Seattle forces five turnovers; defeat Rams 16-10
Despite a last-minute drive from the Rams, the Seahawks (3-2) were able to hold on on the road, defeating the Rams 16-10. Seattle now sits atop the NFC West heading into their bye week.
The game came down to the wire with, Los Angeles (3-2) having a chance to take the lead with less than 20 seconds left in the game. Jared Goff threw a perfect pass down the seam into the endzone, but Cooper Kupp dropped the wide-open touchdown, forcing the Rams into a fourth-down situation. Goff was unable to find an open receiver on fourth down, throwing an incomplete pass at the goal line to end the game.
The Seahawks defense shut down the Goff and Todd Gurley led offense the entire game, only giving up 10 points to one of the best offenses in the NFL this year. Although the Rams gained 375 yards, the Seahawks forced costly turnovers that ended promising Rams drives. Goff finished the game 22/47, throwing for 288 yards and two interceptions.
Earl Thomas was huge in forcing those turnovers, including a forced fumble at the goal line on what would have been a Gurley touchdown. The Rams offense was hitting on all cylinders on their first drive of the game, which almost culminated in the Gurley touchdown had Thomas not forced the fumble. With Thomas forcing the fumble, it seemed it sucked the life out of the Rams’ offense for the rest of the game.
The Rams had five turnovers in the game, including a muffed Tavon Austin punt in the second quarter. Goff threw two interceptions in the second half, both on promising Rams drives. Goff also lost a fumble in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Frank Clark, which was recovered by Sheldon Richardson, who also had an interception. The turnovers were the story of the game, with four of the turnovers coming on promising Rams drives.
One of the concerns entering today’s game was the Seattle run defense, who was the sixth worst run defense in the NFL heading into Week 5. But they slowed down the Los Angeles rushing attack to only 100 total yards. Gurley, who entered the game as the second leading rusher in the NFL, was only able to manage 43 yards on 14 carries.
The Seattle offense reverted back to their early season struggles, with the run game almost nonexistent. Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy split the carries following the loss of Chris Carson, but they were a non-factor. The running backs combined for 39 yards on 17 carries.
With no running game, the offense relied on Russell Wilson once again. Wilson threw for 198 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. But the offensive line did not help Wilson. The Rams were getting consistent pressure, sacking Wilson three times. But even when they did not sack Wilson, they were not letting him sit in the pocket.
Wilson did a great job of distributing the ball to multiple receivers, with eight different Seahawks players recording a reception. Jimmy Graham led the way with six receptions for 37 yards and catching the only Seahawks touchdown of the day.
After missing a field goal last week, Blair Walsh came up clutch for the Seahawks today, hitting all three of his field goals from 48, 49, and 35 yards.
With this victory, the Seahawks now sit atop the NFC West tied with the Rams at 3-2, with the Seahawks currently holding the head-to-head advantage. Although this contest happened Week 5, this game could hold huge playoff implications at the end of the season.
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