Seattle Seahawks Not Ready to Cede NFC West to Los Angeles Rams

Don't crown the Los Angeles Rams the kings of the NFC West just yet. They're an up-and-coming squad, but the Seattle Seahawks remain the division's team to beat. 

Seattle (3-2) made this clear Sunday by going into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and leaving with a 16-10 win over the upstart Rams (3-2). 

This rivalry has the potential to grow over the years, but the current rendition is intriguing because it features the age-old question: Is it better to have a stout defense or a prolific offense? 

Of course, every organization wants both, but most don't have that luxury. 

The Seahawks defense remains the team's backbone and proved to be the driving force during Sunday's victory. The unit caused five turnovers and capitalized on the Rams' mistakes 

"They will not relent," head coach Pete Carroll said, per the Tacoma News Tribune's Gregg Bell. 

The Rams offense averaged 35.5 points, 270.3 passing yards and 113.5 rushing yards per game coming into the contest. Head coach Sean McVay and second-year quarterback Jared Goff were being lauded for an impressive turnaround after last year's abysmal showing. 

Apparently, Carroll's squad wasn't aware it faced such a dynamic offense. 

Los Angeles eclipsed only one of those previous numbers with 275 passing yards, and a large portion of those came late in the contest during a desperate comeback attempt.

Seattle's defense became famous because of its Legion of Boom secondary. Now, the defensive line is laying the boom on opposing quarterbacks. 

Even without veteran defensive end and team leader Cliff Avril—whose career is in jeopardy due to a neck injury, per Fox Sports' Jay Glazer (via Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio)—the Seahawks defensive front is impossible to block across the board. 

Due to the balance found along the entire line, teams can't game-plan for a single individual. 

Michael Bennett is a two-time Pro Bowl performer and one of the league's best pass-rushers. He's equally effective from the edge as a defensive end or along the interior. This allows defensive coordinator Kris Richard to move Bennett up and down the line to exploit the biggest mismatch. 

The 31-year-old veteran pressured Goff throughout the contest and secured a sack along with two other quarterback hits. 

Frank Clark stepped into a full-time role with Avril's absence. Clark is the best athlete along the Seahawks defensive line, and he accomplished the near-impossible by beating Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth clean for a game-defining, fourth-quarter strip-sack. 

The third-year defensive end provided a pair of tackles for loss and another quarterback hit. 

Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson came to play, too. The September acquisition batted a pass at the line of scrimmage and snagged an interception after a Todd Gurley bobble. 

Every week, one or two of these defenders—including Jarran Reed and Nazair Jones—make plays so Seattle remains competitive. 

The secondary made its share of plays as well. The biggest came when free safety Earl Thomas caused a fumble in the end zone to prevent Gurley from scoring early in the contest. 

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

"I did a good job watching those Bruce Lee movies," Thomas joked, per the Associated Press' Greg Beacham.

The three-time first-team All-Pro also snagged one of Goff's two interceptions. 

Gurley came into the contest as a premier playmaker out of the backfield. He led the NFL in touches and was second in total yards.

Seattle shut down the 23-year-old back. Gurley averaged 3.1 yards per carry on 14 attempts and caught two passes for seven yards. 

An ineffective Gurley placed far more pressure on Goff to produce. The 2016 No. 1 overall pick played stellar football through the first four weeks, but he crumbled under the pressure of shouldering a much larger load. 

The second-year quarterback completed 46.8 percent of his 47 passes, threw a pair of interceptions and fumbled late in the contest on a blindside blow. 

"He's gonna be alright," Richardson said, per Beacham. "He's not the same guy from last year. But he's no Tom Brady yet."

An argument can be made that the Rams simply didn't play well, and they still had an opportunity to win late in the contest. They probably would have, if rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp had made a difficult catch in the end zone with five seconds remaining. But he didn't. 

The Seahawks created multiple turnovers, and their defense is good enough to fluster any opponent. But the Rams offense won't likely make as many mistakes the next time these two teams play.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

As good as Seattle's defense is, the offense still hasn't established any rhythm. 

Quarterback Russell Wilson averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and threw a poor interception that set up a Rams field goal. The running game never got going, either. Seattle's backs averaged 2.3 yards per carry. Meanwhile, the offensive line is still bad. Wilson was sacked three times and was hit on 11 more occasions. 

Both teams have areas in which they can improve for their next head-to-head matchup. The Rams must find a way to get Gurley going and avoid as many turnovers, while the Seahawks offense remains a work in progress. 

Until then, the Seahawks remain atop the NFC West awaiting their next challenge. 

"People look forward to writing us off," cornerback Richard Sherman said, per Bell. "Our demise was greatly overstated."

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.