams faced another fourth down later in the series, however, they improved to 2-of-3 in that department. On a play that started with Seattle jumping offside, quarterback Matthew Stafford gave star wideout Puka Nacua a chance.
Nacua extended his arms and caught the ball in front of the body of Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe, securing an impressive contested catch for a first down.
Andy Backstrom
One Seahawks running back, Kenneth Walker III, got them to the red zone. The other, Zach Charbonnet, delivered the touchdown.
Seattle’s up early 7-0.
Andy Backstrom
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III has his rookie guard to thank — well, and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Walker steamrolled ahead for 46 yards on a throwback screen. Grey Zabel paved the way downfield, but it was a great play design, too.
Andy Backstrom
L.A. continued to chug along on the ground until it faced another 4th-and-1. The Rams didn’t convert this one, as determined by a rare virtual measurement.
Rams running back Kyren Williams was stopped short of the line to gain by Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe and linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence.
Seattle turned L.A. over on downs at the Seattle 38-yard line.
Andy Backstrom
It looked like the Rams were going three-and-out on their first drive of the night. But Sean McVay rolled the dice on 4th-and-1 from his own 38-yard line. His bold decision paid off.
Rams running back Kyren Williams bullied forward for three yards and a fresh set of downs.
Thu, December 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Kate Magdziuk
It’s about that time! Tune in as the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks kick off from Lumen Field in Seattle in a game that could very well shake up the NFC playoff picture. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET, with the game airing live on Amazon Prime Video and NFL+!
Kate Magdziuk
Fantasy football managers found themselves in a panic after the Rams drafted Blake Corum in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, suspecting a potential decreased workload for Kyren Williams, whose heavy workload has been a gift to fantasy managers since his breakout in 2023.
That hasn’t been the case, however — at least, not yet. There’s been plenty of room for both Williams and Corum to run as of late, given the efficiency of the Rams’ offense as a whole, tied with the Lions to lead the league with 6.2 yards per play.
With another stellar campaign in 2025, Williams finds himself with some elite company:
Kate Magdziuk
The Los Angeles Rams enter Week 16 as the first NFC team to clinch a playoff spot and would hold the No. 1 seed if the season ended today … but the conference could be in for a big shakeup, depending on how Thursday’s contest shakes out.
Both the Rams and Seahawks enter the week at 11-3, with the San Francisco 49ers right on their tails at 10-4. With a Seahawks victory in Week 16, the 49ers will maintain their ability to control their own destiny and earn a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed by winning out the remainder of the season.
As it stands, the Rams currently sit as odds favorites to win the Super Bowl at +350 odds, followed by the Seahawks at +700.
Thu, December 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM PST
Chris Cwik
Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua apologized Thursday after he agreed to perform an antisemitic touchdown celebration during an appearance on a live stream.
Nacua issued a statement, saying he was unaware the celebration contained an antisemitic gesture. His full statement read:
“When I appeared the other day on a social media livestream, it was suggested to me to perform a specific movement as part of my next touchdown celebration. At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.
“I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.”
Nacua appeared Tuesday on a livestream hosted by Adin Ross. During the stream, Ross had Nacua mimic the celebration and then encouraged Nacua to perform the dance during an NFL game after he scored a touchdown. Nacua agreed, saying, “Yeah, that’s easy.”
The celebration involved Nacua spiking the ball, flexing and then performing a gesture that references an antisemitic caricature of a Jewish person shared on social media websites, including 4chan.
Video of Nacua performing the celebration began circulating on social media, where California congressman Eric Swalwell demanded an apology from the Rams star on X.
Swalwell’s tweet read:
“The Los Angeles Jewish community is on edge after the Bondi Beach massacre. And what does this a**hole @AsapPuka do? He promises an antisemitic touchdown dance for his Thursday night game. He should apologize or be dropped.”
The stream also included Nacua ripping NFL officials, saying they call penalties so they can be shown on television.
Read more on Nacua’s apology and the responses from the team and league about the situation.
Kate Magdziuk
With less than 90 minutes remaining until the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks kick off on “Thursday Night Football,” each team has announced its Week 16 inactives for gameday.
Here’s a look:
Rams inactives
Seahawks inactives
Andy Backstrom
The Seattle Seahawks will be down their starting left tackle tonight. Charles Cross suffered a hamstring injury during Seattle’s game-winning field goal against the Indianapolis Colts last week.
He’ll be replaced by veteran Josh Jones, who has made 87 appearances in his career, including 24 starts.
Thu, December 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM PST
Michael Fiddle
Looking to wager on tonight’s Rams-Seahawks game? Here are two player prop bets to consider — both on the same player.
Zach Charbonnet over 9.5 rush attempts (+100), over 32.5 rush yards (-115)
The game total has plummeted because of the rain, and the spread has moved toward the home Seahawks as the seemingly sharp side. Perhaps the best way to attack this is in the player prop market on Charbonnet.
Charbonnet is the more traditional power back alongside explosive playmaker and starting RB Kenneth Walker. While Walker is likely to be the guy out there on the first play as the designated starter, surprisingly, Charbonnet has played a higher percentage of snaps in six of the 13 games these two have both played this season. The workload is a near equal split – and this spot could be better fit for Charbonnet.
[Check out all of Yahoo’s sports betting content here in our betting hub]
The defense is going to know the run is coming, and the offense is going to be predicated less on breaking a big explosive play, but a slow churn of steady yardage. Right now Charbonnet is projected to have three fewer rush attempts and 15 more yards. This may be an inefficiency in the betting market. The first two late-week bets into this market are the overs on Charbonnet’s rush attempts and yardage. I also don’t mind going under on Walker.
Andy Backstrom
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams left last week’s game against the Detroit Lions with a non-contact hamstring injury.
It will sideline him tonight against the Seattle Seahawks. Adams headlines the Rams’ inactives for “Thursday Night Football”: