Rams hold off Seahawks, 20-10: Everything we know from LA’s Week 15 win

With a chance to tie the Arizona Cardinals at the top of the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams took full advantage and handled their business against the Seattle Seahawks. They beat their division rivals 20-10 at home on Tuesday night, a game that was postponed two days due to COVID-19.

They did so despite being without three starters who were on the COVID-19 list: Rob Havenstein, Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller.

The game was closer than the final 10-point margin indicates, but the Rams were the better team and showed it at home. Here’s a recap of what happened in Los Angeles’ key win.

Final score: Rams 20, Seahawks 10

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The Rams held on to beat the Seahawks with 10 fourth-quarter points and 17 points in the second half. They were trailing 10-3 at halftime but they shut out Seattle in the final 30 minutes and Matthew Stafford orchestrated three scoring drives to put the Rams ahead.

Game notes

• The Rams caught a big break on their opening drive when Alton Robinson was called for running into the kicker on Johnny Hekker’s punt. That gave the Rams 5 yards and set them up at the 37, allowing Matt Gay to come out and try a 55-yard field goal, which he nailed. It was a three-point penalty on Robinson.

• Cooper Kupp hasn’t missed a beat all year and he continued his remarkable season with another 100-yard performance against the Seahawks. He topped 90 yards for the 10th straight game and also set the Rams record with 120 catches in a season.

• Darrell Henderson Jr. returned to the backfield after not playing an offensive snap in two straight games, but it was still Sony Michel’s backfield. Michel looked fresh and strong running the ball, showing no signs of letting the starting job go.

• The defense was excellent in this one, holding Seattle to only 214 yards and 3-for-11 on third down. Russell Wilson completed 17 of 31 passes for 156 yards, failing to throw a touchdown pass and tossing one interception at the end of the game.

• The offensive line didn’t play particularly well, allowing four sacks and six total hits on Stafford. Bobby Evans really struggled at right tackle, while Andrew Whitworth didn’t have his best game either.

• The Rams benefited greatly from a missed pass interference call on Ernest Jones late in the game, colliding with Deejay Dallas before the ball arrived on a pass that would’ve put the Seahawks in position to score and tie the game.

• Stafford wasn’t perfect, but he made some excellent throws – like his 29-yard touchdown pass to Kupp. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 244 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

It was over when...

… Matt Gay drilled a 35-yard field goal with 1:51 left in the game. The Rams were up 17-10 at the time, taking over on downs after Russell Wilson’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete – a play that should’ve been called defensive pass interference on Ernest Jones.

The Rams turned the ensuing drive into three points, going up by 10 with less than two minutes to play.

3 stars of the game

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

No. 3 star: Aaron Donald – 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL

No. 2 star: Sony Michel – 18 carries 92 yards. 2 catches, 23 yards

No. 1 star: Cooper Kupp – 9 catches, 136 yards, 2 TDs

Play of the game

This was a massive play in the game for the Rams. It was third down and the Rams were trailing by seven points, needing a touchdown to tie. Stafford chucked it deep for Kupp, who came back to the ball and made a great grab for a 32-yard gain.

Michel ripped off a 39-yard run on the next play and Kupp found the end zone for a 6-yard score two plays later to tie things up at 10 apiece.

What's next?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams have a quick turnaround this week after playing on Tuesday. They’ll go from being at home against the Seahawks to visiting the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET. The Vikings are still very much alive in the NFC playoff picture so this is an important game for both teams as the season winds down.

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