Nat Coombs' NFL Conference Championship Tips Including Rams @ Seahawks

What a weekend we have in store as we will discover which two teams will contest Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on February 8.

For the other two teams, a season of hope will end in disappointment, but who will advance from this weekend's Conference Championship games?

TalkSPORT presenter and FIVE TV pundit Nat Coombs is once again sharing three more tips for this weekend's contests, using the latest odds from BetMGM.

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Nat Coombs' NFL Conference Championship Tips:

• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 1: Patriots @ Broncos: Broncos (+4.5) - 10/11 With BetMGM
• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 2: Rams @ Seahawks: Rams (+2.5) - 10/11 With BetMGM
• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 3: Rams @ Seahawks: Davante Adams Anytime Touchdown Scorer - 27/20 With BetMGM

Patriots @ Broncos: Denver To Keep It Close

The desperately sad injury sustained by Bo Nix in Denver Broncos' divisional round overtime win over the Buffalo Bills - a defeat which cost Sean McDermott his job - has opened the door for an unlikely hero, former Patriot quarterback Jarrett Stidham. 

In some people's eyes, Nix's injury also ends Denver’s Super Bowl chances, with the number one seeds falling to rank outsiders in the outright odds. However, the drop off to QB2 is perhaps not as severe as it first appears for the Broncos. 

Stidham has been part of the Denver organisation for several years, so he knows the offense and he’s familiar with the architecture of a Sean Payton designed gameplan, and he has connection and familiarity with his team-mates.

GAME STATS:

Patriots offense ranked #2 with 28.8 points scored per game
Broncos defense ranked #3 with 18.3 points conceded per game

When it comes to quarterbacks, Payton doesn’t mess around. 

There were vocal critics aplenty when Denver drafted Nix in the first round in 2024, but sharper observers pointed out the need for context and an understanding of the environment. 

Nix works in Denver, in a way he may not elsewhere. The offensive gameplan plays to his strengths and minimises his weaknesses, leaning on rhythm and run-pass options (RPOs). 

Stidham should be able to replicate this delivery reasonably well, it’s whether he has some of the fourth quarter flair and ability to drop a deep ball that Nix has demonstrated several times this year. 

But with all the obvious focus on Nix and Stidham, let’s not forget this Broncos side is built around its defense.

Broncos @ Patriots Game Odds:

Denver's ferocious front squaring off against a New England Patriots offensive line that’s been having issues recently, is where this game will be won and lost. 

If Nik Bonitto and co can pressure Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, harass and hit him out of sync, it will be a long day for the home side's offense – especially if their ground game isn’t in flow state against one of the sturdiest run defenses in the league. 

Plus, this is unequivocally the biggest game of Drake Maye’s young career in a volatile atmosphere. 

All this will limit the scale of challenge in front of Stidham and the Denver offense and I like them to keep it close. 

Nat's Selection 1: Patriots @ Broncos: Broncos (+4.5) - 10/11 With BetMGM

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Rams @ Seahawks: Adams To Help LA Cover

The last time these two met, the Seattle Seahawks edged a thriller 38-37 in one of the games of the season, which helped cement their path to the number one seed. 

It also squared the series between these two this season, with Los Angeles winning the first meeting in November. 

So, this is the rubber match for all the chips, with a place in the Super Bowl on the line. 

In the Week 16 shoot out, the Rams were without wide receiver Davante Adams, meaning his tag-team partner, the extraordinary Puka Nacua had to put in a performance for the ages. 

Adams is back and re-establishes one of the most potent passing attacks in the NFL, one that’s underpinned by an extremely efficient ground game led by running back Kyren Williams that pushed a stout Seahawks front to its worst rushing success rate of the season last time out.

Regular Season Meetings 2025:

Seattle’s defense has been superb, with flowers due to British defensive co-ordinator Aden Durde, who’s going under too many radars as a potential candidate for head coaching roles. 

However, the Rams are built effectively to match up against them, and conversely, the LA defense poses problems for Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. 

Darnold has had another excellent season – to build on his rehabilitation last year with the Minnesota Vikings, who crashed and burned in the play-offs. 

He’s avoided that so far, but he’s not had much to do thanks to a Wild Card bye, followed by an understated shift against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend as Seattle cantered to a win that put very little pressure on him to deliver. 

Pressure is the key in this game. If the Rams defensive front can rattle Darnold - and they may be without starting blindside tackle Charles Cross - picks will almost certainly follow.

GAME STATS:

Rams offense ranked #1 with 30.5 points scored per game
Seahawks defense ranked #1 with 17.2 points conceded per game

Darnold ranks 30th in the league this year in interception rate, and Rams defensive co-ordinator Chris Shula will be looking to put him in situations where he delivers a few more interceptions. 

Homefield advantage and the ferocious intensity brought by Seattle's famous '12th Man' can’t be discounted here. However, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is as wily and experienced as they come. 

Road fatigue for Los Angeles may factor a little, but I’ve been big on the Rams for much of the season, as listeners to my podcast will attest.

As the great Leo McGarry would say “I’m dancing with the one that brung me” and I'm taking the Rams to make the Super Bowl with a little help from Adams on betting apps. 

Nat's Selection 2: Rams @ Seahawks: Rams (+2.5) - 10/11 With BetMGM

Nat's Selection 3: Rams @ Seahawks: Davante Adams Anytime Touchdown Scorer - 27/20 With BetMGM

Nat's Conference Championship treble pays out around 6/1 With BetMGM.

Which bet do you like in the NFL this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.