Seahawks seek to avenge blowout loss to Rams
Boasting one of the best home-field advantages in professional sports, the Seattle Seahawks rarely lose at CenturyLink Field, let alone get blown out by visiting teams.
However, 2017 proved to be an anomaly for the Seahawks in both aspects, as the team stunningly lost four of its final five home games, including suffering a 42-7 throttling at the hands of quarterback Jared Goff and the upstart Los Angeles Rams in Week 15. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw for only 142 yards and Los Angeles teed off on him all afternoon, building an insurmountable 34-point halftime lead.
Set to tangle with the undefeated NFC West-leading Rams for the first time since being embarrassed on their own turf last December, the Seahawks aren’t putting much thought into what happened during that ugly defeat. Instead, linebacker Bobby Wagner and teammates are focusing solely on the present entering this decisive divisional contest, though he’s eager for a chance at redemption.
“I don’t think you think about the margin of victory,” Wagner said while reflecting on last year’s disastrous loss. “You understand when anybody comes in and wins on your home field, it doesn’t really feel good. Especially for me, it’s one of those games where I wasn’t completely healthy. I was definitely looking forward to playing them again.”
Though far from the only reason Seattle got manhandled, Wagner’s health certainly played a factor in the team’s inability to stop Goff, running back Todd Gurley II, and head coach Sean McVay’s explosive offense. Hampered by a hamstring injury, he lacked his normal burst to fill gaps in the run game, thus creating giant running lanes for Gurley as he gashed the Seahawks for over 150 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
The return of Wagner should help Seattle’s mission of slowing down Gurley in a much-anticipated rematch. But the Seahawks will enter this game far from full strength, as the team was dealt a critical blow when star safety Earl Thomas fractured his right tibia during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-17 win in Arizona.
Thomas, who had been playing arguably the best football of his career with three interceptions in Seattle’s first three games, landed on injured reserve this week and won’t play again this season. His absence leaves a crater-sized hole in the Seahawks secondary at the least opportune time, as the Rams come to town featuring an offense that ranks first in total offense, second in passing yardage, and second overall in points per game.
Playing in his second season under the tutelage of McVay, Goff has broken out as a superstar in his third NFL season, throwing for 1,406 yards and 11 touchdowns. Aside from Goff’s brilliance, Gurley ranks second in the league in rushing and has scored seven touchdowns, while newly-acquired receiver Brandin Cooks has given Goff a premier vertical threat who had recorded over 100 receiving yards per game so far.
The Rams have scored 33 or more points in each of their four games this season, and while Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll respects Goff as a quarterback along with the rest of the team’s offensive weaponry and understands his defense faces a tall task without Thomas or injured linebacker K.J. Wright available, he’s not planning to reinvent the wheel in an effort to slow down their high octane attack this week.
“We’re not gonna change the formula of what we believe in playing good defense and that starts playing up front and then you gotta stay on top and then you work from there,” Carroll said on Wednesday, adding: “They have really been bombing people and they’ve made a lot of big plays, particularly last week you see them just striking (downfield) … we can’t let that happen.”
Carroll indicated stopping Gurley would take top precedence, especially after he ran wild the last time these two teams met at CenturyLink Field. He’s also hoping his defense can “squeeze” receivers to the middle of the field to help limit the explosive plays that have propelled the Rams to four consecutive victories.
In an effort to keep Goff, Gurley, and Cooks off the field, the Seahawks plan to continue riding a run game that has found a rhythm in back-to-back wins, as Mike Davis became the latest back to hit the 100-plus yard rushing mark after Chris Carson achieved the feat in a Week 3 win over the Cowboys. The Seahawks offensive line has shown marked improvement during that span, but Carroll understands they’ll face a different type of challenge trying to block reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and a stout Rams defensive front.
“(Ndamukong) Suh is right there on the center and he’s a big-time player. Aaron [Donald] is a fantastic player and (Michael) Brockers is really big-time. They’ve moved him to play 5-technique for them and it’s worked out really well,” Carroll said. “With the running game, if we’re going to be successful, we’re going to have to work those guys and block them and get some space on the line of scrimmage.”
The Rams will be looking to shut down the Seahawks ground game, though ultimately, McVay believes this game will come down to how well his team defends Wilson. Led by Donald’s vintage three-sack performance, Los Angeles sacked Wilson seven times in last year’s beatdown at CenturyLink, but he’s expecting a far greater difficulty trying to corral the dual-threat quarterback when his team returns to Seattle this time around.
“There’s really not any way that he’s not able to beat you and make you pay defensively because he’s got the arm talent, he’s got the brain, he’s got the athleticism of his legs and that’s why he’s such a great competitor,” McVay stated. “That’s why he’s had the success over the course of his career and that’s why it’s going to be such a great challenge for us this week.”
SERIES HISTORY: 40th regular-season meeting. Seahawks lead series, 23-16. Prior to becoming NFC West rivals in 2002, the Rams won five of the first seven matchups between the two teams. Following realignment, Seattle has dominated the series, winning 21 out of 32 regular-season matchups, including winning 10 straight from 2005 to 2009. Since relocating to Los Angeles, the Rams have evenly split four contests with the Seahawks over the past two seasons. The two franchises met once in postseason play, with the then-St. Louis Rams edging Seattle 27-20 in January 2005.