St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Qwest Field, Seattle, WA
Sunday, January 2, 2011, 8:20 pm EST, TV: NBC
Opening Line: Seahawks -1
Current Line: Rams -3
Opening Total: 42
Current Total: 41.5
Money Line: Rams -155 / Seahawks +135
Few could have predicted that the NFC West division title would be decided by the Seattle Seahawks (6-9) and St. Louis Rams (7-8) in the last game of the regular season on Sunday Night Football. But that is exactly the case for two teams that have succeeded mostly behind a first-year quarterback and first-year head coach.
The Rams (-3) have seen rookie quarterback Sam Bradford stay healthy and develop into one of the most promising young players in the NFL. Bradford has already broken Peyton Manning’s rookie mark for completions with 335, as he has enabled his team’s offense to score over 100 points more than a year ago during a miserable 1-15 campaign. He has also gotten a lot of help from Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson, who is seeking a return to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year in 2004.
Meanwhile, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll enjoyed a lot of early-season success in his first year with the team before tumbling through a 1-5 stretch heading into the finale. The Seahawks started the season 4-2 but could still become the first team in a non-strike season to make the playoffs with a losing record by beating the Rams.
Carroll knows what the league is all about from prior head coaching stints in New England and New York, so he realizes an opportunity to get into the postseason is just that and can give a team new life. Unfortunately for him, he will likely be forced to play quarterback Charlie Whitehurst in such a critical game since Matt Hasselbeck remains injured.
Whitehurst has made six appearances for Seattle this season, and only one of them has resulted in a victory. The lone win came in relief of Hasselbeck in Week 10 after he had thrown for 333 yards en route to a 36-18 rout of Arizona. Whitehurst had 53 passing yards in that game against the Cardinals and has cleared the century mark only once this year.
Defensively, the Seahawks have struggled during their recent skid, surrendering 34 points or more in all five of the losses. The OVER has cashed in their last eight games, including a 38-15 loss at Tampa Bay last week.
The Rams broke a 10-game series losing streak to Seattle with a 20-3 win in Week 4. They have covered just one of the last seven meetings with the UNDER going 4-2-1.
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