Rams-Seahawks Post Game Coverage

[RamBill]

Rams stuff Seahawks in overtime
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6abf7ba2-fc75-53b9-b648-38ed7305740b.html

Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald combined to stuff Seattle's Marshawn Lynch on a fourth-and-one from the St. Louis 41 in overtime, allowing the host Rams to come away with a 34-31 victory over the two-time defending NFC champions Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.

Seattle attempted an onside kick that was covered by Rams' rookie free agent wideout Bradley Marquez at the Seattle 49. After a perfectly lofted pass from Nick Foles to Stedman Bailey to the Seattle 25, the drive stalled.

But Greg Zuerlein booted a 37-yard field goal with 12:06 to play in overtime to give the Rams a 34-31 lead.

RAMS RALLY TO FORCE OT

Nick Foles hooked up with tight end Lance Kendricks for a 37-yard touchdowns with 53 seconds left in regulation and Greg Zuerlein followed with the kick, allowing the Rams to pull even at 31 with the Seattle Seahawks and send the season-opener for both clubs Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome to overtime.

On the game-tying play, Seattle's Dion Bailey slipped and fell, leaving Kendricks all alone.

Down 24-13 going into the final quarter, the two-time defending NFC champion Seahawks scored two touchdowns in a span of just seven seconds to go up 31-24.

Seattle cut into the Rams' lead early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard scoring pass from Russell Wilson to tight end Jimmy Graham, who was acquired in the offseason from the cap-strapped New Orleans Saints. Marshawn Lynch followed by running in the two-point try, cutting the Rams' lead to 24-21 with 12:04 to play.

Following an Isaiah Pead fumble _ Earl Thomas knocked it loose _ recovered by Bruce Irvin at the Seattle 25, the Seahawks marched for the tying score, pulling even at 24 on a 35-yard Steven Hauschka field goal with 4:46 to play.

On the next play from scrimmage, Seattle's Cary Williams came untouched on a blitz around the right side. His blind-side hit on Nick Foles knocked the ball loose and he continued on, scooping the ball up and returning it 8 yards for the touchdown. Hauschka's kick made it 31-24 with 4:39 to play.

The Rams make their road debut Sunday against the Washingon Redskins and will return home to take on the Pittsburgh Steeleers on Sept. 27.

RAMS UP 24-13 WITH A QUARTER TO PLAY

After falling behind early in the second half, the Rams came roaring back, regaining the lead on a Nick Foles 1-yard plunge and stretching the lead to 24-13 when Tavon Austin returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown with 4:30 to play in the third quarter.

Taking advantage of a botched shotgun snap and fumble, Seattle regained the lead at 13-10 on a 27-yard field goal from Steven Hauschka with 9:40 to play in the third quarter. opening quarter.

The Rams answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard scoring run by QB Nick Foles with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

The drive, which put the Rams on top 17-13, featured a 16-yard pass from Foles to Kenny Britt and a 30-yarder from Foles to tight end Jared Cook. On the scoring play, Foles ran a bootleg right and dove a across for the go-ahead score.

After another Rams' stop, this one featuring a third-down sack from Aaron Donald, the Seahawks were forced to punt. And Austin took it to the house.

GAME TIED AT THE HALF

Seattle's Steven Hauschka booted a 25-yard field goal as time expired, leaving the Rams and Seahawks tied at 10 at halftime.

The Rams had taken their first lead of the new campaign, going up 10-7 on a 33-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein with 7:31 to play in the first half. The scoring drive started when Trumaine Johnson stepped in front of a Russell Wilson pass intended for Marshawn Lynch and returned it to the Seattle 26. A holding call slowed the drive, forcing the Rams to kick the field goal.

Some halftime numbers:

• Nick Foles completed 7 of 10 pases for 73 yards; Jared Cook (3 catches, 47 yards) and Benny Cunningham (2 catches, 28 yards) led the way receiving; Austin had the 16-yard touchdown run to lead the ground game.

• For Seattle, Russell Wilson completed 13 of 16 for 103 yards and had one pass picked off (by Trumaine Johnson). Marshawn Lynch ran 7 times for 17 yards. Jermaine Kearse (30 yards) and Tyler Lockett (26 yards) had three catches apiece. Lockett scored the Seattle touchdown on a punt return.

RAMS PULL EVEN AT 7-7 EARLY IN SECOND

On the first play of the second quarter, the Rams' Tavon Austin took a handoff from Nick Foles and raced 16 yards for a touchdown as the Rams pulled even at 7-7.

Austin took a step to the right and then cut to the left and cruised into the end zone. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive for the Rams. Key plays on the drive included passes from Nick Foles to Benny Cunningham covering 16 and 11 yards and passes covering 22 and 20 yards from Foles to Jared Cook.

The Seahawks grabbed the 7-0 lead with 4:31 to play in the opening quarter when Tyler Lockett, a rookie from Kansas State, returned a punt 57 yards. The Rams' Johnny Hekker was forced to kick from deep in his end zone after his club's first offensive drive, which started at its own 12, resulted in a nine-yard loss on a pass, a two-yard loss on a run, a false-start penalty and a quarterback sneak.

Seattle opened the game with a time-consuming drive that reached the St. Louis 29 before a pair of key defensive plays from William Hayes.

Hayes forced Russell Wilson to step up into the pocked for an Aaron Donald sack and then ran down Marshawn Lynch to help kill the drive.

RAMS KICK OFF 2015 AGAINST SEATTLE

The Rams kick off the 2015 season Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome, taking on the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams, coming off a 6-10 season, have played Seattle tough at home in recent years, going 2-1 under Jeff Fisher at the Dome. In last year's game, the home club held off the Seahawks and red-hot Russell Wilson, winning 28-26 on the strength of two trick plays on special teams. In the loss, Wilson become the first player in NFL history to finish with 300-plus passing yards and 100-plus rushing yards in the same game.

The Seahawks, who suffered a dramatic and heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl earlier this year, own a 21-13 edge over the Rams in the all-time series. That includes a Rams' win in the playoffs in 2004.

In last year's regular-season finale, the host Seahawks won 20-6.

Sunday marks the Rams' debut of quarterback Nick Foles, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia in the spring. Foles is 14-4 as a starter over the last two seasons.

The Seahawks have not faced the Rams' No. 1 QB since the 2012 season. In 2013 and again last year, starter Sam Bradford had already suffered season-ending knee injuries before the two NFC West squads squared off.

The Rams are in all blue. Seattle in white jerseys and dark pants.

WR QUICK SCRATCHED

As expected, running backs Tre Mason (hamstring) and Todd Gurley (knee) are inactive for Sunday's game against the Seahawks. Another key inactive is linebacker and special teams leader Daren Bates, who still not ready after suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener at Seattle.

Third-year pro Benny Cunningham gets the start at running back.

In a bit of a surprise, the Rams' inactives also includes wide receiver Brian Quick, who saw his breakout season in 2014 interrupted by a severe shoulder injury. At the time, just four games into the season, Quick had already posted career highs with catches (25), yardage (275) and touchdowns. (three).

The fourth-year receiver has been brought along slowly through training camp.

Also sitting out the season opener for the Rams is rookie quarterback Sean Mannion and rookie offensive linemen Andrew Donnal and Darrell Williams.

For Seattle, the inactives are CB Tharold Simon, QB B.J. Daniels, FB Wi9ll Tukuafu, LB Mike Morgan, G Mark Glowinski, C/G Kristjan Sokoli and DT David King.

The Seahawks are also without starting safety and defensive leader Kam Chancellor, who's holding out in a contract dispute.

 

[RamBill]

With new faces, Seahawks defense lit up in 34-31 loss
By Sheil Kapadia

http://espn.go.com/blog/seattle-sea...w-faces-seahawks-defense-lit-up-in-34-31-loss

ST. LOUIS -- With new faces in the secondary, the Seattle Seahawks let a potential comeback victory slip out of their hands in a 34-31 loss to the St. Louis Rams.

The final play in overtime was an inside handoff to Marshawn Lynch, who was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-2 to end the game.

But late in the fourth quarter, it was the defense that fell apart. Dion Bailey, playing in place of Kam Chancellor, was beaten by tight end Lance Kendricks on a 37-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left in regulation. Kendricks ran a go route on the outside, and Bailey slipped, leaving him wide open for the game-tying score.

In overtime, the Seahawks attempted an onside kick, but the Rams recovered, giving them the ball at the Seattle 49. Greg Zuerlein ended up kicking a 37-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.

The Seahawks had staged a furious comeback after trailing 24-13 late in the fourth quarter. With 4:39 left in the game, Cary Williams came on a corner blitz, stripped quarterback Nick Foles, scooped up the fumble and took it to the end zone to give the Seahawks a 31-24 lead. But Foles put together a 12-play, 84-yard drive to tie the game.

The defense gave up eight plays of 20 yards or more on the day. Foles went 18-for-27 for 297 yards and a touchdown. The Rams were without their top two running backs in Todd Gurley and Tre Mason. They were also missing starting wide receiver Brian Quick. But Foles averaged 11.0 yards attempt and moved the ball up and down the field.

The Seahawks now will go to Lambeau Field looking for their first win of the season.

 

[RamBill]

Led by Nick Foles, resilient Rams fight their way to victory
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...les-resilient-rams-fight-their-way-to-victory

ST. LOUIS -- For the better part of the past decade, when the St. Louis Rams faced some adversity in a game, they folded up their tents and called it a day.

