Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s historic season meets its toughest test. Can he overcome the Rams' secondary to reach the Super Bowl?
Jaxon-Smith Njigba just had arguably the best season ever by a Seattle Seahawks wide receiver in 2025, and he is due for a breakout game in the playoffs.
Despite having a touchdown, he had just 19 receiving yards in Seattle's dismantling of the 49ers. But he will get perhaps the biggest opportunity of his young career so far on Sunday in the NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams.
In a recent article by Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire, he outlined six matchups that will be very important in the NFC Championship game, and JSN vs. Rams cornerback Cobie Durant will definitely be one of them.
"Smith-Njigba was shut down for most of the game in Week 16 before taking over in the second half and overtime, catching the game-winner with 3 minutes left," DaSilva writes. "Durant is coming off his best game of the year with two interceptions against the Bears, and he’ll try to keep that momentum going in Seattle."
JSN finished the year with a league-leading 1,793 receiving yards on 119 receptions, which was the fourth most in the league. That 1,793 is the most in a season by any Seahawks receiver, and is the eighth most of all time.
Despite the historic season that Smith-Njigba had, he cannot afford to underestimate Durant, who also had a very solid year.
The Rams corner finished 2025 with 40 total tackles, 30 of which were solo. He was also able to show his ball hawking skills with three interceptions.
And that is not even mentioning the three picks that he already has through two games in the playoffs.
But he is not the only member of the Rams' secondary who will be covering JSN, as it will take most of their defense to cover one of the best receivers in football.
"Smith-Njigba is by far the Seahawks’ best offensive weapon and the Rams can’t contain him with just one player. Durant will get help from safeties over the top and Darious Williams and the other corners will get a crack at him Sunday night, too."
The Seahawks have not made it to the Super Bowl since the 2014 season, where they ended up losing in the big game to the New England Patriots after Malcom Butler's interception.
If they want to have another chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy, JSN will need to prove to everyone that he is the cream of the crop when it comes to wide receivers, and he can do that by overcoming the Rams' secondary.