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https://www.therams.com/news/overcoming-turnovers-and-injuries-rams-defeat-seahawks-33-31
Overcoming Turnovers and Injuries, Rams Defeat Seahawks 33-31
SEATTLE — Los Angeles faced adversity with injuries and missed opportunities throughout the game, but was still able to come away with a 33-31 victory over Seattle to improve to 5-0 on the season.
L.A. had two chances to put points on the board early in the game, but came away empty on both possessions. With JoJo Natson inactive, safety Blake Countess took back the opening kickoff to the visitors 39. But the offense sputtered to a rare three-and-out.
The defense did its job to force a punt, and linebacker Cory Littleton did what he does best — block a punt. With punter Michael Dickson kicking deep in his own territory, Littleton burst through the left side of the return team and got his hand on the ball. It went five yards to the right, were safety Marqui Christian was there to recover the loose ball. Christian returned it 11 yards to the Seattle 13-yard line.
Though the Rams were able to get down to the Seattle two-yard line, quarterback Jared Goff’s pass to running back Todd Gurley was tipped in the end zone and intercepted by defensive end Frank Clark.
The Seahawks took advantage of the extra possession, going down the field to score a six-yard rushing touchdown from running back Mike Davis.
Down 7-0, L.A. came back to tie the game with a two-yard score from Gurley. On the first play of the series, Goff completed a deep cross off play action to Kupp for 27 yards, getting L.A. in Seattle territory.
But Gurley would do the rest, taking a swing pass 19 yards, and a handoff 16 yards before going into the end zone on a two-yard run. With kicker Cairo Santos’ extra point, L.A. tied the game.
With No. 30’s plunge into the end zone, he became the first player with a touchdown in eight consecutive regular-season games since Jamaal Charles back in 2014.
The Rams would have an opportunity to go up by a touchdown early in the second quarter to cap a long drive. But a shovel pass from Goff to Gurley came up one-yard short on the left side, and Gurley was stuffed on 3rd-and-goal from the one. Los Angeles settled for a Santos 19-yard field goal to go up 10-7.
Seattle came right back, with Wilson connecting with wideout Tyler Lockett on a 39-yard deep pass to go up 14-10. But L.A. got the lead back with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that got down the field in a hurry. Goff completions to Gurley and Kupp advanced the visitors into Seattle territory. Tight end Tyler Higbee then made a strong-awareness catch after a ball over the middle went off of Kupp, as Higbee caught it and ran for 17 yards.
A few plays later, Goff faked to Gurley on the left, rolled to his right and hit Kupp. The wide receiver made a man miss and went into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.
Seattle, however, tied the game at 17 with a 52-yard field goal with 1:55 left in the second quarter. Though Los Angeles made it down to the home team’s 30 on their ensuing two-minute drill, the offense went backwards from there. Goff ended up firing a Hail Mary pass to end the second quarter and was intercepted in the end zone — marking Goff’s first multi-interception game since Week 5 against Seattle in 2017.
Defensive stops were hard to come by early in the second half, as the Seahawks outscored the Rams 14-7 in the third quarter. Seattle scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the half, driving 75 yards in nine plays. Wilson made an off-schedule play to get the ball to wide receiver David Moore in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown.
Los Angeles came back on the ensuing drive to go 64 yards in nine plays, ending with a Gurley two-yard touchdown to tie the game. With wideouts Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp both sidelined by a concussion, wide receivers Josh Reynolds and KhaDarel Hodge had to sub in. Reynolds caught passes for 22 and 17 yards, then took a jet sweep for 10 yards on the possession. With 3rd-and-goal from the Seattle two, Gurley ran it in behind some strong blocking from his offensive line, and the extra point tied the game at 24.
But the topsy-turvy nature of the game continued, with the Seahawks once again taking the lead with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Moore. Los Angeles had trouble stopping the run on that possession, with running back Chris Carson taking a 21-yard carry on 3rd-and-1 from the Seattle 45 to keep the drive alive.