Whether or not Sunday’s 34-31 win against the Seattle Seahawks is a sign of a new era remains to be seen but for one day, at least, the Rams refused to go quietly into the St. Louis evening.


Nick Foles was pressured all day, but stood tall in the end.
And it was quarterback Nick Foles who set the example for the team’s newfound resilience. Under pressure for most of the day – Seattle had two sacks, six quarterback hits and many more pressures – Foles continued to stand tall in the pocket and deliver when the Rams needed him.

Never was that more true than overtime as Foles and the Rams took over at midfield following Seattle’s failed onside kick attempt. Foles promptly delivered a 22-yard strike to receiver Stedman Bailey for a gain of 22 to Seattle’s 25.

That set up the game-winning 37-yard field goal from kicker Greg Zuerlein and was just one of many examples of Foles’ toughness.

All of that came after Foles was hit from behind and coughed up a fumble that gave Seattle a 31-24 lead with less than five minutes to play. Foles hobbled off the field holding his right arm. He then promptly led an 84-yard drive, capped by a 37-yard strike to tight end Lance Kendricks for the game-tying touchdown.

By that point, Foles had already led two 80-yard scoring drives after the ball bounced the other way, one after Tyler Lockett’s 57-yard punt return for a touchdown and another after a mishandled snap led to a turnover to open the second half.

Foles finished with 297 yards on 18 of 27 passing with a touchdown and a rushing touchdown. But beyond the numbers, Foles provided Rams fans with two more things they’ve been craving from the quarterback position: toughness and a season-opening win against a hated division rival.

 

[RamBill]

Rams Post Thrilling 34-31 Win Over Seahawks
By Myles Simmons

View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Post-Thrilling-34-31-Win-Over-Seahawks/312b065d-1954-47d3-9e67-f6ee895925ab



ST. LOUIS -- It was a wild one to open the season, but at the end of it, the Rams came away with a 34-31 overtime victory over the Seahawks.

The Rams won the coin toss, but they deferred to the second half, giving the Seahawks the ball to commence the year. St. Louis’ defense kept Seattle in check, with 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald coming through with the unit’s first sack of the year.

Rushing up the middle, Donald used a power move to get into the backfield, then shed Seattle offensive guard J.R. Sweezy to get right in Wilson’s face for the sack.

But the home team was pinned back near its own goal line on the ensuing drive, and Johnny Hekker had to punt from his own end zone. While Hekker got off a decent kick, Seahawks rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett returned the punt 58 yards to open the scoring. Lockett fielded the ball toward the middle of the field, and ran through an open hole and wasn’t touched on his way to the end zone, giving Seattle a 7-0 lead.

The Rams came right back from the touchdown in a big way, driving 80 yards down the field to tie the game with a Tavon Austin TD. Quarterback Nick Foles connected on all four of his passes on the drive, including a short one to Benny Cunningham on 3rd-and-15 the running back took 17 yards with some shifty moves for a key first down.

To cap off the possession, Austin ran it in from 16-yards out. Foles lined up in the pistol with Jared Cook beside him and Austin behind him. The offensive line flowed to the right, but Cook went left to seal the edge. Austin followed the tight end over to the left and went untouched into the end zone for a touchdown, tying the score at seven in the second quarter.

St. Louis got back on the board with points off a turnover. On 3rd-and-4 from Seattle’s 38, Johnson lined up over Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, who was split out wide on the left side of the defense. At the snap, Lynch ran a comeback route, which Johnson read flawlessly and jumped. Fully extending himself to get the football, the cornerback came up with an interception to set up the offense at Seattle’s 26.

Greg Zuerlein would hit a 33-yard field goal to put the Rams on top, 10-7.

Seattle ended the first half with a field goal to tie the game at 10, and then used a turnover to put another three points on the board to open the second-half scoring.

But after that, St. Louis gained control with 14 quick points. The offense got going with an 18-yard pass from Foles to Kenny Britt, then moved further down the field with the help of a Seattle unnecessary roughness penalty. Foles kept the momentum rolling with a 9-yard scramble, and a play later hit Cook with a 30-yard pass to put St. Louis in the red zone.

On 1st-and-goal from Seattle’s 1-yard line, Foles showed his wheels again, faking a handoff to Cunningham and keeping it himself for an end-around touchdown. The score put the Rams back on top, 17-13.

It wouldn’t stay that way for long. Donald recorded his second sack on Seattle’s ensuing possession, making it 4th-and-12 from the visitor’s 18.

With Lockett already taking one to the house, Austin did him one better. The West Virginia product fielded a deep punt, and scampered 75 yards down the left sideline to pay dirt. Janoris Jenkins and Bradley Marquez gave him some good blocks to spring him.

Defensive end Robert Quinn had his first sack of the day in the first half, and put up another early in the fourth for St. Louis’ fifth QB takedown of the day. But Seattle would get the best of the drive, with Wilson connecting with tight end Jimmy Graham for a 7-yard touchdown. The Seahawks would make their two-point conversion attempt, cutting the Rams’ lead to 24-21.

While the Rams initially responded well to the score, an Isaiah Pead fumble in Seattle territory gave the visitors the ball back at their own 25.

Seattle made it to the red zone, but that’s where the Rams defense held stout. The unit forced an incompletion on 3rd-and-4 at the St. Louis 17 to induce a field goal.

With the game tied at 24, Seattle forced another turnover to get back on top. On the first play of the drive at the home team’s 20, the Seahawks blitzed cornerback Cary Williams who blindsided Foles. The quarterback lost the ball on the sack, which Williams picked up and ran to the end zone. The touchdown gave Seattle a 31-24 lead.

But this one wasn’t over quite yet. The offense responded as it had throughout the game, with Foles coming up with a couple strong to lead the Rams down the field to tie the game. On 3rd-and-15 from the St. Louis 37, the quarterback evaded the rush and fired a pass to Britt, which the wide receiver caught for 21 yards and a first down.

Two plays later on 3rd-and-5, tight end Lance Kendricks ran a streak down the left sideline. His defender fell to the ground, and Foles hit his open receiver for a 37-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Seattle got the ball back with 53 seconds, but the Rams defense prevented Wilson from getting anything going. Eugene Sims recorded St. Louis’ sixth sack of the game on 2nd-and-8 from the Seahawks’ 37. The defensive lineman was injured on the play, inducing the Rams to use a timeout with one second on the clock. But Wilson took a knee to send the game to overtime.

St. Louis won the OT coin toss, but Seattle tried a little trickery to start off the extra period. With the Rams in their base kick return formation, kicker Steven Hauschka kicked one short to the left side, trying to catch the home team napping. But wide receiver Bradley Marquez was ready, and caught the kick at midfield.

With another strong throw from Foles, the Rams got in position for their game-winning field goal. The quarterback dropped a stellar throw over the head of Richard Sherman and into the hands of Stedman Bailey to put the Rams on the Seahawks’ 25. Zuerlein nailed his 37-yard attempt to give the Rams a 34-31 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Seattle gave Lynch the ball on 4th-and-2 and he was stopped by Donald and Michael Brockers in the backfield to give the Rams the W.

 

[RamBill]

Rams show Seahawks NFC West will be slugfest this season
James Parziale
FOX Sports

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...st-slugfest-russell-wilson-nick-foles-091315#

New year, same problems for the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks needed a yard to keep ther game against the St. Louis Rams going in overtime on Sunday, and this time, even though they gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch, they got stuffed.

It's a joke that writes itself.

The Rams, by outlasting the Seahawks 34-31 in overtime in Week 1, also just gave everyone the blueprint for how to stop the defending NFC champs: attack that decimated offensive line and hit Russell Wilson. Oh, and go after the guy who is replacing Kam Chancellor.

To make matters worse, it looks like the Rams are angry.

Not everyone has a front as ferocious as the Rams, but they harassed Wilson all day. The latter did have one big run for a first down inside the red zone that set up Jimmy Graham's first touchdown catch in a Seattle uniform on third down.
However, this game never really should have come to that. It was all going so swimmingly for the Rams.

The Rams were up 24-13 in the third quarter. The upset was in sight.
Then all kinds of shenanigans brook loose. Three second-half turnovers by the Rams let the Seahawks off the hook.

In addition, the Seahawks missed their all-world holdout safety Chancellor. His replacement, Dion Bailey, got burned for a game-tying touchdown with under a minute left in regulation.

The quirkiness continued with the Seahawks attempting an onside kick to start overtime, and despite the refs flipping their calls around about a possible fair-catch, the Rams got amazing field position that led to the go-ahead field goal and the eventual victory.

Everyone has said the Rams have been a quarterback away from competing in the NFC West. And Nick Foles' regular-season debut on Sunday proved just that.

 

[RamBill]

Gordo: Rams thrill their diehards by edging Seahawks

• By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_3b6f28e8-0552-52b6-855c-af025abe1d8e.html


Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, right, is sacked for a 4-yard loss by St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald during the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Everybody who avoided the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday afternoon missed an incredible spectacle.

If this season is the Rams' farewell tour in St. Louis, it began memorably. The Rams rallied in the final minute to force the Seattle Seahawks into overtime, then edged them 34-31.

"Tremendous effort," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "We didn't play particularly well, we did things that cost you games, but we overcame them."

The game ended, appropriately, when the Rams defensive front poured through the Seattle offensive line one last time to make the OT-ending stop on Marshawn Lynch on fourth down.

Those Rams fans who did attend roared in approval, drowning out the Seahawk loyalists who gobbled up many of the tickets.

