EARTH CITY, Mo. — If there is one nearly sure thing in the NFL, it is the St. Louis Rams playing in Seattle to end the regular season.

It is as if the league schedule-makers automatically write that one in when they sit down to begin fashioning the slate each year.

On Sunday in Seattle, the Rams will play the Seahawks to conclude the season for the third consecutive year and for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

Said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, “It’s a great place to play. It’s a hard place to play. They have tremendous home-field advantage as everybody knows. We’ll have to go up there and play good football. Not turn it over. They have a lot to play for there. There’s a lot at stake. It’s going to be an exciting game.”

With a victory, the Seahawks would win the NFC West and likely gain home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

“I don’t remember what they were playing for last year, but I know they’ve got things at stake this year,” Fisher said. “They’re playing real good. I mean, 596 yards against the Arizona defense at Arizona says a lot for an offense. Not to mention they have the best defense in the National Football League. We’re going to have to play well.”

The Rams played well on Oct. 19 when they defeated Seattle 28-26 to drop the Seahawks’ record to 3-3. Since then, Seattle is 8-1.

Two days before the teams’ meeting in St. Louis, the Seahawks traded wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets. In addition, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was on the sideline with an injury and safety Kam Chancellor was playing but was slowed by a hip injury.

Wagner is back, Chancellor is healthy, and in the past five games — all been victories — Seattle allowed a total of 33 points.

“They’re just shutting people down,” Fisher said. “I think they have not given up many touchdowns, holding people to field goals, not giving up a lot of points.

“They did a really nice job both times against the 49ers, but when you get these guys (Wagner and Chancellor) back, basically what happens is they eliminate run after catch. They’re excellent open-field tacklers. If you’re fortunate to complete a pass, boom, the run-after-catch things just don’t happen. You’re going to have to carry balance into a game, which is hard to do because they’re an outstanding run defense.”

Added Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, “They do a great job of penetrating. They control the line of scrimmage. That’s when they’re at their best, when they can control the line of scrimmage. Are they doing anything different? Not at all. They’re just really executing and playing really, really well.”

The Rams’ disappointing loss to the New York Giants on Sunday left St. Louis with a 6-9 record and needing a win to match its win total from each of the first two years of Fisher’s tenure.

The obvious goal is to eliminate mistakes in a hostile environment, and even that might not be enough to win.

“We want to play good football,” Fisher said. “That’s what we want to do. We want to go into the offseason having finished up playing good football. (The players) know that, and they understand the challenge. We’ve got (a few) days to really focus and prepare ourselves and go up and play good ball.”

Quarterback Shaun Hill summed up the team’s approach, especially given the notion that Seattle is the only team in the game with something to play for.

“It’s important every time you have a chance to compete to go and play well, to give it everything you have,” Hill said. “Personally, I don’t buy into that they have more on the line than we have. It’s an opportunity to go out and compete and win a football game in the NFL.

“I like to just kind of sit back and reflect on what this game means to me and everything that it’s done for me in my life that I never would have guessed or even dreamed about. And if that means anything to you, then you’re going to strap them up and you’re going to play as hard as you can on Sunday. That’s my mentality, and that’s the mentality of the guys in this room.”

–The Rams have been assessed 117 penalties (fourth most in the league) for a league-high 1,094 yards. That could make for a flag-filled game Sunday, considering the Seahawks have been penalized the most times in the league with 128 for 989 yards, which is fifth most. It is also worth noting that 11-4 Denver is tied for the second-most penalties (119) and yards (1,029), while 12-3 New England has the fifth-most penalties (115) for the fourth-most yards (1,025).