The rivalry earned the respect of Zabel, who reached out to Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner after the loss.
“Kobie Turner is like my kryptonite right now in the game of football,” Zabel said. “Like, I don’t know what it is. He just has my number. He just beats me every single game. But, whoa, it’s so cool because, like I said, as much as you want to hate the Rams, they’re all really good dudes, across the board. And like, Kobie for example, he’s out there and he’s just smiling. He was just playing the game for the sake of it. He got a little bit of a mouthful and he couldn’t finish this NFC Championship game. So, the moment after after the game was over, I just went and talked to him and talked about how great a game he was and how fun it was to compete against him.
Fortunately for Zabel – and the fans – there’s plenty more fun on the schedule as the Seahawks and Rams look to be rivals again in 2026 when they lock up at least two more times.