Defensive linemen Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Eugene Sims and Co. had a great day, despite the high score. The Seahawks scored on a touchdown punt return and a touchdown fumble return during this frantic game.

Quarterback Nick Foles countered with a stirring regular Rams debut, completing 18 of 27 passes for 297 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing TD.

He was dealing with the absence of top running backs Todd Gurley (knee) and Tre Mason (hamstring) and key receiver Brian Quick (shoulder). He also worked around the inexperience of his offensive line, which led to some mishaps -- such as a shotgun snap off of his chest while he was signaling play adjustments.

Foles marched the Rams for the last-minute touchdown that forced the game into overtime, locating unattended tight Lance Kendricks for the 37-yard score. Then his overtime strike to Stedman Bailey set up Greg Zuerlein's decisive field goal.

That short scoring drive came after daring Seahawks coach Pete Carroll ordered an onside kick to open the overtime. The Rams recovered it and then convinced the officials not to order a re-kick. (Long story, no need to go into here.)

It was that kind of contest. A pair of massive Rams turnovers in the late going to complicate their challenge. First running back Isaiah Pead fumbled the ball with the Rams up 24-21 and in range for at least a field goal.

Then, with the game tied 24-24, blitzing Seahawks cornerback Cary Williams steamrolled Foles with a blind side sack as the quarterback cocked his arm to throw.

The ball flew loose, allowing Williams to scoop it up and Seattle to take a late 31-24 lead the Rams had to overcome.

Oh, and the game started on a bad note, too. Seahawks punt returner Tyler Lockett to race 57 yards for the game's first touchdown. Johnny Hekker launched a missile from the back of his end zone and Lockett had room to rumble.

After that blunder, though, the Rams controlled most of the remaining half. Their 80-yard touchdown drive was most impressive, with tight end Jared Cook running free and running back Benny Cunningham gaining impressive post-catch yardage.

As a nod to former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, the Rams closed that drive with Tavon Austin's 16-yard run from the running back position. He easily got around the sealed left tackle to race untouched into the end zone.

See, that play really can work!

Thus inspired, the Rams defense teed off on the Seahawks. A dubious personal foul penalty extended the ensuing Seattle drive, but cornerback Trumaine Johnson ended it with a spectacular lunging interception.

That set up a Zuerlein field goal that gave the Rams a 10-7 lead.

Alas, the Seahawks were able to scramble back and tie the game 10-10 before the half, with quarterback Russell Wilson doing what Russell Wilson does -- hitting some quick throws and extending other plays with his nimble feet.

The Rams did well to toughen up in the red zone and hold Seattle to a field goal.

Disaster struck the Rams again early in the second half when a broken play resulted in center Tim Barnes hitting Foles in the chest with a shotgun snap while Nick was looking away and signaling adjustments.

Seattle recovered the loose ball and marched downfield for the go-ahead field goal. A great tackle by safety T.J. McDonald -- taking down big Jimmy Graham in the open field -- forced Seattle to settle for three points.

But the Rams responded with an impressive touchdown drive. Foles advanced the ball with this arm and his feet, eventually reaching the end zone himself on a bootleg run.

The Rams defense fed off that score with a quick stop, with safety Mark Barron forcing Wilson to throw away a pass and Donald forcing Wilson to the ground with another sack.

On the ensuing punt, Austin raced 74-yards to push the Rams toward a 24-13 lead. Remarkably, none of his teammates negated the big play with a mindless blocking-in-the-back penalty.

The Seahawks challenged the play, hoping the officials could locate video evidence that Austin stepped out bounds. Such a review the past several years would have resulted in the play being overturned, but this time it held.

Is this an omen? Have the Rams' fortunes finally reversed? Maybe, just maybe, they have.

The Seahawks came right back at the Rams with Wilson doing damage with his feet and his arm. The Rams some success blitzing in this game and they did a good job containing tight end Jimmy Graham on a variety of plays.

Seattle cut the Rams lead to 24-21 when Wilson connected with Graham in the left corner of the end zone to defeat a Rams blitz, then Lynch plowed into the end zone for a two-point conversion.

Cunningham responded immediately with a 42-yard catch-and-run play. And Foles kept the Rams moving with his desperate shovel pass to Cunningham to narrowly escape a sack.

But Seattle turned Pead's ensuing fumble into a game-tying field goal -- and it could have been worse but for Marcus Roberson's pass defense in the left corner of the end zone.

Williams' strip sack/TD fumble recovery put Seattle up 31-24, but Foles led the Rams back. He kept the last-gasp drive alive with a nice scramble completion to Kenny Britt and he finished it off by locating Kendricks.

What a game. Those who boycotted the festivities due to owner Stan Kroenke's actions missed quite a show.

 

[RamBill]

The Rams burned Russell Wilson on Twitter after stunning the Seahawks

By: Nick Schwartz

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/rus...itzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnfl-topstories

The St. Louis Rams came from behind to tie the game late against the Seattle Seahawks on a 37-yard Nick Foles touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks, and Seattle coach Pete Carroll’s questionable decision to opt for an onside kick to start overtime gave the Rams great field position. The Rams capitalized by kicking a 37-yard field goal, and the St. Louis defense then stuffed Marshawn Lynch on 4th-and-1 to win the game.

The thrilling finish made this tweet from quarterback Russell Wilson, who predicted the Seahawks would start 1-0 on Saturday, look rather foolish.

Russell Wilson @DangeRussWilson
1-0.
#GoHawks
1:36 PM - 12 Sep 2015

The Rams noticed Wilson’s tweet and called him on it publicly. To Wilson’s credit, he hasn’t deleted it… yet.

 

[shake-n-bake]

The Rams burned Russell Wilson on Twitter after stunning the Seahawks

By: Nick Schwartz

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/rus...itzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnfl-topstories

The St. Louis Rams came from behind to tie the game late against the Seattle Seahawks on a 37-yard Nick Foles touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks, and Seattle coach Pete Carroll’s questionable decision to opt for an onside kick to start overtime gave the Rams great field position. The Rams capitalized by kicking a 37-yard field goal, and the St. Louis defense then stuffed Marshawn Lynch on 4th-and-1 to win the game.

The thrilling finish made this tweet from quarterback Russell Wilson, who predicted the Seahawks would start 1-0 on Saturday, look rather foolish.

Russell Wilson @DangeRussWilson
1-0.
#GoHawks
1:36 PM - 12 Sep 2015

The Rams noticed Wilson’s tweet and called him on it publicly. To Wilson’s credit, he hasn’t deleted it… yet.

Priceless

 

[RamBill]

St. Louis posted a thrilling 34-31 overtime victory over Seattle in the regular-season opener on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome

Watch Game Highlights

 

[RamBill]

Dani Klupenger recaps the thrilling season opener against Seattle.

Watch Rams Post Game Report

 

[RamBill]

Wide receiver Tavon Austin talks to Dani Klupenger about his 75-yard punt return touchdown and getting the season-opening victory.

Watch Austin Interview

 

[RamBill]

Defensive lineman Robert Quinn talks to Dani Klupenger about the team recording six sacks and picking up the win over Seattle.

Watch Quinn Interview

 

[RamBill]

Watch defensive end Chris Long talk after the Rams Week 1 overtime victory against the Seahawks.

Watch Long's Interview

 

[RamBill]

Head coach Jeff Fisher talks about the Rams thrilling Week 1 overtime victory against the Seahawks.

Watch Fisher's Post Game Presser

 

[RamBill]

Foles’ Resiliency Leads to Rams Win
By Myles Simmons

View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Foles%E2%80%99-Resiliency-Leads-to-Rams-Win/a9c60dcb-0426-401d-b108-4e20de8d4d12


The Seahawks had just recovered a fumble, driven into Rams territory, and connected on a field goal to tie the game at 24 in the fourth quarter. After a touchback put the Rams back on their own 20-yard line, quarterback Nick Foles dropped back for what appeared to be the makings of a deep ball to start the drive.

Except it wasn’t to be. Seattle cornerback Cary Williams came in on a blitz from Foles’ left and hit the quarterback hard to cause a fumble. To make matters worse, Williams recovered the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown to put the visitors up 31-24 with just 4:39 left in the opening contest of 2015.

For some, that might have been enough to conclude it wasn’t the Rams day. But not for St. Louis’ starting quarterback.

“If there’s time on the clock, the game’s never over no matter what the score is,” Foles said. “That’s been my mentality as a little kid, something my parents instilled in me … just to fight to the end no matter what because you want to leave it all on the field.”

And with Foles leading the offense, fight is exactly what the Rams did.

On the ensuing drive, the quarterback showed no hangover effects from the previous turnover, throwing a game-tying touchdown pass with just 59 seconds remaining in the contest. On 3rd-and-15 from the St. Louis 37, Foles evaded the rush in the pocket to find Kenny Britt with a 21-yard strike to keep the drive alive. Then two plays later, Foles found a wide open Lance Kendricks down the left sideline for a 37-yard scoring strike.

“I’m very fortunate to have some tremendous tight ends,” Foles said. “It’s a matchup I took, and Lance gave him a little move and ran right by him.”


“Nick gave me the opportunity,” Kendricks said. “He threw the ball up and I was able to come down with the ball.”

That the touchdown drive came after what could have been a devastating fumble is a credit to Foles’ leadership.

