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Alden Gonzalez ESPN Staff Writer
SEATTLE -- The Los Angeles Rams were a broken team on Dec. 15, 2016, the last time they played in Seattle. They were without a head coach and without direction, their season fading to black with uncertainty surrounding both their quarterback and their future.
Sunday, 367 days after an uninspiring defeat from CenturyLink Field on national television, marked the unofficial completion of the Rams' breathtaking turnaround. Amid gray skies and waning interest, they slayed the mighty Seattle Seahawks with a 42-7 dismantling and all but wrapped up a division title along the way.
Todd Gurley II scored four touchdowns and Aaron Donald recorded three of seven sacks on elusive Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who was brought down more often in a single game than he had been all season. The Rams are 10-4 now, an eternity removed from the 10 straight losing seasons they carried into 2017. They lead the Seahawks by two games in the NFC West with only two games remaining, their chances of at least hosting one playoff game now probable.
Through 14 weeks, the Rams were undoubtedly the best team in their division.
On the 15th week, they needed only the first two quarters to prove that definitively.
Before halftime, Gurley rushed for 144 yards -- the most by any player in the first half this season -- and Donald recorded six pressures. Thanks to their defense, which held the Seahawks to 59 yards on their first 27 plays, and Pharoh Cooper, who picked up 109 yards on his first four punt returns, the Rams began five first-half drives within enemy territory and went into the locker room with a 34-0 lead.
The Rams started the game by forcing an opening-drive turnover for the seventh time this season, using a Tanner McEvoy fumble to set up a field goal. A Seahawks three-and-out led to a second field goal by Greg Zuerlein, who is on pace for a scoring record.
Cooper returned Seattle's second punt 53 yards to the 1-yard line, paving the way for an easy touchdown run by Gurley. Cooper returned another one 26 yards, sparking a five-play, 36-yard drive that ended in another one-yard run by Gurley.
The Seahawks finally reached Rams territory at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter. But Wilson lost 13 yards on the ensuing play and fumbled the football, setting up another touchdown drive, this one ending in a 1-yard pass from Jared Goff to Robert Woods, who had missed the previous three games with a sprained left shoulder.
After the Seahawks punted for the fifth time of the first half, Gurley sealed it. He took a handoff to the left and zipped past the entire Seahawks defense, sprinting 57 yards untouched for the 16th of his NFL-leading 17 touchdowns this season.
Gurley recorded the first four-touchdown game in the NFL since 2015 with a 14-yard reception in the flat with more than 19 minutes remaining.
By the final seconds of the third quarter, CenturyLink Field -- a house of horrors for many an NFL team this decade -- was half full and stunningly quiet. By the fourth, the Rams had pulled most of their starters from a game that had quickly become more contentious than competitive.
The Seahawks have made five consecutive trips to the playoffs and have won the NFC West three out of the last four seasons. But the Rams can now clinch a division title with their next win or Seahawks loss. The Rams were 4-12 in 2016 and last in every important offensive category in what became Jeff Fisher's final year as their head coach. But now they lead the NFL in point differential and sit as the No. 3 seed in their conference.
It took one year for the NFC West to flip on its head.
http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/36912/rams-annihilate-seahawks-take-control-of-nfc-west
SEATTLE -- The Los Angeles Rams were a broken team on Dec. 15, 2016, the last time they played in Seattle. They were without a head coach and without direction, their season fading to black with uncertainty surrounding both their quarterback and their future.
Sunday, 367 days after an uninspiring defeat from CenturyLink Field on national television, marked the unofficial completion of the Rams' breathtaking turnaround. Amid gray skies and waning interest, they slayed the mighty Seattle Seahawks with a 42-7 dismantling and all but wrapped up a division title along the way.
Todd Gurley II scored four touchdowns and Aaron Donald recorded three of seven sacks on elusive Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who was brought down more often in a single game than he had been all season. The Rams are 10-4 now, an eternity removed from the 10 straight losing seasons they carried into 2017. They lead the Seahawks by two games in the NFC West with only two games remaining, their chances of at least hosting one playoff game now probable.
Through 14 weeks, the Rams were undoubtedly the best team in their division.
On the 15th week, they needed only the first two quarters to prove that definitively.
Before halftime, Gurley rushed for 144 yards -- the most by any player in the first half this season -- and Donald recorded six pressures. Thanks to their defense, which held the Seahawks to 59 yards on their first 27 plays, and Pharoh Cooper, who picked up 109 yards on his first four punt returns, the Rams began five first-half drives within enemy territory and went into the locker room with a 34-0 lead.
The Rams started the game by forcing an opening-drive turnover for the seventh time this season, using a Tanner McEvoy fumble to set up a field goal. A Seahawks three-and-out led to a second field goal by Greg Zuerlein, who is on pace for a scoring record.
Cooper returned Seattle's second punt 53 yards to the 1-yard line, paving the way for an easy touchdown run by Gurley. Cooper returned another one 26 yards, sparking a five-play, 36-yard drive that ended in another one-yard run by Gurley.
The Seahawks finally reached Rams territory at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter. But Wilson lost 13 yards on the ensuing play and fumbled the football, setting up another touchdown drive, this one ending in a 1-yard pass from Jared Goff to Robert Woods, who had missed the previous three games with a sprained left shoulder.
After the Seahawks punted for the fifth time of the first half, Gurley sealed it. He took a handoff to the left and zipped past the entire Seahawks defense, sprinting 57 yards untouched for the 16th of his NFL-leading 17 touchdowns this season.
Gurley recorded the first four-touchdown game in the NFL since 2015 with a 14-yard reception in the flat with more than 19 minutes remaining.
By the final seconds of the third quarter, CenturyLink Field -- a house of horrors for many an NFL team this decade -- was half full and stunningly quiet. By the fourth, the Rams had pulled most of their starters from a game that had quickly become more contentious than competitive.
The Seahawks have made five consecutive trips to the playoffs and have won the NFC West three out of the last four seasons. But the Rams can now clinch a division title with their next win or Seahawks loss. The Rams were 4-12 in 2016 and last in every important offensive category in what became Jeff Fisher's final year as their head coach. But now they lead the NFL in point differential and sit as the No. 3 seed in their conference.
It took one year for the NFC West to flip on its head.
http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/36912/rams-annihilate-seahawks-take-control-of-nfc-west
