reporters on the Seattle game

All hail Troy https://t.co/0Efnw002MD

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) December 9, 2019

These two — @robertwoods & @Ty_Higs19 — combined totals from the @RamsNFL last two wins:

34 receptions
493 yards receiving
2 TDs pic.twitter.com/ohal7z0VeT

— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) December 9, 2019

Sports Illustrated@SInow
Russell Wilson’s streak of at least one touchdown pass in 16-straight games – playoffs included – has been snapped in a 28-12 loss to the Rams, via

NFL Research@NFLResearch
Tyler Higbee (@Ty_Higs19) is the first @RamsNFL tight end to have 100+ receiving yards in consecutive games in the Super Bowl era.

NFL Research@NFLResearch
The @RamsNFL held the Seahawks without an offensive touchdown in their 28-12 #SNF win.

It was the first time Seattle has failed to score an offensive TD in a game since Week 1, 2017 — 819 days ago.

And it gave the Rams their first ever primetime win over Russell Wilson.

Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Todd Gurley on his touchdown run: “It was just me one on one with the corner. I had to go Derrick Henry style with the stiff-arm.”

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
“He’s a bad man. It was vintage Todd.” – Jared Goff on Todd Gurley’s stiff arm TD.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/ZVZ0CnJwtI

— Rams24/7 (@Rams24_7) December 9, 2019

from http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001085322/article/what-we-learned-from-sundays-week-14-games?campaign=Twitter_atn

Los Angeles Rams 28, Seattle Seahawks 12

1. The Rams, as we remembered them, are back. Since their ransacking at the hands of the Ravens in Week 12, Los Angeles has combined to beat division rivals Arizona and Seattle by the score of 62-19 and outgained them 1,004-506 in the process. Todd Gurley (24 touches, 113 yards, TD), after weeks of “idiot” Sean McVay holding him back, is carrying the team on long drives and finishing runs. Robert Woods (98 yards, TD) and Tyler Higbee (116 yards) are morphing into two of the most reliable late-down targets in the game. The Rams are picking up first downs (20-plus in back-to-back games) and closing in the red zone (4-of-5 vs. SEA). L.A.’s front seven is getting home (five sacks), with Aaron Donald and Samson Ebukam leading the way, and is being complemented by a stauncher secondary led by Troy Hill and Jalen Ramsey. With Sunday night’s win, the Rams (8-5) stayed a game behind in the wild-card race and simultaneously dashed, albeit briefly, San Francisco and Seattle’s hopes of clinching playoff berths in Week 14. With two playoff contenders and two division rivals left on its schedule (at DAL, at SF, ARI), the Rams have their work cut out for them to reach January football. But their chances of advancing if and when they get there have not been greater this season.

2. After opening with an 11-play field-goal drive, Seattle’s offense suffered a major blow and never recovered. Seahawks tailback Rashaad Penny left the game on Seattle’s first drive with a knee injury and was quickly ruled out, a big letdown considering the second-year back was coming off back-to-back games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Following its first march, Seattle went seven drives with scoring, picking up just six first downs on those possessions. The Seahawks finally reached the red zone with just over seven minutes left and settled for a field goal. Russell Wilson had one of his worst nights of the season behind a leaky offensive line, though his connection with D.K. Metcalf (78 yards, six catches on six targets) continues to blossom. Seattle likes to make things interesting, but after going down early in Los Angeles, the Seahawks couldn’t muster the comeback we’ve grown accustomed to them making and finished with just six points on offense. Their first loss since Oct. 10 doesn’t portend doom for a Seattle squad inches away from a playoff berth — the limping Panthers and Cardinals await before a finale against San Francisco — but it is a reminder that the Seahawks (10-3) won’t always catch all the breaks.

"We wanted to lock in and get business done." – @MichaelBrockers pic.twitter.com/k3bAjXqTtQ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 9, 2019

5 takeaways from the Rams’ 16-point victory against Seattle

Steve Rebeiro

link: https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/09/nfl-rams-seahawks-week-14-takeaways/

The Los Angeles Rams took care of business against the Seattle Seahawks in dominant fashion on Sunday night. It was a must-win for the Rams, who remain a game out of a playoff spot in the NFC at 8-5. Here are five takeaways from the big 28-12 win.

Goff produces another stellar performance

Jared Goff was able to get back on track last week against Arizona after a fairly rocky season so far. Arizona’s pass defense is awful, so it was hard to decipher whether or not it was a return to form for Goff or simply a result of bad defense. After tonight’s performance, it feels like the former.

Goff once again shined against Seattle on a big stage, completing 22 of his 31 passing attempts for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Goff was particularly impressive out of the pocket, completing all seven of those passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. We were reminded why the Rams gave Goff a big payday this summer tonight.

Still, there was a brief stretch in the third quarter where Goff looked rough. He threw a pick-six thanks to a miscommunication on a pass to Robert Woods. The interception wasn’t entirely Goff’s fault, but he should know where Woods is heading on that play. A few plays later, with the ball on Seattle’s 37-yard line, Goff tossed a deep ball into double coverage that was intercepted. It wasn’t a shot Goff needed to take at the time.

