THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A decade later, Seahawks back to playing in big games

Judgment Day.

OK, something like it, anyhow.

The Seahawks are awash with compliments these days, with the national media swooning over Mike Macdonald’s team and pegging the Hawks somewhere in the NFL’s top five.

There is a catch here, though.

All those same lovely bouquets can like likewise be tossed at the Rams, who are 7-2 (like the Hawks) and tied at the top of the NFC West.

The two powerhouses meet Sunday at SoFi Stadium, and you get the sense that the winner might keep right on flying.

Sam Darnold sizzling at quarterback, you say?

Well, so is Matthew Stafford, who apparently has no intention of aging (he’s 37).

Stafford has already snagged a Super Bowl title since moving west in that QB exchange that sent Jared Goff to Detroit.

This is saying something, now, but Stafford actually seems at the very top of his game as he creeps toward 40, having thrown for 2,427 yards in nine games this season.

Even more eye-opening, Stafford has rung up 25 TDs against just two interceptions.

Excuse me for a second.

But.

Wow!

The Seahawks, meanwhile, are justifiably proud of their receiving corps, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rams alum Cooper Kupp now joined by the human rocket, Rashid Shaheed.

NO NEED to feel sorry for the Rams on that front, however.

Stafford has electric targets himself, led by Puka Nacua and future Hall of Famer Davante Adams.

Wait a second!

Davante Adams?

How did HE get to the Rams?

(To be fair, the guys in L.A. are probably saying the same thing about Shaheed turning up in Seattle.)

There are a handful of legit playoff contenders scattered throughout the NFL this season, but you can make an honest argument that the best of the bunch are in the NFC West.

We’ve got the two sluggers gearing up for this weekend, but hey, the 49ers can beat anyone in the league when they’re healthy.

Now back to the Hawks and Rams, and some fun info courtesy of the NFL:

“Each of these teams also comes in on a heater, winning four in a row — the Seahawks all by eight points or more and the Rams each by 14 points or more.”

These teams are rolling.

Then there’s the strategic side of things.

You’ve probably heard about all the cross-pollination on the coaching staffs, not just currently but also back to the development of the “outside zone” running game and its deadly partner, the play-action pass.

Both teams will look deceptively similar in their approach.

That tells you that it will come down to execution — not just having a slick plan, but also the talent to pull it off.

ALL THE pressure in this showdown feels like it’s on the Seahawks — the new kids near the top of the NFL ladder.

Macdonald has created a fierce, improving team that makes a more eye-catching statement every week.

Coach Mac and his troops, though, are new to this head-to-head stuff between the league’s elite.

Seattle’s Super Bowl history goes back a decade and a half, to a different coach, a nimble quarterback, a Beast Quake hauling the rock and one of the best — and most violent — defenses the NFL has ever seen.

Macdonald is a different sort of guru on that same side of the ball, but he’s already turned a shaky defense into one of the league’s best.

Darnold has the luxury of throwing to JSN, who is on pace to eclipse 2,000 yards and break the single-season record, not to mention the savvy Kupp, rookie Tory Horton and promising young tight ends AJ Barner and Eliah Arroyo.

That all sounds great, but this “Seahawks Reborn” ensemble still hasn’t accomplished anything truly meaningful.

The Rams, meanwhile, have been to the mountaintop.

Coach Sean McVay has steered a team — with Stafford at quarterback — all the way to Super Bowl confetti.

Macdonald has to prove he can manage that.

Darnold has to prove he can be the same gunslinging game manager that has shot up the league in two regular seasons, without veering into a ditch during the postseason.

Are the Seahawks ready for that giant next step?

Let’s see.

Tee it up, fellas.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”