“We were on the sideline just screaming, ‘It’s definitely not over,’” wide receiver Tavon Austin said, adding Foles “always tells us that adversity is going to come. It’s all how we’re going to fight back and that’s what we did.”

With that mentality, St. Louis would go on to win its home opener in overtime 34-31.

“We did a great job when adversity hit because it did,” Foles said. “Several times throughout the night, we stuck together, leaned on each other and that’s what it takes to win. That’s what it takes to win in the NFL. To me, that’s Ram football right there.”

Perhaps even more indicative of the Rams’ resiliency on offense is how the unit was able to score its touchdowns. St. Louis had three TD drives of at least 80 yards on Sunday. That’s a significant feat against any team, but it’s especially one against a Seahawks defense that has earned its strong reputation.

“Not all the plays were positive, but we were able to convert third downs. We were able to convert third-and-long,” Foles said. “Running backs did a tremendous job on check downs, really cutting it up and getting those first downs.”

Foles finished the game having connected on 18 of his 27 passes for 297 yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown. But the stat line doesn’t tell the full story. The quarterback has spent a lot of time building relationships with his teammates and that appeared to pay big dividends on Sunday. Tight end Jared Cook gave much of the credit for the way the offense was consistently able to bounce back during the game to Foles’ demeanor.


“When you have a quarterback who comes in the huddle before anybody and just kind of gives you the word on just keeping your head up and fighting through the adversity, that’s what you need more than anything -- to hear that from the head guy,” Cook said. “To hear the confidence he comes into the huddle with is incredible. It means everything in the world. Knowing he has confidence in you when things are going bad, gives you more confidence in him that he’s going to get the job done.”

“The guys know when they’re out there I count on them, no matter who’s over them, to make plays because we do have depth,” Foles said. “We do have guys that believe they can play. They showed it tonight and we just have to continue to work and improve.”

While plenty of Rams acknowledged a need to continue to improve and fix the mistakes that were made, this kind of solid team win can also be indicative of how a close-knit group can play throughout the season.

“I think that’s what’s in your heart,” Foles said. “That’s what’s in your mind. That’s caring about one another. That’s playing with your brothers right there -- that no matter what, if something does happen like that, the game’s not over. You have to lean on each other and have each others’ backs to win the game. And that’s what the guys did tonight.”

 

[RamBill]

Inspired by 9/11 hero and led by Nick Foles, resilient Rams come up with win
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...by-nick-foles-resilient-rams-come-up-with-win

ST. LOUIS -- Nick Foles vividly remembers playing against St. Louis last year because of the fight he saw in the Rams, who rebounded from a 27-point deficit only to fall six points short to Foles' Philadelphia Eagles.

"I remember when we played them when I was in Philadelphia, I had the utmost respect," said Foles, who was traded to the Rams in March. "They played with a lot of heart and fought until the end."

They were resilient then. They showed that resilience again Sunday, taking a 34-31 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener.

That "resilience" became the team's word of the weekend was no accident. On Saturday night, Rams coach Jeff Fisher invited Will Jimeno, the New York Port Authority police officer who survived 13 hours under World Trade Center rubble, to speak to his team.

Jimeno promised the team a win and delivered a message that emphasized the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity. Evidently, nobody took those words to heart more than Foles.

Time and again Sunday, when something bad happened to the Rams, it was Foles who was waiting on the sideline, offering a word of encouragement then promptly going on to the field to back it up.

"When things aren't going right, he knows how to get everybody on the same page and just ready to go and go down there and score," tight end Lance Kendricks said of Foles, who was making his first regular-season start as the Rams' quarterback.

Whether Sunday's victory is a sign of a new era in Rams football remains to be seen. But for one day, at least, the Rams refused to go quietly into the St. Louis evening. And Foles looked like the player they've needed, someone who could turn the four one-possession losses of a year ago into victories and quickly forget when something goes wrong.

Under pressure for most of the day -- Seattle had two sacks, seven quarterback hits and many more pressures -- Foles continued to stand tall in the pocket and deliver when the Rams needed him.

After taking over at midfield following Seattle's failed squib-kick attempt in overtime, Foles delivered a 22-yard strike to receiver Stedman Bailey for a gain of 22 to Seattle's 25. That set up the game-winning, 37-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein and was the finishing touch on a day in which every time the Rams got knocked down, they wasted no time getting back up.

Late in the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 24, Seattle cornerback Cary Williams hit Foles from behind, forcing a fumble and recovering it for a touchdown and a 7-point lead. As Foles hobbled off the field holding his right arm, it appeared the Rams finally had met their end.

Foles' response? An 84-yard drive capped by a 37-yard pass to Kendricks for the game-tying touchdown.

By that point, Foles already had led two 80-yard scoring drives after the ball bounced the other way, one after Tyler Lockett's 57-yard punt return for a touchdown and another after a mishandled snap led to a turnover to open the second half.

"I think he breathes [resilience]," tight end Jared Cook said. "After [the mishandled snap] he came up to us and was like, 'We're going to keep pushing. We are not going to let that define us. We are not going to let that stop us.' And that's what we did."

"That was my mentality as a little kid, something my parents instilled in me, just to fight to the end no matter what because you want to leave it all on the field," said Foles, who finished with 297 yards on 18-of-27 passing with a touchdown and a rushing score. "You don't want to go back in the locker room and say, 'I wish I could have.' You want to say, 'I gave it everything I have.' Our guys gave it everything they had tonight.

"We finished."

In the process, Foles' gutsy debut offered something even more important for a team that hasn't enjoyed a winning record since 2003 or a playoff berth since 2004. It was reason for hope.

 

[RamBill]

Rams stuff Seahawks in overtime
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6abf7ba2-fc75-53b9-b648-38ed7305740b.html

As defensive tackle Michael Brockers put it in a jubilant Rams postgame locker room, Seattle's Russell Wilson is a better quarterback than predictor.

It was Wilson who tweeted Saturday that the Seahawks would be 1-0 after their season opener against St. Louis on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, followed by a fourth-down stand by the St. Louis defense, Wilson's record as a predictor in 2015 fell to 0-1.

In their first overtime game to start a season since 2001, the Rams outlasted the two-time defending NFC champions 34-31. A total of 51,792 tickets were distributed in the 66,000-seat Edward Jones Dome. Perhaps 40,000 to 45,000 people were in the stands for what could be the final Rams season in St. Louis.

"As a team, I think we just finished up the game," said Rams defensive end Robert Quinn, who accounted for two of the Rams' six sacks. "We started off hot. Seattle made great plays on both sides of the ball to get themselves back into the game."

And after squandering a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter, the Rams found themselves trailing 31-24 on a Cary Williams sack, forced, fumble, and touchdown return with just 4 minutes 39 seconds left to play.

We've seen this one before. Right? Cue up the "Same old sorry (bleep) Rams" chorus.

Not this time. Tight end Lance Kendricks, who had only one catch for five yards in the first 59 minutes of regulation, got behind Seahawks safety Dion Bailey for a 37-yard TD catch with 53 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied 31-all.

Then Seattle coach Pete Carroll outsmarted himself again. Roundly criticized after throwing a pass (which was intercepted) instead of running Marshawn Lynch from the 1 in last season's Super Bowl loss to New England, Carroll tried an onside kick to open overtime. Never mind that he has the league's reigning leaders in scoring defense and total defense.

Actually, as Carroll explained afterwards, it was supposed to be a 30-yard pooch kickoff, not a traditional onside kick. In any event, Rams wide receiver Bradley Marquez, a former baseball outfielder in the Mets' organization, scooped up the short pop fly from Seahawks place-kicker Steven Hauschka giving the Rams' possession.

"We just didn't execute there," Carroll said. "That is not what was supposed to happen. . . .We were kicking the ball way down the field."

Or at least that was supposed to be the plan. One first down later came the Zuerlein field goal, and then the Rams' fourth-down stop in which Brockers and fellow D-tackle Aaron Donald stopped Marshawn Lynch shy of the first-down marker on fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 42.

"It's fourth down, who (else) are they going to go to?" Brockers said. "I think they kind of know what happens when you don't give Lynch the ball, so we knew it was going to him."

The Rams got some Tavon Austin magic in the form of two touchdowns, including an electrifying 74-yard put return that gave them a 24-13 late in the third quarter. But then came 18 consecutive Seattle points.

Just as it looked like things didn't finish well for the Rams, things didn't start well either. The first possession of the Foles era began at the St. Louis 12. The first two Rams' offensive plays of 2015 went backwards. Then there was a false start penalty on rookie left guard Jamon Brown.

So about the best thing that could be said for the series when Johnny Hekker lined up to punt is that the Rams avoided a safety. Things got immediately worse when Seattle rookie Tyler Lockett, fielded the Hekker punt at his 43, raced up the middle, and didn't stop until he was 57 yards down field _ in the end zone for a Seattle touchdown.

Lockett, from Kansas State, had returned both a punt and a kickoff for a score in the preseason. It was the first punt return for a TD allowed by the Rams during the Jeff Fisher tenure in St. Louis.

The Rams offense had an answer on their next possession, driving 80 yards on nine plays for a touchdown.

Tight end Jared Cook, a favorite target of Foles early in training camp, caught passes of 22 and 20 yards. Benny Cunningham, starting at running back with both Todd Gurley and Tre Mason on the pregame inactive list, added 17 yards with extra effort on a third-and-15 screen pass.