One major takeaway from Goff’s two interceptions isn’t the interceptions themselves, but that he was able to come back from them. Goff threw a few nice passes following the turnovers, including a dime down the sideline that was dropped by Brandin Cooks and a great play-action rollout pass to Tyler Higbee deep in Rams’ territory. If Goff can continue to play like he did tonight for the remainder of the season, the Rams might actually find themselves playing in January.

Higbee shows up in statement performance

For the better part of the last three years, Tyler Higbee has played second-fiddle as a pass-catching tight end behind Gerald Everett. He was always labeled as the blocking tight end while Everett was the electrifying pass-catcher. It’s one of the main reasons why many were puzzled at Higbee’s contract extension this preseason.

Higbee has started to earn that money recently. He’s put up seven receptions and over 100 receiving yards in each of his last two games. Before last week, he had just one game with six or more receptions and one game with over 65 receiving yards in his career.

The fourth-year tight end diced Seattle’s secondary this week and wound up with a career-high 118 receiving yards. Higbee coming into his own as a legitimate threat in the passing game adds yet another wrinkle to the Rams offense that defenses will have to account for. Expect the Rams to continue to get Higbee involved in the passing game even after Everett returns.

Rams’ pass rush smothers Russell Wilson in dominant defensive performance

When the Rams and Seahawks met in Week 5, it felt like Wilson should have been sacked far more than he actually was. The Rams got their hands on him plenty of times and failed to bring him down. That wasn’t the case this time around.

The Rams took down the elusive passer five times in another great showing by the defense. Seattle was forced out of their comfort zone after being forced into becoming a passing offense thanks to a few early scores by the Rams. They failed at winning the game through the air.

Samson Ebukam, Dante Fowler, and Aaron Donald combined for the five sacks tonight. The secondary shined as well in the victory. Taylor Rapp stepped up early and made some big tackles, while Troy Hill broke up a few huge passes later on. It was another fantastic performance by the Rams defense. Don’t expect another Baltimore-type showing this season.

Commitment to feeding Gurley continues

After giving Gurley the ball a puzzling 12 times in a 17-12 loss to Pittsburgh a few weeks back, the Rams made a commitment to putting the ball in his hands as much as possible. That streak continued tonight.

Gurley ran the ball 23 times for 79 yards and a touchdown, also catching all four of his targets for 34 yards. It was the third time in the last four games where Gurley touched the ball at least 20 times. He’s scored a touchdown in all three of those games.

Gurley has looked like his former self the past few weeks and made a few huge plays for the Rams this week. The Rams are 5-0 this season when Gurley has 16 or more carries and 7-1 when he has 14 or more. The Rams are better when Gurley touches the football more. What a shocking revelation.

Rams could realistically win out

The Rams have finally started to look like their old selves over the past two games on both sides of the ball. If they play like they did tonight, they can beat anybody. They’re going to have to keep it up if they want to make the playoffs.

Assuming the Rams can take care of Dallas next week, their big test will come in Week 16 against San Francisco. The Rams put up one of the most miserable offensive performances by any team this season the last time they played the 49ers. Still, the team we saw play tonight is capable of beating San Francisco and is certainly capable of dismantling Dallas. We’ll see if they’re up for the challenge.

from PFF: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-week-14-pff-senior-analyst-takeaways-2019

Rams offense starting to figure it out?

Some offenses have found answers. The Los Angeles Rams suddenly look like the 2017-18 version of themselves as they rank third in EPA/play (.353) over the last two weeks. We never want to buy into small sample sizes, but there’s a noticeable difference with the Rams who have a crispness and tempo to the offense, and they have second-level defenders running in circles with motion, misdirection, and play action. It may be too little, too late for the Rams, whose playoff hopes are slim, but it bodes well for the future, as head coach Sean McVay has had a Jameis-like ride from genius to figured out to, perhaps, learning how to adjust to the adjustments made by opposing defenses around the league. McVay’s ability to evolve his offense remains one of the biggest stories in the NFL.

from PFF: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-week-14-pff-refocused-los-angeles-rams-28-seattle-seahawks-12

Los Angeles Rams 28, Seattle Seahawks 12

LOS ANGELES RAMS
Jared Goff may have thrown two interceptions—one of which had pressure in his face and the other was a miscommunication with his receiver—but outside of those two plays, he was able to keep the Rams’ offense moving downfield with some big strikes and consistent throws off play-action bootlegs.

Tight end Tyler Higbee broke the 100-yard mark for the first time last week, and he backed it up with another 100-yard game this week. Higbee was able to demonstrate his speed in the fourth quarter when he secured a 32-yard catch and run with the Rams backed up on their own five-yard line.

As usual, Aaron Donald was a force as a pass-rusher on Sunday night. He racked up a sack, batted down a pass and chipped in a handful of additional pressures.

Troy Hill was a star in coverage for the Rams vs. Seattle. He was challenged routinely by Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ passing attack and he rose to the occasion. Hill sealed the win with an interception in the end zone on Seattle’s final drive and just played solid coverage all game long.