Grey Zabel got a crash course in the NFL’s nastiest new rivalry as a rookie. Now he can’t stop talking about it.
The Seattle Seahawks guard sat down on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast and broke down what it was like squaring off with the Los Angeles Rams three times during Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning 2025 season, including a heavyweight NFC Championship Game that sent the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl in 11 years.
“I hate the Rams, but I love the Rams because it is mano a mano, best on best,” Zabel said on the podcast.
He wasn’t exaggerating about the closeness of it. Seattle and Los Angeles played three of the most talked-about games of the entire NFL season, and none of them were decided by more than a possession.
Three Games, Combined Margin of Seven Points
The Rams struck first. Los Angeles beat Seattle 21-19 in Week 11, with Sam Darnold throwing four interceptions in the loss, according to SI.com. That win pushed the Rams to the top of the NFC West and, for a stretch, the entire conference.
Seattle answered five weeks later in one of the wildest games of the year. Trailing by 16 points with under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Seahawks scored twice with two-point conversions to force overtime, then won it 38-37 when Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the tying score before hitting tight end Eric Saubert for the game-winning two-pointer, per NFL.com. It marked the largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history and, according to ESPN Research cited by SI.com, made Seattle the first team in NFL history to win an overtime game on a two-point conversion.
Then came the rubber match. Seattle and Los Angeles met a third time in the NFC Championship Game on January 25, 2026, at Lumen Field, with a Super Bowl trip on the line. The Seahawks won 31-27, as Darnold threw for three touchdowns and Seattle’s defense delivered a fourth-down stop late to seal it, according to ESPN.
| Matchup | Result | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Week 11 (at LA) | Rams 21, Seahawks 19 | 2 |
| Week 16 (at Seattle, OT) | Seahawks 38, Rams 37 | 1 |
| NFC Championship (at Seattle) | Seahawks 31, Rams 27 | 4 |
Zabel, Seattle’s 2025 first-round pick out of North Dakota State, played all three. He described each game as its own animal.
“Just talk about a clash of three completely different games,” Zabel said. “We didn’t play well the first game and then the second game it was kind of a slow start and then we got hot late in the game and then the third game we kind of got hot earlier in the game and then we really couldn’t separate ourselves and it was just kind of a heavyweight boxing match in the end in that NFC Championship. It was unbelievable.”
The Kobie Turner Problem
No opponent gave Zabel more trouble than Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner, and the rookie guard didn’t try to hide it.
“Kobie Turner is like my kryptonite right now in the game of football,” Zabel said. “I don’t know what it is. He’s just got my number. He just works me every single game.”
Turner’s night in the NFC Championship Game ended early. The Rams defensive end left the game in the third quarter after what was initially diagnosed as cramping, though Turner later told reporters it turned out to be more serious. “We thought it was a cramp at first,” Turner said, according to SI.com. “Cramp wasn’t breaking, came back out, got the whole IV bag, got fluids in me… I tried to push off, and I couldn’t push off, so we think it’s more of a strain.”
Zabel made a point of finding Turner once the final whistle blew on Seattle’s Super Bowl run.
“It’s so cool cause, like I said, as much as you want to hate the Rams, they’re all really good dudes across the board,” Zabel said. “And like, Kobie for an instance, he’s out there and he just smiles. He just plays the game for the love of the game. No question about it. And it was a sad deal cause he got a little banged up and he couldn’t finish that NFC Championship Game. So the moment after the game was done, I just went and talked to him, and talked how awesome he was and what a great game it was and how fun it is competing against him.”
What’s Next
Seattle went on to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, giving the franchise its second title and first since the 2013 season under Pete Carroll. Zabel and the Seahawks now enter 2026 as defending champions, with the Rams — and Turner, assuming Los Angeles keeps him — still standing across the NFC West.
Both teams are locked into at least two more meetings in 2026, and if the last three are any indication, the NFC’s newest blood feud isn’t cooling off anytime soon.
“Fortunately for Zabel — and the fans — plenty more fun is on the schedule as the Seahawks and Rams figure to be contenders again in 2026 when they lock up at least two more times,” a point echoed across coverage of the rivalry, including Ramblin’ Fan, which noted the two sides are ticketed to meet at least twice more this season.