On the first play of the second quarter, Austin lined up in the backfield, started up the middle, then cut back to his left for a touchdown. That tied the game 7-7. The Rams took the lead 10-7 midway through the second quarter following a Trumaine Johnson interception of a poorly thrown ball by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

The Rams took over at the Seattle 26, but had to settle for a Zuerlein field goal, in part because of a holding call against Rams left tackle Greg Robinson. It was a rough opening for Robinson, who also gave up a sack in the first quarter and half.

The Rams, who lost Johnson to a possible concussion later in the half, came to play defensively. They gang-tackled running back Lynch and harassed Wilson with first half sacks by Donald, Lamarcus Joyner, and Quinn.

Wilson completed 13 of 16 in the opening half, with almost all of them coming on quick throws. Three-step drops were the order of the day for Seattle.

Seattle tied 10-10 the game on a Hauschka field goal to end the half, then took a 13-10 lead early in the third quarter following a Rams turnover. Foles appeared to be not ready for a shotgun snap by Tim Barnes, making just his fifth career start at center. The ball bounced off Foles' hands as was recovered by Seattle.

The Seahawks took over on the St. Louis 39, but once again were unable to get in the end zone. A hard-hit by safety T. J. McDonald on third-and-2 kept Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham shy of the first down marker, resulting in a 27-yard field goal.

But Seattle's lead didn't last long. The Rams marched 80 yards on just six plays (plus two Seattle penalties) for a go-ahead TD. Foles completed passes of 16 yards to Kenny Britt and 30 to Cook, and also scrambled nine yards.

On first-and-goal from the Seattle 1, Foles strolled in on a keeper for his first rushing TD as a Ram and his fifth in the NFL.

The lead swelled to 24-13 on Austin's punt return after a three-and-out by the Rams defense. But early in the fourth quarter, going to a no-huddle effectively, Seattle finally got its first TD against the St. Louis defense. A seven-yard pass from Wilson to Graham, plus a 2-point conversion run by Lynch narrowed the St. Louis lead to 24-21 with 12:04 to play in the fourth quarter.

And following an Isaiah Pead lost fumble deep in Seattle territory, the Seahawks were able to march inside the Rams' red zone for a game-tying field goal by Hauschka with 4:46 left.

From there, things were just starting to get interesting.

==============

Hochman: Rams' success is a reprieve for fans
• By Benjamin Hochman

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_39d71741-7428-520d-b170-a504415391b7.html

After talking with the big man upstairs, Father Leo Spezia talked to the big men downstairs.

Presumably doing double duty on a Sunday, the Rams’ team chaplain emerged from the winning locker room, wearing a white collar and a wide smile.

“They made some mistakes, young team, but they bounced back and didn’t give up,” Father Leo said after speaking to the team. “And the fans were behind them today, and I think that’s really important, especially with things going on the way they are, with the possible stadium or not staying.”

At this point, Father Leo and friends might be the only ones who can save the Rams. Sadly, I don’t think St. Louis has a prayer to keep this particular franchise. Never has there been a need for a Hail Mary more in football. It all just stinks.

Yet after Sunday’s results, here’s the latest cruel twist to St. Louis — the Rams are actually, finally good.

It would be so much easier if the Rams were just, you know, the Rams. Instead, they defeated the defending conference champs — St. Louis 34, Seattle 31 — in overtime.

The Rams’ Nick Foles reminded us that quarterback is the most important job in all of sports, and he can play that position not just competently, but potently. And the defense! A ravenous, Ravens-like defense at the Edward Jones Dome, one that allowed only 16 points, one that won the game by stuffing Marshawn Lynch on fourth down.

Asked about the Rams fans — the scattered tens of thousands at the Dome, and those watching at home — defensive end Robert Quinn said: “Hopefully people don’t quit on on us just yet; we’ve got a lot more to prove.”

Psychologically, it’s already been tough enough to deal with the impending move, and now St. Louisans have to deal with the tease that the Rams are an impending playoff team.

There are many St. Louis Rams fans, sure, but this year, for the first time, fans have had to break it down: Yes, I’m a fan of St. Louis, but am I still a fan of the Rams? Do I want to pay my hard-earned money to go watch and support a franchise that’s trying to move?

I’m sure many of you experienced this Sunday: That giddy moment when you pull on your Rams jersey or you walk through the stadium doors or settle into the soft spot on your sofa and it hits you — dang it, they’re trying to leave St. Louis! Why should I even go through this?

But even if it’s reluctant, we still care. You remember you’re fans of St. Louis, and those guys out there played so hard Sunday for your city (Sack City, at that). You love football. You love that delirious feeling of indecipherably screaming after a touchdown. You hold on to the fact that there’s still a chance the Rams could stay. You know you can only worry about the present. And you feel connected to the past, too, because you felt that tingle in your body when Orlando Pace was introduced at the Dome during the game — and when the one fan reached up to the suite to shake the great lineman’s hand, you felt as if that fan were shaking Pace’s hand for all of St. Louis.

This is still a football town, even if it won’t be a Rams town.

Also, there’s a sentiment out there that it’s important to show up to games if only to show the NFL that St. Louis cares about football. My uncle, a lifelong St. Louisan, had this idea: Someone should organize a huge watch party one fall Sunday, and host it at the site of the potential new stadium. Make it an event. Have St. Louis’ staples of food, drinks and bands. And have huge screens to watch all the other NFL games, in efforts to show the NFL that St. Louis does care about football — but doesn’t want to support a team that doesn’t care about St. Louis.

It’s not the worst idea. But the problem is, we want to watch the Rams this fall if they’re winning. We’ve invested so much into fandom that we’ve got to see this through, we’ve got to be on board if these guys are going to indeed be good.

“We’re a contender,” said the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who made the final tackle of the game. “Sky’s the limit for this team.”

Here’s what I liked:

The poise of Foles, seldom forcing a play. He threw it out of bounds when necessary and gambled when it was optimal — notably when he was being sacked in the fourth but tossed the ball over to Benny Cunningham for 7 yards.

The resilience, when the Seahawks took a 24-13 Rams lead and flipped it into a 31-24 Seattle lead … in the fourth quarter, too.

Those plays when Tavon Austin became Tavon Awesome.

And this fact: Be it Foles, Quinn or coach Jeff Fisher, numerous Rams weren’t satisfied with “just” winning the game; on the contrary, they said there is much to improve upon, an honest and humble perspective after beating a team that played in the past two Super Bowls.

“We did a great job when adversity hit, because it did, several times,” Foles said. “We stuck together and leaned on each other, and that’s what it’s going to take to win in the NFL. And to me, that’s Ram football.”

Wait, Rams football has an identity?

When the game ended — and what a cool way for a game to end! — Fisher jogged (possibly floated) toward the stands, hands raised, thumbs up.

It’s been quite a summer for everyone who cares about the St. Louis Rams. For Fisher, it’s tough enough just to be a head coach in this league, let alone with LA looming.

And for a day, they were winners. And they didn’t beat just any team. They beat the Seahawks.

A half-hour later, I privately asked Fisher to describe that moment with the fans.

“Our fans, our fans were in it,” the coach said. “They were into it, it was great. And that’s what we said: ‘We’re going to play good football, so come watch us,’ and they did. ...

“It’s an emotional game. And it’s a long game. Overtime wins are special. They’re different. They’re special. It’s over, you win.”

Fisher snapped his fingers to make his point — just like that, it can be over.

===============



Rams are hard to predict for Seahawks
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c86f6d62-4cab-5d1b-b97d-8e03e9b092ee.html

As defensive tackle Michael Brockers and his fellow Rams view it, Seattle’s Russell Wilson is a better quarterback than predictor.

It was Wilson, after all, who tweeted on Saturday: 1-0. #GoHawks

Did the Rams notice that tweet?

“Absolutely,” offensive guard Rodger Saffold said.

Did it fire up the Rams?

“Absolutely,” Saffold replied. “We kind of took that as a shot.”

And as Saffold noted, “He had a 50 percent chance of being right. He just ended up being wrong.”

Thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, followed by a fourth-down stand by the St. Louis defense, Wilson’s record as a prognosticator in 2015 fell to, uh, 0-1.

In their first overtime game to start a season since 2001, the Rams outlasted the two-time defending NFC champions 34-31 Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams talked about the tweet before the game, mainly amongst themselves. It might not have helped Brockers and fellow defensive tackle Aaron Donald stop Marshawn Lynch on fourth down in overtime for the win. Then again, it didn’t hurt.

“He’s a great quarterback,” defensive end Chris Long said. “But he’s not like a Chris Berman — like the Swami — he’s not like that. He’s not a great predictor.”

Brockers was a little more blunt in his tweet assessment:

“The victory is a lot more sweeter kinda shoving that back in his mouth,” Brockers said. “You see that, and you’re like, ‘OK, not gonna tweet back. We’re not gonna say anything. We’re just gonna let the football speak for itself.’ I think that’s what we did today.”

Maybe so, but late in regulation, it looked like Wilson was going to be a gridiron Nostradamus.

Cornerback Cary Williams, a new member of Seattle’s Legion of Boom, came in unblocked on a blindside blitz, knocked the ball out before Rams quarterback Nick Foles could release it, scooped up the fumble and ran 8 yards into the end zone for a score.

That play capped an 18-0 run by Seattle that turned a 24-13 Rams lead into a 31-24 Seahawks advantage with 4:39 to play.

We’ve seen this one before. Right? Cue up the “Same old sorry (bleep) Rams” chorus.