The Rams responded with a touchdown of their own, getting going with a 56-yard run on a jet sweep to the right by wideout Robert Woods. L.A. went for it on 4th-and-2 from the 10, and got some help as the Seahawks were called for defensive pass interference to give the visitors a first down. Gurley then ran it in from five-yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
Santos, however, missed the extra point to keep the score at 31-30, Seattle.
Needing a big stop, the defense finally tightened up and got one. Rushing from the left end on 3rd-and-10 from the Seattle 36, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh took down Wilson for his third sack of the season.
After a punt, Los Angeles got the ball at its own 18 but was able to go down the field to take the lead. Goff connected with Woods on consecutive completions of 20 and 17 yards, putting L.A. scoring position. While the drive stalled just before the club could get into the red zone, Santos connected on a 39-yard field goal to give L.A. a 33-31 lead.
Wilson looked like he put Seattle in scoring position on the ensuing drive with a 44-yard pass to Lockett. But a false start and offensive holding put Seattle in a bad spot. On 2nd-and-23, Littleton batted the ball away at the line of scrimmage. And on 3rd down, Littleton forced Wilson to throw the ball away.
After a punt, the Rams were able to get a first down, but came up short on the ensuing set of downs on a third-down run by Gurley. Going for it on 4th-and-short, Goff took a QB sneak for two yards to the L.A. 44. With Seattle having taken its final timeout, the Rams were able to take two kneel downs for a big victory on the road.
With the win, Los Angeles is 5-0. The club will be back on the road next week to play the Broncos.
https://www.therams.com/news/goff-converts-fourth-down-sneak-to-secure-victory-over-seahawks
Goff Converts Fourth-Down Sneak to Secure Victory over Seahawks
SEATTLE — To describe it as politely as possible, it was a... "gutsy" call.
The Rams got the ball back up 33-31 with 3:28 left. Running back Todd Gurley took a second-down handoff ostensibly for a first down, but the ball was spotted a yard short. Then Gurley took a third-down handoff and the ball was spotted about a foot short of the line to gain after a measurement.
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll took his third and final timeout with 1:39 remaining. That’s when things got — as we're going to keep calling it — gutsy.
“I think we got the first down on every single carry,” wide receiver Robert Woods said. He wanted a better spot on those third- and fourth-down plays.
Los Angeles’ punt team was on the field when Carroll used his timeout. Even though L.A. was close to the line to gain, it would’ve been the safe football move to have punter Johnny Hekker boot the ball down the field, forcing the Seahawks to drive down the field with no timeouts to score.
But hearing head coach Sean McVay tell the tale, the Rams’ offense was adamant — the unit wanted to stay on the field to win the game.
“Initially we talked about punting it,” McVay said postgame. “You look at the belief that they had and how much they wanted to do and because of their belief, it made me feel confident — it made us as a coaching staff feel confident to make that decision.”
What was that mindset like?
“We wanted to go for it,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said plainly.
So, decision made. The Rams would go for it.
But even though some members of the offense were on the field and ready, others weren’t.
“I can’t remember why — I think during a T.V. timeout, maybe they called a timeout — I can’t remember, we had a lot of time to decide,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “He was kind of going back and forth. I was off [the field] — I thought we were punting. I went back on the field just to talk to one of the officials about something and as I’m turning around, the offense is running back on. So I was like, ‘OK, I guess we are going for it.’”
“I was actually sitting on the bench with my helmet on the ground, then I realized the whole offense was out there, so I took off running,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “I was already pouting — I was in full pout mode on the sideline and then realized the whole offense was out there, so I took off running.”
“We were all off the field and then I just see Goff running back on, and I’m just like, ‘Oh snap,’” Gurley said. “So we just kind of did that and everything took care of itself.”
