The stage is set. The Rams' No. 1 offense will travel to Seattle to take on the No. 1 defense on Sunday with a trip to Super Bowl LX granted to the victor. In their two regular season matchups, these teams were separated by one point and one total yard of total offense. The NFC West foes are about as evenly matched as two teams can possibly be.

Ahead of the NFC Championship Game, Rams head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Davante Adams spoke with local media about the matchup. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.

"We can't beat ourselves. Before we even try to attempt to do what we're capable of doing and what we want to try to do against a phenomenal defense, let's make sure we take care of our own house, we do the things that are necessary in terms of our overall operation and being able to handle the things that we didn't do as good a job of... Those are all things that we can fix and we can't afford to make those same mistakes that we made last week." - McVay

McVay said the Rams need to "understand how good" Seattle is as a team, and players will need to strain and fight through every whistle. The team is going to spend their "physical, emotional, and mental energy" on the things they can control, which include their effort, execution and understanding of the game plan. After a disappointing offensive output in Chicago, both McVay and Stafford acknowledged their shortcomings after the game, something that they do often and which has furthered their relationships with each other and others. "I think any great leader that I've ever been around, and Matthew is a perfect illustration of that, there's extreme ownership and there's accountability," McVay said.

This is McVay's third NFC Championship in nine seasons with the Rams, and what he remembers most about the previous two is the enjoyment of players and coaches when they reached the big dance. This time around, he wants to "enjoy the journey" more so than he has in the past. This team has been "strengthened through our scars," McVay said, and he's proud of this group for fighting through games the way they have.

The 12th man (Seattle's fan base) will be loud on Sunday, and McVay knows that will bring challenges. The Rams had some trouble communicating assignments last week at Soldier Field, and there were some instances where the number of layers on the play calls caused miscommunications, he said. That's something they are planning to work on ahead of Sunday's game. "We can't afford to have some of those things," McVay said. "And that's where we as coaches have to make sure, are we providing the opportunity for our guys to go play fast, free and physical, but also not just running wasted plays?"

"I think (Seattle's defense has) great personnel when you look at it top to bottom, they've got depth, they've got quote-unquote star power, guys that are really huge difference-makers within games, and I think they're really well-coached. The more time you get into a system, obviously, the better you can be and those guys are doing a hell of a job." - Stafford

Stafford shouted out his former teammate, inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV, saying he is "playing at an all-time level and playing great in the middle, so he's kind of running the show for those guys." But they are "well-rounded" across the entire defense.

Seattle likes to play a lot of small groupings like nickel because their players' versatility means they can defend both the run and the pass out of that defense. Stafford said he views those smaller groupings for Seattle differently than he would for other teams as a result. "It is a little bit different in the fact that they feel like they can create different front and coverage structure issues with their grouping where a lot of teams if you're getting nickel defense you're just getting their nickel pass fronts or some of those things," he said.

Stafford recalled some fond memories from Seattle over the past few years, including his first game at Lumen Field and last year's walk-off touchdown in overtime to Demarcus Robinson. He's hoping to make another one on Sunday against "a fast, aggressive defense."

"(The Super Bowl) feels almost like this mythical thing to me at this point. You do everything that you can to get there and it's been so hard and I've been working so hard at it. We're close, we just got to finish it off." - Adams

This is will be Adams' fifth career NFC Championship appearance, but he's yet to reach a Super Bowl. Thus, Adams told his teammates that they'd have to forgive him if he's "not smiling ear-to-ear" after wins in the wild-card and divisional rounds. Still, that experience has shaped his perspective, taught him what it takes to reach the mountain top and given him a greater appreciation for his current situation.

Adams said the coaching staff has done a good job of keeping players focused on the task at hand and not thinking too hard about the rewards that could follow. He thinks back to some advice that his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, gave him: "We don't need any herculean efforts," because football is a team sport and trying to be "Superman" rather than play your role won't help.

Adams missed the Rams' Week 16 game in Seattle, so his presence will add a new layer to this rematch. He said it "crushed" him not to be out there on that Thursday night to help affect the game, even if it was just to shift the coverage. "That helplessness, that type of feeling is not a good feeling as a receiver," Adams said, "especially one that's been relied on a lot in the past to be able to put things together." Adams will certainly be relied on against the NFL's best defense this Sunday.