THE STORY: It's as straightforward as it gets: The winner wins the NFC West title and the loser goes home with a losing record. The NFL higher-ups are probably rooting for a win by St. Louis Rams - and not because it's a more captivating story line following their 1-15 season in 2009. If the Seahawks win, both teams will finish 7-9 and the mild, mild West will be won by a team with a losing record. Seattle is expected to be without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, leaving their playoff hopes in the hands of Charlie Whitehurst.
TV: 8:15 p.m. EST, NBC
OPENING LINE: Rams -1, O/U 43
WEATHER: Mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 40s.
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (6-9): Seattle comes limping into the showdown off three consecutive losses in which they have been outscored 112-54. The Seahawks' only two victories in the last nine games have come against Arizona and Carolina, which sport a combined 7-23 record. In addition, they likely will be without Hasselbeck, who is dealing with hip and back injuries that forced him out of last week's 38-15 drubbing in Tampa Bay. Whitehurst, who was acquired from San Diego in the offseason, replaced him and finished 11 of 18 for 66 yards. That's an average of 3.7 yards per completion.
ABOUT THE RAMS (7-8): St. Louis ended a two-game losing streak with a 25-17 victory over division rival San Francisco last week. Rookie Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft, threw for 292 yards and a touchdown in the victory. The Rams have had the good fortune of playing a schedule that features just five teams with winning records (they lost four of those games), but after going 6-42 in their three previous seasons, the turnaround has been stunning. Steven Jackson was limited to 48 yards by the 49ers, but he has 1,196 yards on the season - the sixth straight year he's gone over 1,000 yards.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola had eight receptions for 53 yards last week, giving him a career-high 83 catches on the season. He also had five kick/punt returns for 177 yards. St. Louis' defense recorded four sacks against San Francisco, giving the unit 43 on the season. Chris Long has eight sacks in the last 10 games.
Seattle's Mike Williams, a former first-round pick, was among the league's top feel-good stories after recording double-digit receptions in back-to-back games near midseason. Since missing three games with an injury, however, he has struggled to regain his form. He had just two catches for 15 yards in the debacle at Tampa Bay.
QUARTERBACKS: Bradford has been everything the Rams could have hoped for in his rookie campaign. Last week, he snapped out of a three-game funk in which he had thrown zero touchdowns and been picked off five times. Bradford set an NFL rookie record with 335 completions, and can wind up with the second-highest yardage total for a rookie QB if he throws for 84 yards against the Seahawks.
If Hasselbeck is unable to go, Seattle's chances take a major hit with Whitehurst under center. He has appeared in parts of four games this season and his highest passer rating (68.3) came in last week's loss to the Buccaneers. His only other start this season was a disaster, as the Seahawks were routed at home by the New York Giants 41-7. Playing behind Philip Rivers in San Diego, Whitehurst never got a chance to see the field.
RECENT HISTORY: St. Louis snapped a 10-game losing streak against Seattle with a 20-3 in Week 4.
KEY INJURIES: Rams: Questionable – DE Eugene Sims (knee), LB David Nixon (hand), TE Michael Hoomanawanui (ankle); Seahawks: Doubtful – QB Matt Hasselbeck (hip); Questionable: WR Brandon Stokley (head), LB Will Herring (hamstring).
LAST WORD: St. Louis kicker Josh Brown spent his first five seasons with Seattle. In a five-week span in 2006, he booted two last-second field goals to give Seattle a pair of two-point wins over the Rams.