So maybe it wasn’t as simple as McVay and Havenstein made it seem. But the Rams got in an offensive huddle for one play to get to 5-0 — a quarterback sneak.
https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-edge-out-the-seahawks-33-31
Seven Stats: Rams Edge Out the Seahawks 33-31
The Rams played football away from the L.A. Coliseum for the first time in three weeks on Sunday, traveling to Seattle for their first divisional road test of the season against the Seahawks.
The Rams defeated the Seahawks 33-31 in a shootout, led by running back Todd Gurley, who added three touchdowns to his 2018 total. Gurley’s Rams are now 5-0 for the first time since 2001.
Here are seven stats that stood out in Week 5 against the Seahawks:
1.ENTER CAIRO SANTOS
Los Angeles sent out its third different kicker of the season on Sunday. The Rams signed recent journeyman kicker Cairo Santos earlier this week after waiving All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein’s first replacement, Sam Ficken.
Santos was 100 percent on field goals in his debut as a Ram, hitting two attempts.
Santos did, however, miss an extra point following the Rams’ fourth touchdown of the game, leaving the Seahawks up by a point early in the fourth quarter.
Santos redeemed himself on the following fourth quarter offensive possession, hitting what became a game-winning 39-yard field goal to put the Rams back in the lead, 33-31.
2. DONALD’S SACK
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald sacked Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for the eighth time in his career late in the first quarter.
Donald took Wilson down for a loss of seven yards on the first play of Seattle’s third drive of the game.
Donald’s sack puts him seventh on the Rams’ all-time sack list with 42.0 career sacks. The defensive tackle surpassed Grant Wistrom (41q.5) in the Rams history books.
Donald has sacked Wilson more than any other quarterback (8.0).
3. ROAD SUCCESS
L.A.’s hard-fought victory on Sunday means five-straight wins on the road for head coach Sean McVay, dating back to Week 13 of 2017.
The 2018 edition of the Rams is now the sixth team in the club’s history to win five consecutive road games. The last team to win five in a row on the road was the 2001 Super Bowl runner-up Rams, who went a perfect 8-0 on the road.
4. LITTLETON
Linebacker Cory Littleton once again showed off his special teams ability on Sunday against the Seahawks.
On Seahawks punter Michael Dickerson’s first punt of the game, Littleton burst across the line of scrimmage and blocked his second punt of the season. Safety Marqui Christian easily watched the ball into his hands and returned the blocked punt to Seattle’s 13 yardline.
Littleton now has two consecutive seasons with multiple blocked punts, and four blocked punts since the start of 2017, which is the most in the NFL in that time.
5. GOFF GOES FOR 300 AGAIN
Quarterback Jared Goff once again moved the Rams offense down the field effectively in Week 5.
Goff finished his day in Seattle 23-of-32, good for a 71 percent completion percentage, with 321 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Goff’s 300-yard performance marks the first time he has thrown for 300-yards or better in fourth-consecutive weeks in his young career.
6. GURLEY, GURLEY, GURLEY
With both wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp leaving Sunday’s game in the first half, head coach Sean McVay relied on running back Todd Gurley to put points on the board.
Gurley stayed busy against the Seahawks and “The 12th Man,” carrying the ball 22 times for 77 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Goff found Gurley successfully in 5-of-6 targets through the air, for 36-yards.
Gurley’s three touchdowns against the Seahawks marks the second time this season he has finished a game with three total touchdowns. The former Georgia Bulldog also tallied three touchdowns against the Cardinals in Week 2.
Gurley leads all Rams with nine touchdowns through five games in 2018.
7. SAFFOLD’S 100th
Finally, veteran left guard Rodger Saffold made his 100th career start on Sunday.
Saffold joins four other Rams who have started in over 100 NFL games, including fellow offensive linemen, left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan.
Saffold and his O-line has done an excellent job of protecting Goff through four games, and this Sunday was no different. Goff only took on sack in Sunday’s victory.