Not this time. Tight end Lance Kendricks, who had only one catch for 5 yards in the first 59 minutes of regulation, got behind Seahawks safety Dion Bailey for a 37-yard TD catch with 53 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied 31-all.

“(Bailey) just kind of sat on it,” Kendricks said, football jargon meaning Bailey was expecting a short pass. “I don’t think he thought I was gonna run a ‘go’ route. I just ran by him; I think he tried to grab me and just fell.”

Kendricks wasn’t necessarily the No. 1 option on that play. He said the Rams simply try to look for favorable matchups in such situations. Quarterback Nick Foles saw the shorter, inexperienced Bailey on Kendricks and gave it a shot.

Then Seattle coach Pete Carroll outsmarted himself again to start overtime. Roundly criticized after throwing a pass (which was intercepted) instead of running Marshawn Lynch from the 1 in last season’s Super Bowl loss to New England, Carroll tried an onside kick to open overtime. Never mind that he has the league’s reigning leader in scoring defense and total defense.

Actually, as Carroll explained afterward, it was supposed to be about a 30-yard pooch kickoff, not a traditional onside kick. In any event, Rams wide receiver Bradley Marquez, a former baseball outfielder in the Mets’ organization, scooped up the short pop fly from Seahawks place-kicker Steven Hauschka, giving the Rams’ possession.

“We just didn’t execute there,” Carroll said. “That is not what was supposed to happen. ... We were kicking the ball way down the field.”

At least that was supposed to be the plan. The Rams took over on the Seattle 49, and a first down and some change later, Zuerlein kicked his fifth game-winning field goal as a Ram.

By league rule, unless the first possession of overtime results in a touchdown, the other team gets at least one possession. So the Rams weren’t quite out of the woods.

Seattle was maybe 10 yards shy from reasonable field-goal range after taking the ensuing kickoff and faced a fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 42 with just over 9 minutes to go in overtime.

“It’s fourth down,” Brockers said. “Who they gonna go to?”

Ghostbusters?

No, Lynch.

“I think they kind of know what happens when you don’t give Lynch the ball,” Brockers said, referring to last season’s Super Bowl. “We knew it was going to him.”

Brockers had blown a gap assignment earlier in the game, leading to a successful Seattle play. He told his defensive coaches to trust him, to make that same alignment-assignment call again. Brockers did, in fact, get another chance on the fourth-down play and did his job this time, and then some.

He rocked Lynch in the backfield, then got some help from Donald for a 1-yard loss to end the game.

“Michael Brockers knocked him back, and I was able to jump on him and clean it up,” said Donald, who also had two of the Rams’ six sacks.

The upset victory left coach Jeff Fisher speechless. Well, almost.

“I don’t know what to say,” Fisher said. “That was great. It was a tremendous effort. ... We didn’t play particularly well. We did the things that cost you games: the penalties, the turnovers, those kinds of things. But we overcame them, which is pretty good considering we’re the youngest team in the league again.”

Actually, the Rams had only four penalties for 30 yards, which is nothing for them. But they did lose three fumbles and finished minus-2 in the all-important takeaway-giveaway category. Usually you don’t win when you’re minus-2.

Usually you don’t win when you give up 18 consecutive points in less than a quarter, and 10 points in a span of seven seconds in the fourth quarter.

As Rams defensive end William Hayes put it: “This is one that a couple years ago we would’ve lost. Last couple years we would’ve lost. But we’re just believing in each other right now.

“Nick Foles, he’s the difference-maker right now. He’s got everybody in this locker room believing. We’re gonna have adversity, but he was telling me, ‘I’ll win some games.’”

Now, that’s a prediction.


=================


Rams notes: Small but loud crowd cheers on Rams
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b8c8a9f6-5d09-518d-a3d6-17b668538081.html

Earlier in the week, Rams officials said they would be ecstatic if they ended up with 45,000 tickets distributed and 40,000 fans in the stands for Sunday’s season opener against Seattle.

But there must have been a late surge in ticket sales, or more action than anticipated on the secondary market — StubHub, etc. — because the team announced that 51,792 tickets were distributed for the contest, a 34-31 Rams overtime victory.

“Tickets distributed” represents the number of tickets sold or given away. It does not represent the number of fans in the stands, which probably numbered around 45,000 in the 66,000-seat Edward Jones Dome.

Even with the larger-than-expected turnout, it was still the smallest crowd for a home opener since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. The next-smallest crowd for a home opener was in 2010, when 52,440 tickets were distributed for the Rams’ 17-13 loss to Arizona.

The largest crowd to see a Rams regular-season home opener in St. Louis was in 2001, when 66,046 was the announced attendance for a 42-10 triumph over Miami. The Rams were in the midst of their Greatest Show on Turf run at the time.

It was actually Game 3 of the season for the Super Bowl-bound Rams that season, with the team winning its first two games on the road against Philadelphia and San Francisco in contests sandwiched around an off-weekend because of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Although smaller in numbers, those who came Sunday made their presence felt.

“They were very loud,” defensive end Chris Long said. “I didn’t know the numbers. Somebody made a comment that there weren’t a ton of people there, but it sounded like 60,000 to me.”

Owner Stan Kroenke’s plans to move the team to Los Angeles has depressed the market to the point where only the hardcore fans are expected to show up this season. The fact that the Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2003 and went winless this preseason doesn’t help, either.

After the game ended with a dramatic overtime victory, several Rams stopped by the stands to slap hands or otherwise acknowledge the fans. Even though his day ended early with a knee injury, defensive end Eugene Sims borrowed a large Rams flag from a team employee and waved it to the fans.

“I was just showing appreciation to the fans,” Sims said. “They were part of the big win, and I had to let ’em know that they were part of the game, too. Hopefully, they’ll spread the word and they can come fill the dome in two weeks.”

After a road game at Washington this coming Sunday, the Rams return home Sept. 27 against Pittsburgh.

TAVON TIME

Tavon Austin ended the game with only 15 yards of offense, but he had a huge impact on the outcome. His 16-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter gave the Rams their first points of the day, tying the score at 7-7, on a play in which he cut back to the left.

“It was an up-the-middle play,” he said. “I saw how the defense was flowing, they’re a fast-flow team. I had a great block by Stedman (Bailey).”

Late in the third quarter, Austin gave the Rams a 24-13 lead on a 75-yard punt return for a TD in which he tight-roped the left sideline to reach the end zone. A lot of teams don’t punt the ball directly to Austin, but Seahawks punter Jon Ryan did and paid for it.

“When I looked down (the field), nobody was right there,” Austin said. “I had to cut back, make a couple miss, had a couple blocks, and that was all it was about.”

INJURY UPDATE

Against Seattle, the Rams lost cornerback Trumaine Johnson to a concussion, and Sims and special teams ace Chase Reynolds to knee injuries. Sims is scheduled for an MRI exam Monday. Running back Tre Mason tested his sore hamstring during warmups but was placed on the inactive list. Also inactive were RB Todd Gurley, LB Daren Bates, WR Brian Quick, QB Sean Mannion and offensive linemen Andrew Donnal and Darrell Williams.

===========================


Special teams rally after slow start vs. Seahawks
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_be5ebae0-d538-5bef-b479-b70dc159d608.html

Sunday’s season opener against the Seahawks didn’t start all that well for the Rams’ special teams as Tyler Lockett, a rookie from Kansas State, returned the Rams’ first punt of the season 57 yards to help Seattle go up 7-0.

But the Rams’ special-teamers shook it off and improved throughout the game, playing a major role in the team’s 34-31 overtime win over the two-time defending NFC champs.

“We were ticked,” reserve safety Maurice Alexander said. “But rather than getting down on ourselves, I feel like it made us that much hungrier to go out and make a play the next time.”

Long-snapper Jake McQuaide agreed: “You gotta have a short memory. We knew (Lockett) was a good player and we prepared for him, but on that one, he just got away. I’m not sure what happened to everybody else — I’ll know more after we look at the tape — but I know I got killed. Just a terrible rep. It didn’t cost us the game, thank God, so it becomes one of those things you try to learn from. You learn from it and then you let it go, making sure you’re ready for your next snap.”

Later in the game, with 4½ minutes to play in the third quarter, the Rams’ Tavon Austin returned a punt 75 yards down the Seattle sideline for a touchdown. On the play, rookie Bradley Marquez and Alexander, a Eureka High product, delivered key downfield blocks.

For Austin, who tied the game at 7-7 on a 16-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, the punt return for touchdown was the third of his career. At that point, the Rams were up 24-13.

Seattle came roaring back, scoring twice in a seven-second span to take a 31-24 with just over 4½ minutes left.

But the Rams rallied to force overtime, getting a 37-yard scoring pass from Nick Foles to Lance Kendricks and a Greg Zuerlein kick with 53 seconds left in regulation.

To start overtime, the Seahawks’ Steven Hauschka attempted an onside kick. In his postgame news conference, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said it was supposed to be a squib kick.

“We were kicking the ball to a certain area of the field and we didn’t hit it right,” the coach said.

On the play, Hauschka chipped the ball high and toward Marquez, who called for a fair-catch, made the play and then held on for dear life.

“The things that go on in those piles, it’s crazy,” said Marquez, an undrafted rookie free agent from Texas Tech and a former New York Mets farmhand who played pro baseball during the summers of 2012 and 2013. “I called fair-catch, mainly on instinct and thinking maybe I’d get some protection. From there, it was just a matter of doing whatever I could to make sure I was coming out of the pile with the football.”

There was some confusion at first, but after review, the recovery by Marquez was upheld.

