Bump: The Rams player Seahawks’ D must contain in NFC Championship

When the Los Angeles Rams’ offense takes the field in Sunday’s NFC Championship, much of the attention will be centered on quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Puka Nacua.

Bump: What Seattle Seahawks can do differently vs Rams WR Puka Nacua

That’s very understandable. Stafford is an MVP finalist. Nacua is an Offensive Player of the Year finalist. And the pair torched the Seattle Seahawks when the teams met back in Week 16 as Stafford threw for 457 yards and three TDs, with 225 yards and two TDs accounted for on 12 receptions by Nacua.

Slowing down Stafford and Nacua will be a tough but important task for the Seahawks in Part III of the NFC West rivalry clash, but they may need to contain someone else in order to do so.

Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus emphasized how important it will be for the Seahawks to slow down Rams running back Kyren Williams during his Four Down Territory segment Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

Slowing down opposing running backs is something the Seahawks have excelled at this year. They were seventh in NFL in the regular season, allowing 108 rushing yards per game. In their past two games, which both came against San Francisco, they held 49ers star and MVP finalist Christian McCaffrey to just 58 total rushing yards.

Williams was able to have some success when the Rams beat the Seahawks in Week 11. He ran for 91 yards and a TD on 12 carries, which included runs of 34 and 30 yards. His 7.6 yards per carry in that game were a season high.

But in the Week 16 rematch the Seahawks won in overtime, Williams was held to 70 yards on 23 carries. The 3.0 yards per carry Williams averaged in that game were a season low.

“You have to continue to be a solid, stout rush defense,” Bumpus said. “… You just can’t allow that to get going because if Kyren Williams gets going (and) that run game gets going, it’s going to be harder to defend the pass. So just be who you’ve been all year and limit those runs.”

Listen to former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus’ full Four Down Territory segment here or in the audio player below. Catch Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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• Seahawks and Rams uniforms set for NFC Championship
• What weather forecast says for Seahawks-Rams NFC title game
• Why Trey Wingo is optimistic about Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
• Joel Klatt: Seattle Seahawks are clearly the best team remaining

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