The starting left guard won in Seattle for the third time in the last four years on Sunday.
Overcoming Turnovers and Injuries, Rams Defeat Seahawks 33-31
SEATTLE — Los Angeles faced adversity with injuries and missed opportunities throughout the game, but was still able to come away with a 33-31 victory over Seattle to improve to 5-0 on the season.
L.A. had two chances to put points on the board early in the game, but came away empty on both possessions. With JoJo Natson inactive, safety Blake Countess took back the opening kickoff to the visitors 39. But the offense sputtered to a rare three-and-out.
The defense did its job to force a punt, and linebacker Cory Littleton did what he does best — block a punt. With punter Michael Dickson kicking deep in his own territory, Littleton burst through the left side of the return team and got his hand on the ball. It went five yards to the right, were safety Marqui Christian was there to recover the loose ball. Christian returned it 11 yards to the Seattle 13-yard line.
Though the Rams were able to get down to the Seattle two-yard line, quarterback Jared Goff’s pass to running back Todd Gurley was tipped in the end zone and intercepted by defensive end Frank Clark.
The Seahawks took advantage of the extra possession, going down the field to score a six-yard rushing touchdown from running back Mike Davis.
Down 7-0, L.A. came back to tie the game with a two-yard score from Gurley. On the first play of the series, Goff completed a deep cross off play action to Kupp for 27 yards, getting L.A. in Seattle territory.
But Gurley would do the rest, taking a swing pass 19 yards, and a handoff 16 yards before going into the end zone on a two-yard run. With kicker Cairo Santos’ extra point, L.A. tied the game.
With No. 30’s plunge into the end zone, he became the first player with a touchdown in eight consecutive regular-season games since Jamaal Charles back in 2014.
The Rams would have an opportunity to go up by a touchdown early in the second quarter to cap a long drive. But a shovel pass from Goff to Gurley came up one-yard short on the left side, and Gurley was stuffed on 3rd-and-goal from the one. Los Angeles settled for a Santos 19-yard field goal to go up 10-7.
Seattle came right back, with Wilson connecting with wideout Tyler Lockett on a 39-yard deep pass to go up 14-10. But L.A. got the lead back with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that got down the field in a hurry. Goff completions to Gurley and Kupp advanced the visitors into Seattle territory. Tight end Tyler Higbee then made a strong-awareness catch after a ball over the middle went off of Kupp, as Higbee caught it and ran for 17 yards.
A few plays later, Goff faked to Gurley on the left, rolled to his right and hit Kupp. The wide receiver made a man miss and went into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.
Seattle, however, tied the game at 17 with a 52-yard field goal with 1:55 left in the second quarter. Though Los Angeles made it down to the home team’s 30 on their ensuing two-minute drill, the offense went backwards from there. Goff ended up firing a Hail Mary pass to end the second quarter and was intercepted in the end zone — marking Goff’s first multi-interception game since Week 5 against Seattle in 2017.
Defensive stops were hard to come by early in the second half, as the Seahawks outscored the Rams 14-7 in the third quarter. Seattle scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the half, driving 75 yards in nine plays. Wilson made an off-schedule play to get the ball to wide receiver David Moore in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown.
Los Angeles came back on the ensuing drive to go 64 yards in nine plays, ending with a Gurley two-yard touchdown to tie the game. With wideouts Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp both sidelined by a concussion, wide receivers Josh Reynolds and KhaDarel Hodge had to sub in. Reynolds caught passes for 22 and 17 yards, then took a jet sweep for 10 yards on the possession. With 3rd-and-goal from the Seattle two, Gurley ran it in behind some strong blocking from his offensive line, and the extra point tied the game at 24.
But the topsy-turvy nature of the game continued, with the Seahawks once again taking the lead with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Moore. Los Angeles had trouble stopping the run on that possession, with running back Chris Carson taking a 21-yard carry on 3rd-and-1 from the Seattle 45 to keep the drive alive.
