The Seattle Seahawks advanced to their first NFC Championship since 2014 after stomping the San Francisco 49ers 41-6. The Seahawks' only remaining hurdle is the team that has given them the most trouble this season, the Los Angeles Rams.

My Hottest Take: Seattle is hot, and the Rams are not

Since Seattle overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Rams in week 16, the teams have performed at vastly different levels. Seattle has won their three games in that span by double digits, 27-10 over the Carolina Panthers, 13-3 over the Niners, and, of course Saturdays 41-6 demolition. It’s really been the story of Seattle's defense bowing up, as they allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for 457 yards in Week 16, but have surrendered just 321 total passing yards in the three games since.

The Rams, on the other hand, followed up that devastating loss with another inexplicable loss to the Atlanta Falcons, thanks to a rare Stafford off day. Los Angeles capped their regular season with a game that was too close for comfort against the lowly Arizona Cardinals. There's no other way to put it than the Rams have looked off in their playoff matchups, due to a combination of errant stretches by Stafford and uncharacteristically poor game feel from Sean McVay, whose decision to take the ball out of Stafford's hands late almost cost the Rams their season in Chicago.

All of this suggests Seattle should have a decided mental and emotional edge due to how their last meeting ended and how subsequent games have gone for both teams, with Seattle needing to keep an emphasis on getting pressure like they did against San Francisco and doing a better job taking the threat of Puka Nacua away.

What You Need To Know: Your time is now, Kenneth Walker

Zach Charbonnet is set to undergo surgery for the knee injury he suffered on Saturday.

This is Kenneth Walker’s backfield now. His 19 carries on Saturday were a season high, and he responded with 6.1 yards per carry and three scores. Last time out, he went 11-100-1 against the Rams, setting him up for a potentially big day. With Walker being a free agent after this season, this is a golden opportunity to show Seattle and others that he can still function as a lead back, especially with Sam Darnold not at 100% right now.

The only other back to touch the ball in that Divisional round blowout was Velus Jones Jr., a converted wide receiver who has proven to be nothing more than an experiment. Seattle also has veteran journeyman Cam Akers as depth, but this room is incredibly thin, given that both George Holani and Kenny McIntosh are on injured reserve.

Before You Go: Seattle will finally make a statement

By no means will this be another 41-6 beatdown, the Rams are far too talented for that, but Seattle has really elevated its defense over the last month. The entire team seems to have peaked at the best possible moment, while the Rams have looked disjointed on offense at times, and their defense has already shown struggles stopping the run.

Where Sam Darnold is with his injury is the biggest concern, because he wasn’t asked to do much of anything, but looked fine when he did throw it. The havoc that Seattle's defense is creating is too hard to ignore, though, and Seattle is going to clinch their trip to the Super Bowl with a 24-10 victory.