Led by Suffocating Defense, Seahawks Knock Off Rams for NFC West Title
Throughout the entirety of the first half of the 2020 season, a heavily scrutinized Seahawks defense served as one of the NFL’s biggest punch lines. But with an NFC West title hanging in the balance on Sunday, any skeptics who still questioned the unit’s second half resurgence won’t be laughing now.
Spearheaded by a suffocating defensive performance, Seattle hung on for a hard-fought 20-9 victory over the Los Angeles Rams to secure the franchise’s first division title in four years. Leading the way, safety Quandre Diggs intercepted quarterback Jared Goff to wipe away at least three points in the second quarter, while Jarran Reed produced a pair of fourth quarter sacks to help seal the deal.
Here are five key takeaways from the Seahawks NFC West crown-clinching win:
1. Russell Wilson wasn’t at his best, but he came through on two crucial touchdown drives in the second half.
Back in Week 10, Wilson endured one of the worst performances of his NFL career in a loss to the Rams, throwing a pair of costly interceptions and losing a fumble during a 23-16 defeat. Those struggles carried over into the first half, as he nearly was picked of Darious Williams for the third time on Seattle’s opening possession and missed on a touchdown opportunity to tight end Jacob Hollister late in the second quarter. But coming out of the break, Wilson played composed football while also returning to the role of elite playmaker. On the first drive coming out of the locker room, he bailed to his right to evade multiple pass rushers on 3rd and 8, lofting up a deep ball down the right sideline for a 45-yard connection to David Moore. Moments later, Wilson kept the football and snuck inside the pylon for a four-yard touchdown to give the Seahawks their first lead. Nursing a slim four-point advantage, he made up for his misfired throw to Hollister earlier inside three minutes left to play, connecting with his receiver for a 13-yard touchdown to all but lock up the game. By the time he took a final knee, he wrapped up a stellar outing going 20 for 32 for 225 yards and two total touchdowns.
2. Though the numbers weren’t necessarily there, the run game provided just enough balance for Seattle offensively against a dangerous pass rush.
Due to an inability to sustain drives, particularly in the first half, Seattle only ran the ball with Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, and Carlos Hyde a combined 21 times for 86 yards. After the game, coach Pete Carroll suggested they didn’t run the ball as much as the Seahawks would have liked to volume-wise, but when the team did run the ball, they found moderate success and helped slow down the Rams pass rush a bit in the second half. Carson averaged a healthy 4.3 yards per carry, rushing for 69 yards on 16 carries while also catching three passes. Penny saw action for the second straight week returning from a torn ACL, rushing three times for nine yards, while Hyde made his greatest contributions out of the backfield as a receiver with a clutch 18-yard reception early in the third quarter to get Seattle into the red zone for the first time. Their overall importance may not reflect in the stats for this particular game, but having all three of those backs available healthy will be a game changer as the team prepares for the postseason.
3. After getting close throughout the first half, the pass rush came to life harassing Goff in the final two quarters.
Holding the Rams to a pair of field goals in the first half, the Seahawks didn’t register a single quarterback hit on Goff. But that statistic is misleading. The Rams veteran signal caller had to vacate the pocket often and also was coaxed into several rushed throws due pressure bearing down on him, including a poor throw that was made across his body that was picked off by Diggs. Those pressures started to turn into hits in the second half, as the front line did an outstanding job of creating havoc and allowed defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. to avoid blitzing as much. Carlos Dunlap seemed to live in the backfield in the second half, consistently powering his way into Goff’s lap and forcing a number of rushed throws. For a second straight week, rookie Alton Robinson came through with a clutch sack after the Rams had driven past midfield. Ultimately, Jarran Reed made the two biggest plays, racking up a pair of sacks in the final eight minutes to set the Rams up with 3rd and 12 and 4th and 19 situations. In both cases, the Rams ended up turning the ball back over to the Seahawks with a punt and turnover on downs.
4. Playing a starring role on Seattle’s goal line stand, Jordyn Brooks has truly arrived as a difference maker.
Shortly after Wilson trotted into the end zone to give the Seahawks their first lead of the game early in the third quarter, the Rams quickly answered, marching down to Seattle’s two-yard line with first and goal with eyes on knotting the score. But on the ensuing play, Brooks looked as if he had been shot out of a cannon and rocketed into the backfield to wrap up Malcolm Brown for a two-yard loss, setting in motion one of the best goal line stands you’ll ever see. After Jamal Adams tripped up Brown just shy of the end zone on the next play, Goff tried to get past the goal line on a quarterback sneak on third down, only to be turned away by Brooks and K.J. Wright at the point of attack and fumbling the football. After a failed challenge initiated by Carroll, the defense returned to the field needing one more stop and the first-round pick out of Texas Tech capped off the best drive of his career by blowing up Brown at the line of scrimmage, erasing at least three points of the scoreboard. Each week, the athletic rookie continues to come up with crucial plays and he’s already growing into a potential cornerstone for this defense.
5. A tale of two different halves on third down efficiency proved critical to Seattle’s victory efforts.
Only producing 116 total yards of offense in the first half, the Seahawks only converted on three of their nine third down opportunities on their first six possessions. On the other side of the ball, the Rams went four for eight on third downs in the first two quarters, with Cooper Kupp catching all four chain-moving receptions and aiding both of the Rams field goal drives. But in the second half, the script flipped into the home team’s favor. Starting with Moore’s momentous 45-yard snag, the Seahawks converted on five out of eight third down opportunities in the half, including three clutch conversions on the team’s two touchdown scoring drives. Meanwhile, Seattle’s defense turned up the heat on Goff, who battled a thumb injury for most of the half after his hand connected with a defender’s helmet at the end of his follow through on a pass attempt. With the quarterback struggling to throw the ball downfield, the Rams only had five third down conversions on 11 attempts after the break and were also stymied on their lone fourth down opportunity. Those differences in situational execution proved pivotal in this low-scoring affair, as the Seahawks were able to finish off drives and the Rams simply did not.