The Rams responded with a touchdown of their own, getting going with a 56-yard run on a jet sweep to the right by wideout Robert Woods. L.A. went for it on 4th-and-2 from the 10, and got some help as the Seahawks were called for defensive pass interference to give the visitors a first down. Gurley then ran it in from five-yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
Santos, however, missed the extra point to keep the score at 31-30, Seattle.
Needing a big stop, the defense finally tightened up and got one. Rushing from the left end on 3rd-and-10 from the Seattle 36, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh took down Wilson for his third sack of the season.
After a punt, Los Angeles got the ball at its own 18 but was able to go down the field to take the lead. Goff connected with Woods on consecutive completions of 20 and 17 yards, putting L.A. scoring position. While the drive stalled just before the club could get into the red zone, Santos connected on a 39-yard field goal to give L.A. a 33-31 lead.
Wilson looked like he put Seattle in scoring position on the ensuing drive with a 44-yard pass to Lockett. But a false start and offensive holding put Seattle in a bad spot. On 2nd-and-23, Littleton batted the ball away at the line of scrimmage. And on 3rd down, Littleton forced Wilson to throw the ball away.
After a punt, the Rams were able to get a first down, but came up short on the ensuing set of downs on a third-down run by Gurley. Going for it on 4th-and-short, Goff took a QB sneak for two yards to the L.A. 44. With Seattle having taken its final timeout, the Rams were able to take two kneel downs for a big victory on the road.
With the win, Los Angeles is 5-0. The club will be back on the road next week to play the Broncos.
https://www.therams.com/news/goff-converts-fourth-down-sneak-to-secure-victory-over-seahawks
Goff Converts Fourth-Down Sneak to Secure Victory over Seahawks
SEATTLE — To describe it as politely as possible, it was a... "gutsy" call.
The Rams got the ball back up 33-31 with 3:28 left. Running back Todd Gurley took a second-down handoff ostensibly for a first down, but the ball was spotted a yard short. Then Gurley took a third-down handoff and the ball was spotted about a foot short of the line to gain after a measurement.
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll took his third and final timeout with 1:39 remaining. That’s when things got — as we're going to keep calling it — gutsy.
“I think we got the first down on every single carry,” wide receiver Robert Woods said. He wanted a better spot on those third- and fourth-down plays.
Los Angeles’ punt team was on the field when Carroll used his timeout. Even though L.A. was close to the line to gain, it would’ve been the safe football move to have punter Johnny Hekker boot the ball down the field, forcing the Seahawks to drive down the field with no timeouts to score.
But hearing head coach Sean McVay tell the tale, the Rams’ offense was adamant — the unit wanted to stay on the field to win the game.
“Initially we talked about punting it,” McVay said postgame. “You look at the belief that they had and how much they wanted to do and because of their belief, it made me feel confident — it made us as a coaching staff feel confident to make that decision.”
What was that mindset like?
“We wanted to go for it,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said plainly.
So, decision made. The Rams would go for it.
But even though some members of the offense were on the field and ready, others weren’t.
“I can’t remember why — I think during a T.V. timeout, maybe they called a timeout — I can’t remember, we had a lot of time to decide,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “He was kind of going back and forth. I was off [the field] — I thought we were punting. I went back on the field just to talk to one of the officials about something and as I’m turning around, the offense is running back on. So I was like, ‘OK, I guess we are going for it.’”
“I was actually sitting on the bench with my helmet on the ground, then I realized the whole offense was out there, so I took off running,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “I was already pouting — I was in full pout mode on the sideline and then realized the whole offense was out there, so I took off running.”
“We were all off the field and then I just see Goff running back on, and I’m just like, ‘Oh snap,’” Gurley said. “So we just kind of did that and everything took care of itself.”
