The Rams did what Jeff Fisher used to do to beat the Seahawks, but without any 7-9 bulls**t

The Rams put a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking on the Seahawks on Sunday and inched closer to locking up a playoff spot and the NFC West title with the 42-7 win.

While being a playoff team is fairly new territory for the Rams, beating the Seahawks is familiar. They were 5-4 against Seattle under head coach Jeff Fisher at a time when the two teams were on very different courses. They even used a page out of Fisher’s old playbook to do it under new head coach Sean McVay, except they did it flawlessly this time.

But the Rams made it look like a cake walk. They shut the Seahawks out entirely for nearly three solid quarters. Seattle was finally able to get on the board with 1:23 left in the third quarter, but the Rams’ lead was too much ground to make up.

It was an uncharacteristic loss for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson hasn’t lost by more than a touchdown at home since he took over as the team’s starter. The Seahawks haven’t lost more than one game at home in any season since Wilson came into the league. Only one of the Rams’ five previous wins came in Seattle.

It was a remarkable moment, signaling a power shift in the division.

Here’s how the Rams got the win in Seattle.

Russell Wilson has been most of the Seahawks offense this season. But the Rams didn’t give him an opportunity to work his magic on Sunday.

They sacked Wilson seven times for a loss of 71 yards. It put Wilson’s net passing yards at 71 yards with one touchdown. Wilson was pulled from the game and replaced by former Rams QB Austin Davis for the Seahawks’ final series.

Wilson called Aaron Donald the “best defensive player I’ve ever played against” earlier in the week. He probably hasn’t changed his mind.

The Rams also forced two fumbles. The offense was able to turn them into a field goal and a touchdown.

To add insult to injury, they forced a safety in the fourth quarter. Wilson tried to throw it away from inside his own end zone, but there was no receiver in the area so officials called intentional grounding. Since Wilson threw it from the end zone, it was two more points for the Rams.

The Rams let the Seahawks convert just three of 13 third down attempts. Getting the Seahawks off the field let the offense control the flow of the game, particularly by running it down the Rams’ throats.

Had this been a Fisher’s team, you could’ve counted on the Rams defense giving up at least 20 points in the second half when the secondary moved back and gave up the middle of the field, not to mention handful of ill-advised penalties.

The Rams collectively put up 244 yards on the ground against the Seahawks. And Todd Gurley in particular had himself a day, accounting for 152 of those yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Gurley was completely untouched on this one.

Gurley had 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, which is more than any running back has had on the ground in any single game this season. He added three catches for 28 yards and a receiving touchdown before he was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter.

That ground attack let the Rams hold onto the ball for 36:46 of the game, which made any kind of comeback impossible for Seattle.

Whatever patsy Fisher had running the offense would’ve made sure to give the backup running backs more carries in the first half, no matter how well Gurley was running.

Jared Goff threw the ball exactly as much as he needed to, which wasn’t a ton. Goff was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter after he went 14-of-21 for 120 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.

The ultra-conservative run-happy approach works if the run game is actually functioning. Gurley languished last season behind an ineffective offensive line and averaged just over 55 yards per game in 2016. The Rams don’t need to rely on the pass with the run game rolling like it is.

21 passes? 5.7 yards per attempt? No, Fisher would’ve totally been cool with this part of it, except Goff would’ve been sacked at least four times instead of just two.

L.A. was penalized just three times for a total of 25 yards in this game. Seattle, on the other hand, had nine penalties for 60 yards. It’s not a huge difference.

The Rams are averaging 6.86 penalties per game this year under McVay. They were penalized an average of 7.88 times per game last year.

Games against Seattle used to have a lot more flags thrown at the Rams. They were penalized an average of 7.3 times per game against the Seahawks under Fisher. In one game in 2012, the Rams had 14 flags thrown at them.

Teams can win even if they’re getting penalized more than their opponents, but it was just one more edge the Rams had on the Seahawks.

The Rams special teams guys have been stars this season. Sunday was no exception. They only had to punt once, but coverage was stifling. Tyler Lockett couldn’t get anywhere on his return attempt.

The Rams’ return game was strong, too, with Pharoh Cooper averaging 18.2 yards per punt return. Seattle punted nine times, but only one of Jon Ryan’s attempts was a touchback.

If Fisher had been coaching here, you could’ve counted on the Rams settling for field goals on at least a couple of those touchdowns. And maybe there would’ve been a fake somewhere in there.

Jeff Fisher’s coaching style was old-school ground-and-pound, just like the Rams did today. The primary difference between the Rams of old and this 10-4 squad is that Sean McVay’s Rams are playing disciplined, smart, well-coached football.

The Rams still haven’t clinched the NFC West, but the win puts them a little closer to locking up a playoff spot for the first time since 2004. So much for that 7-9 bullshit.