Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams: Full Report Card Grades for St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams (2-4) secured a much-needed 28-26 victory over the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks (3-3) on Sunday.
This was the Rams' second victory against Seattle since 2010, and it's just their third win over the Seahawks since 2005.
The Rams got off to a roaring start in the first half and took a 21-3 lead at one point. A little trickery on a punt return allowed Stedman Bailey to rip off a 90-yard touchdown on a punt return, and that was the key play of the first half.
St. Louis entered halftime with a convincing 21-6 lead, but it was hardly a comfortable lead considering the Rams coughed up a 21-0 lead to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and lost the game.
Prior to this game, St. Louis had been completely incapable of playing two solid halves of football in a single game. That trend nearly continued, as the Seahawks entered the third quarter as an entirely new team and got off to a rolling start.
Seattle scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to make it a two-point game. It was deja vu for the Rams, who appeared to be well on their way to another second-half choke job.
Luckily, Rams quarterback Austin Davis answered with a touchdown pass to tight end Lance Kendricks, making it a 28-19 game.
In a frustrating turn of events, St. Louis went into a prevent defense with more than four minutes on the clock in the final quarter. It allowed Russell Wilson and the Seahawks to march downfield nearly untouched for a Doug Baldwin touchdown—once again making it a two-point (28-26) game.
The Rams offense got the ball back with just over three minutes on the clock. The Seattle defense stopped the Rams on their own 18. St. Louis faced a 4th-and-3 deep in its own territory, but a fake punt allowed punter Johnny Hekker to pass for an 18-yard first down, giving the Rams new life.
Considering Seattle needed just a field goal to win the game, it was a tremendously risky call by the Rams. Had Hekker's pass gone incomplete, Seattle would have got the ball back already in field-goal range, and that would have been the game.
Rams running back Tre Mason ran for the game-winning first down, but he fumbled on the play. It nearly cost St. Louis the game, but the Rams managed to recover and take a knee.
This was a huge victory for the Rams, who are now just one game behind Seattle in the NFC West standings. An admirable team effort in all three phases allowed St. Louis to escape with the win, and fans are hoping to see more of this in the near future.
This article will outline the game by reviewing each position and providing a grade. Grades will be based on stats, production and consistency.
Quarterback: A
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For once, the Rams managed to avoid putting the game entirely on Davis' shoulders, and it paid off.
As excellent as he has been, he's a former undrafted prospect from 2012 and is essentially a rookie. It's inevitable that he'll make mistakes, which is why he should be merely managing games for the Rams—not winning them single-handedly.
Davis was a perfect 9-of-9 passing in the first half and had just three incompletions in 21 attempts overall, putting up a remarkable 85.7 percent completion rate. He produced a career-low 152 passing yards, but he found the end zone twice.
With no interceptions or poor throws, Davis turned in a near-perfect performance. His composure allowed the Rams to come out on top.
Running Back: A
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Outside of Mason's fumble at the very end, which didn't hurt the team, the running backs were excellent in this game.
In just his second NFL appearance, Mason managed 85 yards and a score on 18 carries. Tavon Austin added another 16 yards out of the running back position.
No. 2 running back Benny Cunningham chipped in 46 yards and a score as a receiver, so the backs got it done in all facets.
Seattle entered the game with the sixth-ranked run defense (82.2 yards per game), so the performance by the St. Louis run game was simply exceptional.
Starting running back Zac Stacy did not touch the ball all game, presumably due to an ankle injury that's been nagging him, which makes this performance even more impressive.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: B-
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It was a very quiet day for the Rams receivers but still a positive performance nonetheless.
Running back Cunningham led the way with a mere 46 yards, but the rest of the receivers made key catches at critical moments, so they deserve a positive grade despite the absence of gaudy stats.
Brian Quick had a nice 14-yard grab to help set up St. Louis' second touchdown. He had a penalty on that drive that nearly cost St. Louis the touchdown, but he still helped the team get into scoring position.
