Leonard Williams: Seahawks find “a little extra motivation” in not being favored to win the NFC West

The defending Super Bowl champions aren’t the betting favorites to repeat — either as NFL champions or as division winners. That distinction has gone to the Rams.

“I think I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little extra motivation from hearing that type of stuff,” Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams told reporters on Thursday. “There’s extra chips on our shoulder. We just came off of a Super Bowl winning season. People are still giving other people favorites over us. But at the same time, like I said, it’s always about us, it’s about our process. I think that is still adding fuel to the fire for guys. At the same time we’re going to stick to our process regardless of what other people outside may think.”

Currently, the Rams are +100 favorites to win the NFC West. The Seahawks’ odds are +205.

The Rams are also favored to win the Super Bowl, at +550. The Bills and Ravens have +1000 odds, with the Seahawks at +1100.

That’s a good development for the Seahawks. It avoids complacency, and it gives the Seahawks a useful kick in the butt as they try to climb the mountain for a second straight season.