The Seattle Seahawks (15-3 straight up, 13-5 against the spread) will host the Los Angeles Rams (14-5 SU, 12-7 ATS) in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, but they’ll be without RB Zach Charbonnet after he sustained a torn ACL in a 41-6 home win over San Francisco on Saturday.
“It breaks your heart,” Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said. “He’s going to need surgery. So, he has … got a good long road to come back. Our heart goes out to him. Prayers go out to Charbs. We love him, man.”
In 16 regular-season games this year, Charbonnet had 730 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns and a 4.0 yards-per-carry average. He added 20 catches for 144 receiving yards on 24 targets.
The UCLA product was limited to 20 rushing yards on five carries against the 49ers. Without Charbonnet, Seattle RB Kenneth Walker stepped up for 116 rushing yards and three TDs on 19 attempts.
Walker played in all 17 regular-season contests, rushing for 1,027 yards and five TDs with a 4.6 YPC average. He had 31 receptions for 282 receiving yards.
Seattle is 7-2 SU and 5-4 ATS in nine home games, while the Rams are 7-4 SU and 6-5 ATS in 11 road assignments. When these teams met at Seattle on Dec. 18, the Seahawks won a 38-37 thriller in overtime as 1.5-point home favorites. The 75 combined points soared ‘over’ the 41.5-point total.
Walker had 100 rushing yards and one TD on 11 attempts, while Charbonnet had 32 rushing yards and one TD on nine carries.
When these teams squared off in L.A. on Nov. 16, the Rams won a 21-19 decision as three-point home ‘chalk’ with the 40 combined points staying ‘under’ the 48.5-point tally. Walker had 67 rushing yards and one TD on 16 totes, and Charbonnet finished with 37 rushing yards on 11 carries.
The Rams advanced to the NFC Championship Game thanks to last night’s 20-17 overtime win at Chicago as 3.5-point road favorites.
As of early Monday afternoon, most books had Seattle installed as a 2.5-point favorite with a total of 47. The Rams are in the +120 to +135 range to win outright.