Chris Givens, who has not even been active for every game this year, hauled in a clutch 30-yard catch in the final quarter to set up Kendricks' four-yard touchdown grab. Seattle scored two unanswered touchdowns prior to this drive, so these two catches broke that streak and eventually ended up being the difference in the game.
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Offensive Line: A
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The offensive line had a terrible performance against the San Francisco 49ers last week and allowed Davis to be mauled by the pass rush, but it was a different story this week.
Davis did not take a single sack and nearly went untouched the entire game. The pass protection was superb.
Additionally, the run blocking was excellent against the tough Seattle front. Mason averaged 4.7 yards per carry, and that's not easy to achieve against the Seahawks.
Part of the offensive line's success is due to the arrival of rookie Greg Robinson. The No. 2 overall draft pick watched the first four games from the sidelines, but he had a promising debut against the 49ers last week. He continued to play well against Seattle, and his presence has boosted the offense.
Defensive Line: A
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The Rams entered the game dead last in the NFL with just one total sack.
It will still be quite some time before Rams players revive the "Sack City" nickname, but this game was a step in the right direction. St. Louis recorded three sacks—three times its previous season sack total—and Robert Quinn snapped his five-game sack drought (which was the longest drought of his career).
Rookie Aaron Donald showed us why he was worthy of a top-15 draft pick. He had a sack, was constantly in the backfield and made several tackles for loss. He even penetrated the line on one play and single-handedly tossed Marshawn Lynch to the ground as if he were a 180-pound scatback.
This is the type of performance Rams fans were hoping to see from the St. Louis pass rush on a weekly basis. The breakout game was expected much earlier than Week 7, but better late than never.
Linebackers: C
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The defense had a solid performance overall, but the linebackers were clearly the weak link, at least in the second half.
The defense held Lynch to just 23 yards on 10 carries in the first half, but his second-half average improved to 3.6 yards per carry. It was not a drastic improvement, but the Rams were softer against the run in the third and fourth quarters.
The real killer was Wilson. The Seattle quarterback devastated the defense for 106 yards and a score on just seven carries, including a 52-yard run.
The Rams drafted Alec Ogletree in the first round in 2013 as the antidote for the speedy read-option quarterbacks of the NFC West, but that was far from the case in this game. Ogletree was at fault on nearly every big Wilson run, including his 19-yard touchdown jaunt.
The linebackers' inability to contain Wilson made this game much closer than it should have been, and the group needs to get better as the season goes on.
Secondary: C
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The secondary had a solid first half against the Seattle aerial attack, but things fell apart in the second half.
The group allowed a 49-yard Baldwin reception in the first half, but that was the only big play during the first two quarters. Wilson finished the opening half just 9-of-17 passing.
Wilson stepped up his second-half numbers by completing 14 of 19 attempts (73.6 percent), which put pressure on the Rams. He went on to shred the secondary for 313 yards and two scores.
In the final quarter, after St. Louis went with a softer prevent defense, the secondary became almost useless. Seattle was converting third downs with little effort, and the secondary seemed incapable of forcing an incompletion.
The sloppy secondary play likely inspired Jeff Fisher to go with the fake punt at the end of the game. He knew if Seattle got the ball back with three minutes on the clock, there was no chance the secondary would have stopped the rolling Seahawks offense.
Special Teams: A
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The special teams were by far the most impressive phase in this game, and the Rams would have lost if not for their heroics.
The 90-yard punt-return touchdown by Bailey demoralized Seattle, and Cunningham's 75-yard kickoff return in the first quarter led to St. Louis' first touchdown of the game.
The two jaw-dropping returns allowed the Rams to take a comfortable 21-6 halftime lead. The St. Louis offense was in desperate need of this type of special teams support, especially against Seattle's tough defense.
Also, there was Hekker's fake punt and first-down pass at the end of the game. Surely, he was under enormous pressure to complete the pass, but the punter stayed calm and made the game-winning play.
It was an excellent day for special teams coordinator John Fassel and his group.
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