The Seahawks will wrap up their season on Sunday with a Week 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, who clinched the division title last weekend. It's a matchup that, had a few things broke differently, could have decided the NFC West title, but instead the Seahawks are out of the playoffs even if they beat the Rams to leave both teams with 10-7 records, because the Rams would win the NFC West in that scenario on the fifth tiebreaker, strength of victory.

Even so, the Seahawks still feel like they have plenty to play for as they close out their first season under Mike Macdonald, which brings us to five things to watch in Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium:

1. Can the Seahawks get a 10^th win to continue "building upon our foundation for years to come"?

While Sunday's game won't affect either team's place in the standings—the Rams have already clinched the division title and the Seahawks are locked into second place—players and coaches see it as a significant game for several reasons, not the least of which is the simple fact that NFL players are highly competitive individual who want to perform well every time they take the field. What Sunday's game also represents is one more chance at growth heading into the offseason for a team finishing off its first year under a new head coach. While the Seahawks obviously hoped to win more games and make the playoffs, there were clear areas of growth this year for the team to build on moving forward, and while that would be true regardless of Sunday's result, everyone involved would feel better if the Seahawks can get to a 10^th win, improve to 7-1 on the road, and make Macdonald the winningest first-year coach in team history.

"You're always trying to win your next game," Macdonald said. "This is the next game. That's number one. There are broader implications: getting to 10 wins; trying to be 4-2 in our division; trying to play our brand of football the way we know how; building upon our foundation for years to come. There is a lot at stake for us this weekend. It's not the stakes that we wanted, but those are always in play.

Added receiver DK Metcalf, ""I will say just with being in the NFL, there are a lot of competitive guys in this league, especially on this team. So, I mean, I wouldn't expect anything less than for us to go out there and play like we're still fighting to get in the playoffs. I think it just sends a message to the opposing team what type of identity that this team will have moving forward. So, no, I don't think people are going to just lay down and just accept not making it to the playoffs and just think this last week is going to be a cake walk. No."

2. Will it be a record-breaking day for Geno Smith and Jaxon Smith-Njigba?

In the spirit of competing for another win and a strong finish to the season, Macdonald said there are no plans to rest starters so long as they're healthy enough to play, and that means a few players can hit some pretty significant milestones, including quarterback Geno Smith and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Smith is 13 completions, 22 attempts and 186 yards from breaking his own single-season franchise records in all three categories, and with his current completion percentage sitting at 70.2 percent, he can break his own record in that category as well while joining a pretty exclusive list, with only 18 quarterbacks in league history having completing at least 70 percent of their passes in a season.

Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, has 96 catches heading into the game, just four short of Tyler Lockett's franchise record, a record Locket himself is rooting for Smith-Njigba to break.

The Seahawks offense had a hard time finishing drives last week, scoring just a pair of field goals in a win over the Bears, so having Smith and Smith-Njigba, or DK Metcalf, who is 61 yards from another 1,000-yard season, would probably be a good way to help get the offense going.

Winning will be the top priority on Sunday, but the Seahawks would also love to see players hit some of those individual goals to close out the season, including those that are tied to contract incentives.

"There are financial things involved with it, which you want your guys to hit those numbers—if it's within your power, you're going to try to make that come to life; create as many opportunities for those guys as possible, all within the lens of what's best for the team and trying to win," Macdonald said. "Might have a couple ongoing jokes with a couple of the guys on some of those things. They're going to be great. They're approaching it the right way, but, yeah, you're working together with that. That's definitely something you want to help the guys with."

3. Does Leonard Williams take his frustration out on the Rams and reach double digits in sacks?

Every year when Pro Bowl rosters are announced, several players around the league miss out who have deserving resumes, but few snubs this year or any year are as baffling as the decision to leave Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams off the NFC squad.

Williams, who was named an alternate, finished higher in fan voting than all three interior linemen named to the team ahead of him, Dexter Lawrence, Jalen Carter and Vita Vea, and his stats are considerably better than Carter and Vea's as is his Pro Football Focus grade, if you favor analytics over stats. Williams' 9.0 sacks and 15 tackles for loss not only lead the team, they're also tied for the NFL lead among interior defensive linemen, and if all of that somehow wasn't enough, he also added a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown to help spark a comeback win over the Jets.

"That's crazy," cornerback Devon Witherspoon, Seattle's lone Pro Bowl selection, said of Williams' omission from the squad. "I'm not going to lie. They have to review that or something, bro. They're tripping. I'm not going to lie. They're tripping."

