Seahawks stay motivated for season finale, while Rams plan to rest some starters before the playoffs

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — If the Seattle Seahawks had secured one more victory or the Los Angeles Rams had dropped one more close game down the stretch, the NFC West rivals' meeting on Sunday could have been a one-game showdown for the division title and a playoff berth.

Instead, the Seahawks (9-7) are playing out the string in their first back-to-back non-playoff seasons in 15 years, while the primary concern for the Rams (10-6) is staying healthy for the postseason.

Matthew Stafford won't be in uniform and many additional starters probably won't play much for division champion Los Angeles in what's merely a tuneup for its wild-card round home game next week. The Rams have won five straight games, and they are headed to the playoffs for the sixth time in eight seasons under coach Sean McVay, who clinched his fourth NFC West title last week through the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker with Seattle.

That means veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be running the show in his first appearance for the Rams.

“I’m always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team,” McVay said. “It might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk-reward, I think it’s a great opportunity for Jimmy to be able to play. I think it’s also an awesome opportunity for Matthew to be able to get rested, rejuvenated and ready to roll for the playoffs.”

The Rams have won three straight and 11 of their last 15 over Seattle, which fell out of the playoff race when Washington's victory over Atlanta last Sunday clinched the division for the Rams.

Although their organization's controversial decision to fire perennial winner Pete Carroll didn't immediately send them back into Super Bowl contention, the current Seahawks made it clear they aren’t planning to take their foot off the gas.

“The focus is on really closing the year out the right way and starting (2025) the right way, too,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “So it’s not what we wanted to be at stake, but it is what it is, and we’re gonna make the most of it.”

The Seahawks echoed Macdonald’s sentiments that although the season didn’t end the way they wanted, there is still plenty on the line in Week 18. After finishing 9-8 in each of the past two seasons, the Seahawks could reach the 10-win mark for the first time since 2020, and there are several individual statistical milestones within reach, including some big paydays for quarterback Geno Smith.

“You want your guys to hit those numbers,” Macdonald said. “If it’s within your power, you’re going to try to make that come to life and create as many opportunities for those guys as possible, all within the lens of what’s best for the team and trying to win.”

Stafford won't be in uniform, with Stetson Bennett serving as Garoppolo's backup. Right tackle Rob Havenstein will also sit out to rest his shoulder injury, and he won't be alone.

If McVay's history in these games is any guide, the Rams will play their roster from the bottom up, with the best players taking as few snaps as possible, if any.

McVay also might give himself a rest: Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur called the plays in Week 18 last year when backup Carson Wentz beat San Francisco while playing in place of a resting Stafford.

“That might be the approach that we’ll take this week,” McVay said

Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is just five catches away from breaking Tyler Lockett’s single-season receptions franchise record, a fact he says he learned two weeks ago when the Seahawks veteran approached him and told him in the locker room.

“He was like, ‘I think you’re going to break my record. I hope you break my record,'” Smith-Njigba said. “I was like ‘Oh, really?’ A special, special moment.”

While some players are protective of their record, Lockett seems ready to pass the torch to Smith-Njigba. Lockett, who is in his 10th season with the Seahawks after being a third-round pick out of Kansas in 2015, set the franchise record with 100 catches back in 2020.

“That speaks volumes,” Smith-Njigba said. “That’s just the type of guy he is. He’s going to move the bar really high and help you get there. That means everything to me. And one day, you know, I’ll be doing the same because of the culture that he has built in this building.”

Smith-Njigba also has an outside shot at the 183 yards he would need to break DK Metcalf's single-season team record for yards receiving.

Lockett's record could be broken in what might be his final game with Seattle. After restructuring his contract last year to lower his 2024 cap hit, Lockett’s cap number next season is $30.8 million, making him a logical candidate for departure.

AP freelancer Shane Lantz in Seattle contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) reacts after a defensive stop during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs with the ball as Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens (36) and defensive end Jacob Martin (55) try to stop him during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay reacts after a defensive stop during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)