Leonard Williams did not sound like a player ready to move on from the Seattle Seahawks’ 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. After the game at SoFi Stadium, the Pro Bowl defensive lineman made it clear he wants another shot at Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, telling Gregg Bell of the News Tribune that he’s “looking forward to seeing them again.”
In a video Bell posted from the locker room, Williams opened by praising the way Seattle battled in a game that came down to Jason Myers’ missed 61-yard field goal in the final seconds.
“I think overall our team just did a good job of fighting to the end,” Williams told Bell. “It obviously came down to the field goal at the end. I think we had great red zone defense… Overall we just kept attacking. I have to watch more film to see how it went.”
The Rams escaped with the win, but Williams’ tone suggested Seattle views this as far from a finished story in the NFC West race.
Leonard Williams Criticizes Run Defense, Says Seahawks ‘Didn’t Do Enough’
Williams didn’t sugarcoat why the Seahawks walked out of SoFi with a loss instead of a statement road win in the division. Asked if the defensive performance was good enough, the veteran immediately shot that down.
“No, because if it did we would have walked away with the win,” Williams said, via Bell. “Overall, we wanted to affect the quarterback more. I think to do that, we have to stop the run. I don’t think we did a good enough job stopping the run, especially in the first half.”
Los Angeles running back Kyren Williams ripped off multiple chunk gains and finished with more than 90 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Rams built an early lead.
Williams added that Seattle adjusted after halftime.
“I think we came out in the second half and did a better job of stopping the run,” Williams told Bell. “Once we start affecting Matt (Stafford) that will help us. We didn’t do a good enough job of doing that today.”
Even with Sam Darnold throwing four interceptions, the defense nearly bailed Seattle out by tightening in the red zone and forcing the Rams to work for all three of their touchdowns.
‘Looking Forward to Seeing Them Again’: Williams Points to Rams Rematch
For Williams, the focus quickly shifted from the disappointment of Sunday to a potential revenge opportunity later this season. The Seahawks and Rams are scheduled to meet again on December 18 at Lumen Field in a matchup that could again carry NFC West implications.
“I just know that I look forward to seeing them again,” Williams told Bell.
In the background of Bell’s video, another Seahawks defender could be heard backing Williams up with an emphatic, NSFW endorsement: “Type s—, all that. All of that. What he said. All of that.”
That off-camera hype underscored the mood in Seattle’s locker room, frustration over a missed opportunity, but also confidence that the Seahawks can flip the script when the Rams visit the Pacific Northwest.
With the loss dropping Seattle to 7-3 and pushing the Rams to 8-2 and first place in the NFC West, Williams’ comments read like an early warning that the Seahawks expect the rematch to be different.
What Williams’ Comments Mean for the Seahawks
Williams has been singled out as a defensive MVP-type presence for Seattle this season, and his public challenge to the front seven sends a clear message: if the Seahawks want to reclaim control of the NFC West, it starts with shutting down the Rams’ run game and getting Stafford on the ground.
The Seahawks will have little time to dwell on the loss with a road trip to the Tennessee Titans up next, but Williams has already circled another date: the Rams’ visit to Lumen Field. If Seattle’s defense plays to the standard he laid out with Bell, that second meeting could look and feel a lot different than Sunday’s narrow, painful defeat.
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