“Originally, one of the officials said the ball had been kicked into the ground,” referee Jeff Triplette told pool reporter Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch. “Subsequent to that, another official whose responsibility it was to rule on that, came in and said, ‘No, the ball was kicked into the air.’ So therefore I went with the official who had the primary responsibility.”

If the ball had, in fact, gone off the ground first, the fair-catch call by Marquez would have been invalid, the Rams would’ve been penalized 5 yards and Seattle would’ve kicked again.

“I’m just happy that I could make a play to help the team,” Marquez said. “Before the kick, we alerted each other to be ready, just in case. Coach had us prepared (for the onside kick).”

Marquez, a wide receiver, has earned the respect of his special-teams cohorts.

“He’s a soldier, one of those young guys who’s just extremely focused,” said Alexander, a second-year pro.

Pointing out that the Rams played Sunday without special-teams co-captain Daren Bates (knee) and lost another key special-team leader, Chase Reynolds, to a knee injury early in the game, McQuaide said Marquez has been a key addition.

“He’s a dude who’s been making plays like that every single day since he got here,” the fifth-year pro said. “He just really seems to be locked in like that for every rep, in every drill. ‘Coach Bones’ (special teams coordinator John Fassel) has a knack for finding a guy like that every year, a guy who understands how important special teams are and who really seems to take advantage of his opportunities.”

The big play by Marquez, followed by a 22-yard pass from Foles to Stedman Bailey, helped set up Zuerlein’s 37-yard field goal, which turned into the game-winning margin when the Rams’ defense stopped the Seahawks near midfield to end the contest.

“The PAT in the last minute (of regulation) was a tougher kick; with the new rules, those aren’t gimmes anymore,” Zuerlein said. “Knowing the kind of defense we have, I felt pretty confident that the kick in OT would give us a pretty good shot at the win. Any time you win in the NFL, it’s a big deal. But it’s always nice to get that first one because of all the hard work you’ve done in the offseason. Hopefully this is something we can build on.”

 

[RamBill]

Rams knock off Wilson, Seahawks
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c86f6d62-4cab-5d1b-b97d-8e03e9b092ee.html

As defensive tackle Michael Brockers and his fellow Rams view it, Seattle’s Russell Wilson is a better quarterback than predictor.

It was Wilson, after all, who tweeted on Saturday: 1-0. #GoHawks

Did the Rams notice that tweet?

“Absolutely,” offensive guard Rodger Saffold said.

Did it fire up the Rams?

“Absolutely,” Saffold replied. “We kind of took that as a shot.”

And as Saffold noted, “He had a 50 percent chance of being right. He just ended up being wrong.”

Thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, followed by a fourth-down stand by the St. Louis defense, Wilson’s record as a prognosticator in 2015 fell to, uh, 0-1.

In their first overtime game to start a season since 2001, the Rams outlasted the two-time defending NFC champions 34-31 Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams talked about the tweet before the game, mainly amongst themselves. It might not have helped Brockers and fellow defensive tackle Aaron Donald stop Marshawn Lynch on fourth down in overtime for the win. Then again, it didn’t hurt.

“He’s a great quarterback,” defensive end Chris Long said. “But he’s not like a Chris Berman — like the Swami — he’s not like that. He’s not a great predictor.”

Brockers was a little more blunt in his tweet assessment:

“The victory is a lot more sweeter kinda shoving that back in his mouth,” Brockers said. “You see that, and you’re like, ‘OK, not gonna tweet back. We’re not gonna say anything. We’re just gonna let the football speak for itself.’ I think that’s what we did today.”

Maybe so, but late in regulation, it looked like Wilson was going to be a gridiron Nostradamus.

Cornerback Cary Williams, a new member of Seattle’s Legion of Boom, came in unblocked on a blindside blitz, knocked the ball out before Rams quarterback Nick Foles could release it, scooped up the fumble and ran 8 yards into the end zone for a score.

That play capped an 18-0 run by Seattle that turned a 24-13 Rams lead into a 31-24 Seahawks advantage with 4:39 to play.

We’ve seen this one before. Right? Cue up the “Same old sorry (bleep) Rams” chorus.

Not this time. Tight end Lance Kendricks, who had only one catch for 5 yards in the first 59 minutes of regulation, got behind Seahawks safety Dion Bailey for a 37-yard TD catch with 53 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied 31-all.

“(Bailey) just kind of sat on it,” Kendricks said, football jargon meaning Bailey was expecting a short pass. “I don’t think he thought I was gonna run a ‘go’ route. I just ran by him; I think he tried to grab me and just fell.”

Kendricks wasn’t necessarily the No. 1 option on that play. He said the Rams simply try to look for favorable matchups in such situations. Quarterback Nick Foles saw the shorter, inexperienced Bailey on Kendricks and gave it a shot.

Then Seattle coach Pete Carroll outsmarted himself again to start overtime. Roundly criticized after throwing a pass (which was intercepted) instead of running Marshawn Lynch from the 1 in last season’s Super Bowl loss to New England, Carroll tried an onside kick to open overtime. Never mind that he has the league’s reigning leader in scoring defense and total defense.

Actually, as Carroll explained afterward, it was supposed to be about a 30-yard pooch kickoff, not a traditional onside kick. In any event, Rams wide receiver Bradley Marquez, a former baseball outfielder in the Mets’ organization, scooped up the short pop fly from Seahawks place-kicker Steven Hauschka, giving the Rams’ possession.

“We just didn’t execute there,” Carroll said. “That is not what was supposed to happen. ... We were kicking the ball way down the field.”

At least that was supposed to be the plan. The Rams took over on the Seattle 49, and a first down and some change later, Zuerlein kicked his fifth game-winning field goal as a Ram.

By league rule, unless the first possession of overtime results in a touchdown, the other team gets at least one possession. So the Rams weren’t quite out of the woods.

Seattle was maybe 10 yards shy from reasonable field-goal range after taking the ensuing kickoff and faced a fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 42 with just over 9 minutes to go in overtime.

“It’s fourth down,” Brockers said. “Who they gonna go to?”

Ghostbusters?

No, Lynch.

“I think they kind of know what happens when you don’t give Lynch the ball,” Brockers said, referring to last season’s Super Bowl. “We knew it was going to him.”

Brockers had blown a gap assignment earlier in the game, leading to a successful Seattle play. He told his defensive coaches to trust him, to make that same alignment-assignment call again. Brockers did, in fact, get another chance on the fourth-down play and did his job this time, and then some.

He rocked Lynch in the backfield, then got some help from Donald for a 1-yard loss to end the game.

“Michael Brockers knocked him back, and I was able to jump on him and clean it up,” said Donald, who also had two of the Rams’ six sacks.

The upset victory left coach Jeff Fisher speechless. Well, almost.

“I don’t know what to say,” Fisher said. “That was great. It was a tremendous effort. ... We didn’t play particularly well. We did the things that cost you games: the penalties, the turnovers, those kinds of things. But we overcame them, which is pretty good considering we’re the youngest team in the league again.”

Actually, the Rams had only four penalties for 30 yards, which is nothing for them. But they did lose three fumbles and finished minus-2 in the all-important takeaway-giveaway category. Usually you don’t win when you’re minus-2.

Usually you don’t win when you give up 18 consecutive points in less than a quarter, and 10 points in a span of seven seconds in the fourth quarter.

As Rams defensive end William Hayes put it: “This is one that a couple years ago we would’ve lost. Last couple years we would’ve lost. But we’re just believing in each other right now.

“Nick Foles, he’s the difference-maker right now. He’s got everybody in this locker room believing. We’re gonna have adversity, but he was telling me, ‘I’ll win some games.’”

Now, that’s a prediction.

 

[RamBill]

The Rams’ Best Win Under Jeff Fisher

Posted by: Bernie Miklasz

http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/13/the-rams-best-win-under-jeff-fisher/

The Rams pushed back for the final time, with defensive tackles Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald refusing to be utilized as cleat wipes by the intimidating Seattle beast known as Marshawn Lynch.

The young Rams took Lynch down hard with Sunday’s game on the line, an assignment that’s unimaginably difficult for those that never had to tackle a wildebeest with their bare hands. But they got it done, quickly and cleanly, the capture made without having to call for backup.

With Brockers and Donald all but stuffing Lynch in a Seattle travel trunk for the lengthy flight back to the Pacific Northwest, and their forceful fourth-down stop locking down a ridiculously entertaining and tense 34-31 overtime victory that seemingly squirmed away, the Rams officially clinched one of their best wins in a long time.

I put the question on Twitter following the game:

“Question for the floor: given opponent, the blown lead, the comeback, the 4th-down stop, etc: biggest Rams’ win since … ???”

Many different answers came back my way … including Super Bowl 34. (I’m all for excitement and in favor of overreacting, but let’s not get carried away my friends.)

Others responded with the last postseason game won by the Rams _ their 27-20 OT victory at Seattle in a 2004 NFC wild card game. (A strong candidate.)

An intriguing answer from the audience: the best victory since the late Georgia Frontiere owned the Rams. (She passed away following the 2008 season.)
ramsseahawks

Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers wrap up Marshawn Lynch for the final play of Sunday’s game to seal the win for St. Louis.

There were mentions of last year’s regular-season home win over the Seahawks … last season’s upset at San Francisco … the 2013 season-opening victory (at home) over Arizona … the 2012 win (home) vs. Seattle … and the assorted triumphs over superior opponents such as Denver, New Orleans, and Indianapolis since Jeff Fisher became head coach in 2012.

