St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks: Complete Week 17 Preview for Seattle
In Week 7, Russell Wilson rushed for 106 yards on seven carries and also passed for two touchdowns while going 23-of-36 for 313 yards against the St. Louis Rams (6-9). The monster performance from Wilson made him the first quarterback in NFL history with 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing.
Despite Wilson's historic feat, the then-struggling Seattle Seahawks (11-4) fell to 3-3 with a second straight loss. The Seahawks dominated statistically, outgaining the Rams 463 yards to 275, but several special teams plays proved to be just enough for the Rams to stay out in front of the current division leaders.
Wilson and the Seahawks have won eight of the nine games since. For St. Louis, there's no reward for winning this game other than the opportunity to dampen a division rival's playoff seeding and pride. For the Seahawks, first place in the NFC West and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs are within grasp.
A Seattle victory guarantees all of the latter, while a loss leaves the door open for a slide to a wild-card playoff seed.
Week 16 Recap
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With a 35-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals last week, the Seattle Seahawks moved into a tie with their division foes for first in the NFC West and hold the tiebreaker by virtue of having beaten them twice. Seattle's defense was stifling, and its offensive players seemed to take turns making big plays.
Seattle amassed a franchise-record 596 yards of offense in the game, besting a previous record of 591 yards set in 2002. The big plays started with a 55-yard run by Russell Wilson and ended with a dazzling, five-yard touchdown jaunt by the star quarterback.
Tight end Luke Willson was a big-play machine, racking up two scores and 139 yards receiving with just three catches. Marshawn Lynch took off for a career-long 79-yard touchdown run that rivals the impressiveness of the one that gave him the nickname "Beast Mode."
With only one game remaining in the year, the Seahawks need one more win to lock up first in the division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
News and Notes
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Seahawks Owner Congratulates Five Pro Bowlers and Five Alternates
"@Seahawks congrats NFL Pro Bowlers: Lynch, Sherman, Chancellor, Thomas,Wagner, 1st Alts: Okung, Unger, 2nd: Bennett, Haushka, 3rd: RWilson.
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) December 24, 2014"
Marshawn Lynch Fined Again
At the conclusion of Marshawn Lynch's "Beast Mode Part II" run against the Arizona Cardinals, he performed his signature reverse leap into the end zone with a crotch grab. The No Fun League decided to step in and fine Lynch $11,050 for unsportsmanlike conduct, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com).
Quote of the Week
Pete Carroll on preparing for trick plays, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times:
"We have to know the history, and we dig very deep to make sure we know all the things they’ve done in the past, going way back. Also, it’s more than that—it’s the awareness that you have to have of sensing the right numbers on the field, the right looks on the field goal teams, if everyone is where they’re supposed to be, scanning the sidelines—you always have to be on alert. It’s good for us; it’s how you should play. Unfortunately, not everyone does, and you miss things, so we have to do a good job of that.
"
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Max Unger | C | Doubtful |
| Cooper Helfet | TE | Doubtful |
| Marshawn Lynch | RB | Probable |
| Demarcus Dobbs | DE | Out |
| Russell Okung | OT | Probable |
| Jermaine Kearse | WR | Doubtful |
| Chris Matthews | WR | Out |
| Tony Moeaki | TE | Probable |
| Tharold Simon | CB | Doubtful |
*All injury information gathered from Seattle Seahawks' team page.
Russell Okung and Tony Moeaki both have been full participants in practices this week and appear likely to return to the lineup in an important pre-postseason game. The team has continued to rest Marshawn Lynch for most of the practice days to help give his body more time to recover.
Max Unger has been limited in practice, while Cooper Helfet, Tharold Simon and Jermaine Kearse have not been able to practice at all this week. They don't appear likely to see any playing time this week with the opportunity for them to have two full weeks of rest available.
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Matchups to Watch
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RB Tre Mason vs. Seattle Front Seven
In these teams' first meeting, the St. Louis Rams made Tre Mason the focal point of their rushing attack for the first time this season. The rookie running back did not disappoint his team, racking up 85 yards on 18 carries in the game.
He's averaging 4.4 yards per carry, totaling 744 yards rushing this season. Seattle has allowed an average of 70.8 yards rushing per game over the last five weeks, with a 14-yard outburst by the San Francisco 49ers being the only total above the average.
Limiting the St. Louis running game would put tremendous pressure on Shaun Hill and the nondescript group of Rams receivers to beat the Legion of Boom. Bobby Wagner has been key to shoring up any runs targeted between the tackles, and the defense has been exceptional at stuffing runs to the outside.
WR Doug Baldwin vs. Lamarcus Joyner
Doug Baldwin is coming off a seven-catch, 113-yards receiving performance in last Sunday night's beatdown of Arizona. Though Baldwin's output hasn't been the most consistent, he may benefit from a quality matchup against the Rams. The first time these two teams met, Baldwin racked up seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
With Jermaine Kearse unlikely to be active due to injury, Baldwin should see more snaps and be counted on more heavily in the passing game. Normal starting corner E.J. Gaines suffered a concussion last week, leaving open the possibility that Lamarcus Joyner is reinserted into St. Louis' starting lineup.
St. Louis benched Joyner a month-and-a-half ago for poor performance, so this is definitely a matchup Russell Wilson should look to exploit if things come to fruition as expected.
DE Robert Quinn vs. OT Russell Okung
After racking up a staggering 19 sacks in 2013, Rams defensive end Robert Quinn was yet to take a quarterback down when these teams met in Week 7. The Rams had just three sacks at that point of the season, but the team amassed four sacks in the game, with Quinn accounting for one of them himself.
Now, 10 weeks later, Quinn has 11 sacks for the season, while the Rams have ripped off 43 sacks as a team. Russell Okung has been in and out of the lineup for much of the season, missing last week's game against Arizona after being seen coughing up blood at halftime of the game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Wilson is used to facing a pass rush at this point in the season. The third-year quarterback has been pressured on a league-high 46 percent of his dropbacks despite having just the 17th-most dropbacks in the league.
Seattle will need Okung to step back into the flow of things as quickly as possible to help keep Wilson upright and give him more time to scramble with the ball.
Prediction
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The Rams had a three-game stretch where their defense allowed just 12 points total, including back-to-back shutout performances. During Week 16, the strong defensive outings the team had been able to string together went by the wayside. The New York Giants posted 37 points on the Rams.
In the meantime, Seattle has allowed 33 points in its last five games, allowing less than a touchdown per game over the span. While it's possible that the Rams defense regains its form, the Seattle offense is more formidable than what the Rams can hound.
Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch have proven to be major forces defenses struggle to contain, and I cannot see the Rams making the necessary stops in key situations of a tight game.
Prediction: STL 13, SEA 31
*All stats gathered from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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