It was always going to come down to this, right?

The only real question was in what round of the playoffs and in whose stadium, but since midway through the 2025 season, it felt like the Seahawks and Rams were destined to face off for a third time in the playoffs, and that became even more evident after the two teams played a pair of down-to-the wire games that each came down to the final play of the game, with the Rams winning at home in Week 11 and the Seahawks winning at Lumen Field in Week 16.

On Sunday, Round 3 will take place at Lumen Field when the Seahawks host the Rams in the NFC championship game. The Seahawks earned that right by going 14-3 in the regular season, including that crucial late-season win over the Rams, to earn the NFC West title and the conference's top seed, while the Rams ended up the NFC's No. 5 seed with a 12-5 record, sending them on the road for the postseason. To get to this point, the Rams have earned hard-fought road wins over the Panthers and Bears, while the Seahawks won in dominant fashion against the 49ers after enjoying a first-round bye.

And now, for the fourth time in franchise history, the Seahawks will host the NFC championship game, having won in each of the previous three occasions.

"It's awesome," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of hosing the NFC championship game. "This place will be rocking. It will be electric. 12s will be or their stuff. It's going to be awesome, man. Last week was incredible, so I'm imagining it's going to be kicked up a notch. I don't know how that's possible but, again, this is why we do what we do. It's for weeks like this, for our community, for our city, for the 12s, for our guys to have this opportunity. It doesn't get any better than this."

With the 49ers also going 12-5 to make the playoffs, then winning in the wild-card round, the NFC West became just the fourth division since 1970 to send three teams to the divisional round. The Seahawks are the sixth team since 1970 to face multiple division opponents in one postseason, with the 2021 Rams being the most recent team to do it on their way to a Super Bowl title. It's also the sixth time since 2002 that teams from the same division have met the conference championship game, with the division champion winning four of the five matchups.

"I think it's cool how great our division is," Macdonald said. "You know, we really wouldn't want it any other way.

"(The Rams) are a really good team. They play hard. They play together. They got really talented players. Got a great scheme. It's just a great matchup. It's right where we should be at this point of the year. It's pretty cool."

Said defensive tackle Leonard Williams, "I was just expecting it to happen this way. I think it's interesting that only two teams we played in what feels like over a month is the Niners and the Rams. But I think it's a testament to how good this division has been this year. A lot of respect for both of those teams, but I have even more respect for my team and confidence in my team, and just the way we make it about us is special to me. I think every week obviously no matter how many times we've played them we're trying to find new ways to attack them and ways to get after them. At the same time, I think our team does a great job making it about us every day."

The Seahawks and Rams seemed destined for this third meeting not just because they won a lot of games, but because of how they won them, with the Seahawks having the league's best point differential at plus-191, while the Rams were second at plus-172. They were both also two of the more complete teams in the league, with the Seahawks allowing the fewest points in the league while scoring the third most, while the Rams led the league in scoring while allowing the 10th fewest points.

Based on DVOA (defense-adjusted value over opponent), an advanced statistic that evaluates teams' efficiency, the Seahawks were the No. 1 team in the league while the Rams ranked second. And it isn't just that the Seahawks and Rams were good this year, they are, by DVOA standards, in historic company, with the Seahawks ranking seventh among all teams since 1978, and the Rams checking in at ninth.

And of course, the games between the two teams also indicated that neither was going was going to run away with the division, nor would either have an easy path to the Super Bowl. In Week 11, the Rams took control of the game thanks to four interceptions, but the Seahawks clawed back into the game and had a chance at a game-winning field goal, but Jason Myers' 61-yard attempt missed. Five weeks later, the Seahawks overcame a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to win in overtime.

"In the playoffs you're going to play the best teams," tight end AJ Barner said. "I would think we were the two best teams in the NFC throughout the regular season, so it was only a matter of time before we faced them again."

Added quarterback Sam Darnold, "They're a really good team. Obviously it's the NFC Championship, so two best teams in the NFC going at it. It's a really good opportunity to just play good football, have that kind of next-opponent, next-game mentality. We know the stakes. Like I said last week, it's win-or-go-home at this point. We look at it as another game. We trust our process throughout the week and go about it that way."