Seahawks Beat Rams 16-10, Take First Place
By Ben Renner
The Seahawks smothered the Rams 16-10 in Los Angeles to go to 2-0 in the NFC West and 3-2 overall–first place in the division.
The Seahawks scored one touchdown against Aaron Donald and the Rams yesterday, but their defense made it stand up, along with three field goals by Blair Walsh.
It was the defense that secured a rare road win against the Rams. They forced five turnovers, three in the second half, to shut out L.A. after halftime. It was yet another dominating performance.
Earl Thomas set the tone early with an incredible play to force a fumble by Todd Gurley as he was reaching for the pylon on L.A.’s first drive.
Jimmy Graham caught the Seahawks only touchdown of the day on a four-yard float from Russell Wilson, who threw for a modest 198 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
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For the most part, LA defensive coordinator Wade Philips had the Seahawks figured out. Tanner McEvoy threw a terrible interception on a wide receiver pass that fooled no one, and neither Eddie Lacy nor Thomas Rawls, who carried the ball nine and eight times respectively for 39 yards combined, found any room on the ground. The Rams simply kept the play in front of them, tackled well, and never allowed Wilson to connect on a deep ball.
The defense, meanwhile was masterful in the red zone. Sheldon Richardson intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble off of a strip-sack by Frank Clark. Seattle allowed three points in four red zone possessions.
The Seahawks still needed a drop by rookie receiver Cooper Kupp in the end zone on the Rams’ last possession to preserve their tenuous six-point lead.
Next: Huskies Make a Statement at Home
Pete Carroll made one crucial mistake late in the game that could have cost him the win (more on that in the next article), but on the whole, the Seahawks only committed seven penalties for 40 yards and smothered one of the NFL’s best offenses so far this season in a tough divisional win.