Rams showed the NFL one trick to shut down Sam Darnold, Seahawks

No, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams didn't have the best day on the offensive side of the ball against a loaded and creative Seattle Seahawks defense. But the underestimated secondary was able to force four interceptions out of Sam Darnold and came away with a narrow 21-19 victory.

The fact that the Rams gave up 19 points to an offense that was in such good form that Darnold found himself firmly in the MVP race speaks to just what a tremendous game plan defensive coordinator Chris Shula and company came into this game with.

Shula put together such an impressive game that he is certainly generating some head coach buzz already, as he appeared to figure out the best way to slow down the Seahawks' laser show. Take notes, anyone else in the NFL.

Shula and the Rams leaned heavily into dime coverage with six defensive backs on the field, especially on early downs. On first and second down, the Rams went dime 14 times, which is more than the rest of Seattle's opponents this year combined. Darnold and the offense had no answer for this wrinkle.

Rams' dime coverage may be the key to beating Sam Darnold, Seahawks

The Rams may not boast the best defensive backfield right now, as many of their top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft will likely be spent on addressing their lack of depth in those key areas. Even with that lack of talent, Shula being able to coach them up against one of the best offenses in the league is quite an accomplishment.

While wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to showcase the best year of any wide receiver in the NFL right now, his dominance has overshadowed the fact that Seattle doesn't have the deepest wide receiver room. Darnold's pass catchers include the aging Cooper Kupp, a rookie in Tory Horton, and the new addition Rashid Shaheed.

The Rams essentially eschewed worrying about the running back combination of Kenneth Walker III/Zach Charbonnet in the backfield and dared a receiver other than JSN to make plays. Shaheed and Kupp combined for just five receptions and 50 yards against this Los Angeles secondary.

With the Rams' safety duo of Kam Curl and Kamren Kinchens putting together tremendous games and the much-maligned cornerback room picking off two more of Darnold's four errant passes, this game showed that if you stack the field with defensive backs, Darnold is not nearly as effective.