Overlooked (at least in my opinion) was the 15th game of the 2010 season. Rookie QB Sam Bradford and the young Rams had lost two consecutive games but still had a chance to steal the NFC West in a mediocre year for the division.

But to reach a Game 16 showdown in Seattle for the NFC West title, the 6-8 Rams had to defeat the 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome in Game 15.

Losing 14-12 at the half, the Rams rallied for a 25-17 conquest. Bradford was brilliant, completing 28 of 37 passes for 292 yards and a passer rating of 107.0. His 3-yard touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson put the Rams up by eight points (22-14) and booked the important trip to Seattle.

Alas the unsettled and shaky Rams, were unprepared for prime time. They stumbled through the nationally televised Sunday-night game on NBC, losing a 16-6 snooze-fest to a Seattle team that was forced to start career backup up Charlie Whitehurst in place of the injured Matt Hasslebeck. Despite a 7-9 record, the Seahawks moved onto the NFC playoffs, shocking New Orleans in a stunning 41-36 upset before losing at Chicago in the next round.

The Rams finished 7-9 (losing the tie-breaker to Seattle) and went home. The Rams and their fans were fired up; the improvement under Bradford and the encouraging 7-9 season was viewed as a bridge to a promising future. The bridge abruptly collapsed in 2011, with the injury-torn Rams losing 14 of 16 games.

GM Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo were fired by owner Stan Kroenke, who brought in Fisher and GM Les Snead to rebuild a sad-sack mess of a team that had just completed the most wretched five-season stretch (15-65) by a franchise in NFL history.

The Rams had to start all over again, a process that’s taken longer than expected _ extending the franchise’s streak of non-winning seasons to 11 frustrating years.

I believe Sunday’s thriller over the Seahawks was the best moment of Fisher’s term, a fantastic way to begin his fourth season, and the top win for the franchise since that Game 15 uprising over the 49ers in 2010.

Here’s why:

1. It was the first game of the season _ and already time for the Rams to make an emphatic statement about who they were, and what they planned to do in the new campaign. What would it be: the same old sorry Rams, or a young team on the rise and ready to make good on all of the broken promises of the past?

2. The Rams were playing the two-time defending NFC Champion Seahawks, a more vulnerable but still formidable opponent that came within one horrific goal-line interception of winning a second consecutive Super Bowl to cap the 2014 season.

3. The Rams entered with a heralded defense that had been stocked with premium draft picks trained and developed into a fighting machine by Fisher, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the staff. A nasty defense is still the most reliable way to overcome a team’s flaws _ especially a team with legitimate concerns on the offensive side. If this defense couldn’t stand up to the Seahawks, then what? It wouldn’t bode well for the early part of the schedule. This defense had to be ready to make a stand.
nick foles-2

Foles went 18-27 for 297 yards in Sunday’s win.

4. The Rams were rolling out their new quarterback, Nick Foles, who came over in the surprising offseason trade with Philadelphia. They were also debuting a reordered offensive line that started two rookies (RT Rob Havenstein, LG Jamon Brown), an inexperienced center (Tim Barnes), and second-year LT Greg Robinson.

5. The Rams were down to their third and fourth running backs, Benny Cunningham and Isaiah Pead. No. 1 draft choice Todd Gurley and the speedy Tre Mason were down with injuries. Another back, Trey Watts, was serving the first of a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. So this offense took significant personnel concerns into a match against Seattle, which had allowed the fewest points in the league (15.2 per game) while going 36-12 in the regular season between 2012 and 2014.

(OK, the Seahawks played Sunday without the knocks usually struck by their safety, Kam Chancellor, who is holding out in a contract tantrum.

(His absence was a factor, but to it’s weak to use that as an excuse for Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Seattle still packs plenty of punch defensively, even with Chancellor missing.)

6. The Rams had a 24-13 lead late in the third quarter, only to be overtaken and left dazed by an 18-point Seattle torrent that put the proud visitors up 31-24 late in the fourth quarter. We’d seen this movie many times. The Rams jump out, lift the crowd _ only to fade and fail to finish the job. Here we go again, right? Well, no.

7. An announced crowd of just over 51,000 was in the big warehouse to see if the Rams would give them a reason to believe instead of letting them down again. The crowd was larger than anticipated. And the fans were into it: emotional, loud, and fully engaged.

8. Oh yeah, the multi-billionaire owner, tracking the scent of enormous profit that awaits him, is desperate to move the franchise to Los Angeles after the season. And this could have been the last home-opener of the final season of NFL football in St. Louis _ final as in forever. This wasn’t an ordinary game; it was perhaps the beginning of the end.

9. That said, all hope isn’t lost; there’s still a chance of Kroenke being forced to stay beyond 2015. Given the depressing climate, it was imperative for the Rams to charge to a fast start in 2015 … to create energy and optimism and a buzz-worthy product for an abused fan base that’s weary and disenchanted after getting slapped down by chronic losing and punched in the gut by the worst owner among the four major professional sports leagues in North America.

10. A bad loss _ a dispiriting setback _ would further demoralize the market, result in an increased number of empty seats, and play right into Kroenke’s hands. ESK is trying to make the case that St. Louis won’t support football. To that we say: what football? Are we talking about 16 winning records in 48 NFL seasons here (Cardinals and Rams?) Are we talking about a team that has given the fans the worst overall NFC record and worst home record since 2005? Are we talking about supporting an owner that’s been plotting to flee and collect California gold? An owner that hasn’t spoken to the fans since Jan. of 2012 _ and who refuses to have a conversation with the St. Louis leadership that’s trying to build him a second new stadium in fewer than 25 years?

The Rams couldn’t stink up the place on this opening day.

They just couldn’t.

I don’t know who needed this this victory more: the Rams coaches and players who work so hard to turn this program around _ or the fans that have been asked to look past an intolerable pile of garbage and put their hard-earned dollars in Kroenke’s pocket.

Instead of the usual Sunday bloody Sunday, the smiling and chanting faithful left the Edward Jones in an upbeat mood. You give these folks a respectable team and an owner who shows any sign of caring, and they’ll be there for you.

And while it would be foolish to take one wonderful day _ an afternoon that showed what things could really be like here _ and assume that subsequent Sundays will be just as happy, this was at least a start. It was 3 hours and 30 minutes of football that provided long overdue relief from the beatings absorbed by the team, and eased the mental torment endured by the fans.

Foles made a couple of mistakes, but he gave the Rams a fearless and defiant performance that backed what Snead, Fisher and the players have been saying about him for months: finally, this team has a talented leader at the quarterback. Foles isn’t home free; he still has much to prove over the next 15 games. But in his STL debut, Foles’ timing was perfect. When the Rams were in trouble, when the momentum was going against the home side, Foles was money. He came up with repeated responses to save the day.

The young offensive line needs work, but these kids battled like mad men and offered glimpses of power, scenes of determination, and held up at times when many feared an imminent collapse. Foles was sacked twice _ one a strip-fumble returned for a Seattle touchdown. But Foles’ O-line protected him better than the security offered by a Seattle offensive line that allowed six sacks of QB Russell Wilson.

In addition to dumping Wilson six times, the Rams defense picked him off once, did a reasonably effective job of corralling Lynch, and limited Seattle’s offense to one touchdown from scrimmage. Wilson averaged 6.14 yards per passing attempt, his lowest among seven career starts against St. Louis. And on third down, Wilson completed only three of seven passes (with a TD and an INT) for a passer rating of 50.3. The Seahawks converted only eight of 19 third-down plays.

(As for the aforementioned Aaron Donald, who had two sacks, five tackles and four assists … goodness, you’d better bring a battalion if you hope to block this wildcat.)
ramsseahwaks

Tavon Austin celebrates with Janoris Jenkins following Austin’s 75 yard punt return for a TD.

Cunningham pushed for as many rushing yards as he could against a stout Seattle front seven. The total on the stat sheet _ 16 carries for 45 yards _ wasn’t impressive. But Cunningham ran the rock better than the numbers show. Moreover, Cunningham was an asset as a receiver, catching four passes for 77 yards and breaking tackles to pick up a couple of key first downs. You want a stat that presents a more accurate picture? Here you go. Total yards from scrimmage: Cunningham 122, Lynch 104.

New Rams offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti proved that he can put wide receiver Tavon Austin to good use. (A nifty 16-yard run for the Rams’ first TD.)

And Tavon’s talent illuminated the Dome during his 75-yard punt return for a touchdown. West Baltimore was in the house.

The Rams weren’t perfect. Hell, no. Their squandering of a 24-13 lead summoned a familiar sense of dread. But these guys were tough, they maxed out in their competitiveness, and they refused to flash any sign of surrender. Not for one moment.

“We were able to finish,” said defensive end Robert Quinn who had two sacks. “It wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day, we got the ‘W’ and that’s what we look for. We know we can always get better at things. As long as we keep winning and we still improve, the sky is the limit. It’s a great way to start a season. That’s a great Seahawks team and we’ll take it from here.”

St. Louis needed this.

The unfairly maligned fans needed this.

The Rams needed this.

Kroenke didn’t need this _ which made the triumph that much sweeter.

Yes. This was the biggest win of Fisher’s time here. And now you just have to hope there’s more to come.

As always, thanks for reading …

–Bernie

 

[RamBill]

Rams beat Seahawks in OT to open the 2015 season. Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston recap the Rams-Seahawks.

Watch Albert/Johnston Recap