Williams admitted he had allowed himself to start thinking about Pro-Bowl recognition after spending the last few years not focusing on that after he was snubbed in 2020 despite producing 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

"I mean it's pretty disappointing if I'm being honest," Williams said. "I feel like I definitely deserved it this year but you know I'm happy for the guys that made it. They equally deserved it. That's why they're in the Pro Bowl."

Williams added, "The year that I was having this year, I was like starting to think about Pro Bowl again and I was like, OK, maybe I deserve it again, and it just didn't happen. It doesn't mean everything at the end of the day, I feel like I have so much respect for my teammates. I have so much respect for my coaches and then also other coaches and players across the league have showed me a lot of respect and I think that's important for me."

And if the past is any indicator, Williams' snub could be bad news for the Rams if he uses it as motivation this week. In 2020, the last time Williams put up similar numbers and missed the Pro Bowl, Williams closed out his season with 3.0 sacks, seven tackles and five quarterback hits in a Giants win over Dallas.

4. Can the offense finish on a high note while facing a Rams defense that has been hot of late.

In some weeks, turnovers or penalties have kept the Seahawks offense from being at its best, while in other weeks the running game has struggled, or the pass protection has had a tough time, but regardless of the reason, it has been an inconsistent year for a Seahawks offense that at times has shown the ability to be explosive and play at a very high level.

So with one game left, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, quarterback Geno Smith and everyone else involved to would love to finish off strong after being limited to just six points in Seattle's Week 17 win in Chicago.

"Frustrated, happy, excited, all at the same time, and I mean that," Grubb said when asked to assess the offense this season. "I know there's certainly people that are probably sharing my frustration, and our fans deserve the best. I think that we have a great team. I think that there are times where we line up and play people and certainly some of the best teams in the NFL. I don't feel like there are people we watch on film and it's like, 'Oh my god, how are we going to move the ball on these guys?' I feel excited every time we get an opportunity to play some of the best in the league. I really feel like we're on the cusp of that and that we can do something really special. I know right now, those are just words and that doesn't help anything at this point when the season's going to be over this weekend, unfortunately, which hurts. I know what this team's put into it and that we really feel like with everything that's happened this season that we really had plenty of chances to put ourselves in the postseason. So, it's difficult to see that."

Getting the offense on track this week won't be an easy feat against a Rams defense that has been stingy of late. Over the course of the entire season, L.A.'s defensive numbers don't really stand out—they rank 15^th in points allowed and 26^th in yards allowed—but those stats don't show how well the defense has been playing the last few weeks. Since giving up 42 points in a shootout win over the Bills early last month, the Rams have won three in a row while holding the 49ers, Jets and Cardinals to a total of 24 points while forcing five turnovers in those games.

"I just think overall it starts up front with them," said Smith. "They drafted two really talented guys up front, and I feel like they did a good job of trying to make up for some of the things they lost with losing Aaron (Donald). You can see those guys are really getting after it. You speak on (Jared) Verse; tough, physical guy at the point of attack. Really good on the edge. I thought (Braden) Fiske did a good job in our game and has done a good job all season and then Kobie Turner. All those guys up front who they like to get five-man rushes. They want to send five, get everyone in one-on-ones see who can win their match-up and then when you look at the back end, man, just a lot of mixing personnel. A lot of dime coverage. A lot of nickel coverage. So a lot of DBs on the field. That would usually help with the pass game, so I think they're doing a good job in their system and I think it's showing up on tape."

5. How different is Rams offense with Jimmy Garoppolo at QB and Mike LaFleur possibly calling plays?

While the Seahawks have already faced the Rams this season, prepping for their offense won't be as simple as looking at the tape from that Week 9 matchup, or, for that matter, the tape from any of their games this season.

With the division title wrapped up, Rams coach Sean McVay announced that backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will start in place of Matthew Stafford. McVay, usually his team's offensive play caller, also said offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur may call plays on Sunday, something the Rams did last season in Week 18 when they had their playoff spot secured.

"I'm pretty sure Mike is going to be calling it," Macdonald said. "You just, I don't know the right answer. Just you're going to prep off the tape like off our first—same thing, we're playing a game second time, so you're kind of using all the things: latest games, our game the first time, our understanding of their system or the extent of what we understand about it. And then, yeah, watch Jimmy play through their lens and then we'll watch -- I think Mike called the San Fran game last year, too. We'll watch that one as well."