So maybe it wasn’t as simple as McVay and Havenstein made it seem. But the Rams got in an offensive huddle for one play to get to 5-0 — a quarterback sneak.
https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-edge-out-the-seahawks-33-31
Seven Stats: Rams Edge Out the Seahawks 33-31
The Rams played football away from the L.A. Coliseum for the first time in three weeks on Sunday, traveling to Seattle for their first divisional road test of the season against the Seahawks.
The Rams defeated the Seahawks 33-31 in a shootout, led by running back Todd Gurley, who added three touchdowns to his 2018 total. Gurley’s Rams are now 5-0 for the first time since 2001.
Here are seven stats that stood out in Week 5 against the Seahawks:
1.ENTER CAIRO SANTOS
Los Angeles sent out its third different kicker of the season on Sunday. The Rams signed recent journeyman kicker Cairo Santos earlier this week after waiving All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein’s first replacement, Sam Ficken.
Santos was 100 percent on field goals in his debut as a Ram, hitting two attempts.
Santos did, however, miss an extra point following the Rams’ fourth touchdown of the game, leaving the Seahawks up by a point early in the fourth quarter.
Santos redeemed himself on the following fourth quarter offensive possession, hitting what became a game-winning 39-yard field goal to put the Rams back in the lead, 33-31.
2. DONALD’S SACK
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald sacked Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for the eighth time in his career late in the first quarter.
Donald took Wilson down for a loss of seven yards on the first play of Seattle’s third drive of the game.
Donald’s sack puts him seventh on the Rams’ all-time sack list with 42.0 career sacks. The defensive tackle surpassed Grant Wistrom (41q.5) in the Rams history books.
Donald has sacked Wilson more than any other quarterback (8.0).
3. ROAD SUCCESS
L.A.’s hard-fought victory on Sunday means five-straight wins on the road for head coach Sean McVay, dating back to Week 13 of 2017.
The 2018 edition of the Rams is now the sixth team in the club’s history to win five consecutive road games. The last team to win five in a row on the road was the 2001 Super Bowl runner-up Rams, who went a perfect 8-0 on the road.
4. LITTLETON
Linebacker Cory Littleton once again showed off his special teams ability on Sunday against the Seahawks.
On Seahawks punter Michael Dickerson’s first punt of the game, Littleton burst across the line of scrimmage and blocked his second punt of the season. Safety Marqui Christian easily watched the ball into his hands and returned the blocked punt to Seattle’s 13 yardline.
Littleton now has two consecutive seasons with multiple blocked punts, and four blocked punts since the start of 2017, which is the most in the NFL in that time.
5. GOFF GOES FOR 300 AGAIN
Quarterback Jared Goff once again moved the Rams offense down the field effectively in Week 5.
Goff finished his day in Seattle 23-of-32, good for a 71 percent completion percentage, with 321 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Goff’s 300-yard performance marks the first time he has thrown for 300-yards or better in fourth-consecutive weeks in his young career.
6. GURLEY, GURLEY, GURLEY
With both wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp leaving Sunday’s game in the first half, head coach Sean McVay relied on running back Todd Gurley to put points on the board.
Gurley stayed busy against the Seahawks and “The 12th Man,” carrying the ball 22 times for 77 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Goff found Gurley successfully in 5-of-6 targets through the air, for 36-yards.
Gurley’s three touchdowns against the Seahawks marks the second time this season he has finished a game with three total touchdowns. The former Georgia Bulldog also tallied three touchdowns against the Cardinals in Week 2.
Gurley leads all Rams with nine touchdowns through five games in 2018.
7. SAFFOLD’S 100th
Finally, veteran left guard Rodger Saffold made his 100th career start on Sunday.
Saffold joins four other Rams who have started in over 100 NFL games, including fellow offensive linemen, left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan.
Saffold and his O-line has done an excellent job of protecting Goff through four games, and this Sunday was no different. Goff only took on sack in Sunday’s victory.
The starting left guard won in Seattle for the third time in the last four years on Sunday.
