The Seattle Seahawks had their way with the Los Angeles Rams at home with a 24-3 win, clinching the NFC West.
Rams vs. Seahawks live scores, highlights, news, and more
Seattle bounced back after a crushing loss with an easy home win over visiting Los Angeles.
Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Scoring
Fourth quarter: Seahawks 24, Rams 3
A 57-yard touchdown bomb to Tyler Lockett on the second play of the quarter gave Seattle a commanding lead. Wilson threw for three touchdowns in the win.
Third quarter: Seahawks 17, Rams 3
Two plays after nearly throwing an interception in the end zone, Russell Wilson found Doug Baldwin for a touchdown to widen the Seahawks’ lead.
Second quarter: Seahawks 10, Rams 3
The first score of the game was a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to tight end Luke Wilson, one play after a fourth-down defensive holding call extended Seattle’s drive. The Rams got on the board with a 51-yard drive for a field goal in the final minute of the half, keeping this a one-score game.
First quarter: Seahawks 0, Rams 0
The Rams put together an impressive drive on their second possession, moving the ball into the red zone despite a drop of a potential long touchdown throw and another missed opportunity with a bad Jared Goff throw to a wide-open Brian Quick in the end zone. But a 4th-and-1 conversion inside the 10 was overturned on replay, turning the ball over to the Seahawks on downs.
Highlights
Rams QB Jared Goff left in the fourth quarter after a hit from Richard Sherman, evaluated for a concussion.
A 33-yard run on a fake punt ended badly for Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who was hit at the end of the play and went to the locker room to get evaluated for a concussion.
Rams defensive tackle didn’t like a penalty call against him, so he threw his flag back at the refereee.
Seattle DE Michael Bennett went to the locker room in the fourth quarter, evaluated for a possible concussion.
Bennett was also flagged for gyrating too much after a sack.
When he wasn’t busy throwing touchdown passes, Russell Wilson stopped to tie teammate Thomas Rawls’ shoes in the middle of the field.
Pete Carroll used all three challenge flags on spots in the first 17½ minutes of the game.
The Seahawks tried a trick play in the first quarter that ended with Doug Baldwin falling on his butt.
Pregame
Russell Wilson had one of the worst games of his career in Week 14. On Thursday, he’ll get the chance to put a five-interception performance in his rear view against a Los Angeles Rams team that always finds a way to give the Seahawks trouble.
The Rams have won a single game at home since returning to the West Coast this fall, but that came in a 9-3 nail-biter over Seattle back in Week 2. The loss continued the franchise’s weird mastery of the Seahawks. Los Angeles hasn’t won more than seven games in a season since 2006, but has beaten Seattle — one of the NFC’s powerhouses — in four of these teams’ last five meetings.
The loss also ruined Pete Carroll’s Hollywood homecoming. The Rams now play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the same stadium the University of Southern California calls home. Carroll won a pair of national championships with the Trojans but couldn’t find a way to beat a team thoroughly wrapped up in Jeff Fisher’s “7-9 bullsh**” this fall.
He’ll have a chance for revenge on Thursday, but Fisher won’t be there. The Rams fired the veteran head coach Monday after four-plus seasons with the team and zero winning records. Special teams coordinator John Fassel, son of longtime NFL fixture Jim, will lead the team from the sideline in his place. While Fassel will be making his head coaching debut, his presence could be just the spark an underachieving team needs to end 2016 on a high note.
Los Angeles will need something special to topple a tough Seahawks team on the road. Seattle missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot last week by getting thoroughly outclassed in Green Bay. Now the Seahawks just need a win on Thursday — or a Cardinals loss Sunday — to earn a third division championship in four seasons.
A victory would also help the Seahawks climb back to the second spot in the NFC and the first-round bye that comes with it. Seattle had entrenched itself as the conference’s No. 2 after a 7-2-1 start, but a 1-2 skid has allowed the Lions and Giants to overtake them in the race for playoff seeding. With a lackluster schedule remaining, beating the Rams would be the first step to skipping a wild card showdown.
This Thursday Night Football matchup will air on NBC and NFL Network. A live stream is available at NBC Sports and via Twitter.
Pregame reading
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