9 crazy stats from Rams’ playoff win vs. Seahawks
The Rams did what few people expected them to do on Saturday, going up to Seattle and beating the third-seeded Seahawks at their place. The win punched the Rams’ ticket to the divisional round, where they await their next opponent, the Packers or Bucs.
But before we look ahead to their next matchup, let’s revisit some crazy stats that came out of Saturday’s game – including Cam Akers’ historic day, the Rams’ first turnover-less game and a dominant performance by the defense.
Rams are first team to beat Russell Wilson at home in playoffs
Beating Wilson and the Seahawks in Seattle is always a challenge. It’s near-impossible in the playoffs, but the Rams pulled it off. They’re the first team in six tries to beat the Seahawks on the road in the postseason, a feat five other teams failed to accomplish previously. The Seahawks were only favored by three points, their lowest in a playoff home game, but it still goes as an upset win by the Rams.
Cam Akers had a historic playoff debut
Akers went off on Saturday night with 131 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving in his first ever playoff game. He became the first Rams rookie to rush for at least 100 yards and more impressively, his 176 yards from scrimmage are the second-most ever by a rookie in the Super Bowl era, trailing only Timmy Smith of Washington from Super Bowl XXII. https://twitter.com/NFLResearch/status/1348080849061883907 Akers could not be stopped and he’s a huge reason the Rams were able to beat the Seahawks on Saturday in Seattle.
Darious Williams had Wilson’s number this year
It’s not often that Wilson throws a pick. It’s even rarer that he throws an interception to the same player multiple times in a season. Williams picked him off on Saturday and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, his third interception against Wilson this season. The last player with more than three interceptions against a single quarterback in a season was DeAngelo Hall against the Bears in 2010, with all four of his picks coming in one game. https://twitter.com/NFLResearch/status/1348042180443721743 Williams is also the only player in the NFL to intercept a screen pass this season, and when Wilson targeted him in their three games this year, he had a passer rating of 26.5 with three interceptions and no touchdowns. https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1348042905181708288
Jalen Ramsey held DK Metcalf to three catches on seven targets
Ramsey matched up with Metcalf for most of the game and helped limit the receiver when assigned to him in coverage. Metcalf finished with five catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns, but only three of those receptions for 33 yards came against Ramsey. This season, Ramsey gave up just four catches for 44 yards to Metcalf, a ridiculous stat line against one of the best wideouts in football. https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1348076822035128320
This was Rams’ first game of season without a turnover
It’s hard to believe, but the Rams hadn’t played a single game this season without turning the ball over at least once. This was the first, as they took good care of the football and avoided costly giveaways. The Rams are just the first team since the 2007 Giants to turn it over at least once in every game and make the playoffs. Coincidentally, the Giants also had zero turnovers in their wild-card win to kick off their Super Bowl run.
Jared Goff is fifth QB to come off bench and win in playoffs
It’s rare for a team to replace its starting quarterback and still win the game, but that’s what the Rams did on Saturday against Seattle. John Wolford officially got the start before exiting just 15 plays into the game, which led to Goff replacing him at quarterback. Goff is just the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to come off the bench and win, joining Roger Staubach, Earl Morrall, Billy Volek and Drew Bledsoe, according to Touchdown Wire’s research.
Rams held Seahawks to third-fewest yards in playoff game since 2012
The Seahawks mustered only 278 yards of total offense in this game, which was their third-lowest output in a playoff game with Wilson at quarterback. The only games where they had fewer yards was in 2013 against the Saints and 2015 against the Vikings, both of which they won. The Seahawks have played 16 playoff games with Wilson at quarterback and topped 300 yards 12 times, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday at home. The Rams shut them down in a big way.
Leonard Floyd has more sacks vs. Russell Wilson than all but 26 players had in 2020
Floyd must love playing against Wilson because he racks up the sacks like there’s no tomorrow. He sacked Wilson seven times in their three meetings this season. In the NFL this year, there were only 26 players with more than seven sacks total in the regular season. Yet Floyd reached that number in three games against one single quarterback.
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