The LA Rams have a knack for shattering Super Bowl dreams. They crushed the Panthers’ and Bears’ hopes already this season. Matthew Stafford and the offense pulled through after the tough divisional game, but now the Rams’ defensive backs are stepping up, with fire in their eyes, daring Sam Darnold to try those same flashy plays again.

“Usually, you hope a guy doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” Kam Kinchens said of Darnold. “In my case, I’m hoping he makes the same mistake twice, because that’s more picks for me.”

The Rams and Seahawks have already clashed twice this regular season, and hold a 1-1 record. In Week 16, Seattle edged out a thrilling overtime win. But back in Week 11, the Rams dominated at home. That Week 11 victory was special for Kam, who snagged two of his six career interceptions against the Seahawks.

In the first quarter, with Seattle backed up to their own 8-yard line, Darnold scanned the field for an open target. He fired a deep shot toward Cooper Kupp. But Kinchens exploded into the picture, snatching the ball out of the air and sprinting toward the end zone for what was almost a pick-six. What makes it interesting is that Kinchens has a history with the Seahawks that goes back further.

Even in his rookie season, he lit them up during both regular-season meetings. He racked up four interceptions that year, with two coming against Seattle. No surprise, then, that the Seahawks feel like a lucky charm for him. The DB said they’re his favorite team.

“Yes,” Kinchens said, “Because they like to test the secondary. They have good receivers and Sam Darnold wants to throw the ball down the field and push it down the field. That’s a lot of opportunities, and I love when I get to show people my receiver skills.”

Another Rams defensive back, Kobie Turner, is just as pumped to face Darnold again. Over his three seasons with the Rams, Turner has piled up 167 tackles. But his first career interception? That milestone came against Darnold himself, right in that Week 16 heartbreaker.

“It was like time almost stopped,” Turner recalled Thursday. “It was a perfect spiral. It was beautiful.”

With all this backstory, the stakes couldn’t be higher for this NFC Championship Game. It’s shaping up to be an epic battle between the two best teams left standing (the Rams with the league’s top-ranked offense, and the Seahawks boasting the No. 1 defense). Head coach Sean McVay knows it, and he’s got a pointed message to fire up the locker room before they step into the spotlight.

Sean McVay says, “We can’t beat ourselves,” before the NFC championship

A win here means everything for the Rams and McVay. It would send McVay to his third Super Bowl with the franchise, a feat no other Rams coach has ever achieved. Yet McVay is keeping his team grounded, urging them to ignore the pressure and lock in on the task at hand.

“We can’t beat ourselves before we even try to attempt to do what we’re capable of doing and what we want to try to do against a phenomenal defense,” said McVay during a press conference. “Let’s make sure we take care of our own house. We can’t afford to make the mistakes we made last week if we expect to try to be able to advance against this outfit.

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“After the ball is snapped, let’s strain, let’s understand how good these guys are, and let’s do a great job of just fighting our ass off through the cycle of the snap because that’s what’s gonna be required.”

The Rams are grappling with some glaring issues right now that could derail their run. Their pass protection has sprung leaks, leaving Stafford under constant fire. Stafford’s completion percentage has tumbled game by game. It sat above 60% in the regular-season finale against the Cardinals. But against the Bears, the QB couldn’t even complete 50% of his passes.

To be fair, chilly conditions and Stafford’s injured finger on his throwing hand played a role. The 37-year-old gunslinger battled through pain just to stay in the game. Still, those self-inflicted errors have no business showing up in a championship showdown. That’s exactly what McVay is driving home, loud and clear, even if he wraps it in coach-speak.