D8 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS
NFL WEEK 5:SEAHAWKS 30, RAMS 29
BY THE NUMBERS
RAMS.....................6 7 13 3 — 29
Seattle....................7 7 7 9 — 30
First Quarter
RAMS— Field goal Zuerlein 47, 12:24. Drive: 4
plays, 4 yards, 1:23. RAMS 3, Seattle 0.
RAMS— Field goal Zuerlein 32, 4:55. Drive: 10
plays, 55 yards, 4:32. Key plays: Goff 22 pass
to Everett, Gurley 12 run. RAMS 6, Seattle 0.
Seattle— Lockett 13 pass from Wilson (Myers
kick), :49. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:06. Key
plays: Wilson 10 pass to Willson, Wilson 38
pass to Dissly. Seattle 7, RAMS 6.
Second Quarter
Seattle— Metcalf 40 pass from Wilson (Myers
kick), 8:08. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 2:46. Key
plays: Wilson 17 pass to Lockett, Carson 3 run
on 3rd-and-2. Seattle 14, RAMS 6.
RAMS— Kupp 9 pass from Goff (Zuerlein kick),
:06. Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 1:28. Key plays:
Goff 15 pass to Kupp, E.Ansah 12-yard roughing
the passer penalty on 3rd-and-10. Seattle 14,
RAMS 13.
Third Quarter
RAMS— Gurley 8 run (Zuerlein kick), 12:07.
Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:53. Key plays: Goff
30 pass to Everett, Goff 15 pass to Higbee, Goff
20 pass to Higbee. RAMS 20, Seattle 14.
Seattle— Moore 10 pass from Wilson (Myers
kick), 5:45. Drive: 6 plays, 47 yards, 2:59. Key
play: Wilson 12 run. Seattle 21, RAMS 20.
RAMS— Gurley 1 run (run failed), 3:07. Drive:
5 plays, 75 yards, 2:38. Key plays: Cooks 27
run, Goff 12 pass to Higbee, Goff 32 pass to
Everett. RAMS 26, Seattle 21.
Fourth Quarter
Seattle— Field goal Myers 42, 13:37. Drive: 9
plays, 51 yards, 4:30. Key plays: Carson 13 run,
Wilson 30 pass to Penny on 3rd-and-7, M.Iupati
10-yard offensive holding penalty on 3rd-and-7,
Wilson 6 run on 3rd-and-7. RAMS 26, Seattle
24.
RAMS— Field goal Zuerlein 36, 9:19. Drive: 10
plays, 57 yards, 4:18. Key plays: Goff 29 pass
to Cooks on 3rd-and-8, A.Whitworth 10-yard
illegal use of hands penalty on 3rd-and-3, Goff
12 pass to Higbee on 3rd-and-3, Goff 26 pass
to Kupp. RAMS 29, Seattle 24.
Seattle— Carson 5 pass from Wilson (pass
failed), 2:28. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:51.
Key plays: Wilson 12 pass to Lockett, Carson 3
run on 3rd-and-1, C.Matthews 15-yard roughing
the passer penalty, Carson 14 run, Carson 6
run. Seattle 30, RAMS 29.
TEAM STATISTICS LAR SEA
FIRST DOWNS........................24 25
Rushing..................................5 10
Passing.................................18 12
Penalty...................................1 3
THIRD DOWN EFF................3-11 3-10
FOURTH DOWN EFF................0-0 1-1
TOTAL NET YARDS .................477 429
Total Plays.............................67 67
Avg Gain..............................7.1 6.4
NET YARDS RUSHING ..............82 167
Rushes.................................18 43
Avg per rush.........................4.6 3.9
NET YARDS PASSING .............395 262
Sacked-Yds lost....................0-0 1-6
Gross-Yds passing ................395 268
Completed-Att...................29-49 17-23
Had Intercepted.......................1 0
Yards-Pass Play .....................8.1 10.9
KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB.........7-6-6 6-6-6
PUNTS-Avg......................3-51.0 4-47.5
Punts blocked..........................0 0
FGs-PATs blocked ..................0-0 0-0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE ..........16 33
Punt Returns.......................2-16 1-0
Kickoff Returns......................0-0 1-33
Interceptions........................0-0 1-0
PENALTIES-Yds ....................6-45 5-45
FUMBLES-Lost......................1-1 1-1
TIME OF POSSESSION ........24:42 35:18
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: RAMS, Gurley 15-51, Cooks 1-27,
Brown 1-3, Goff 1-1. SEATTLE, Carson 27-118,
Wilson 8-32, Penny 6-18, Dissly 1-7, Lockett
1-(minus 8).
PASSING: RAMS, Goff 29-49-1-395. SEATTLE,
Wilson 17-23-0-268.
RECEIVING: RAMS, Kupp 9-117, Everett 7-136,
Woods 5-48, Higbee 3-47, Gurley 3-6, Cooks
1-29, Reynolds 1-12. SEATTLE, Dissly 4-81,
Lockett 4-51, Metcalf 2-44, Brown 2-36, Penny
2-31, Willson 1-10, Moore 1-10, Carson 1-5.
PUNT RETURNS: RAMS, Natson 2-16. SEATTLE,
Lockett 1-0.
KICKOFF RETURNS: RAMS, None. SEATTLE,
Lockett 1-33.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS: RAMS, Reeder
8-5-0, Weddle 4-3-0, Matthews 4-1-1, Littleton
3-4-0, Brockers 3-3-0, Joseph-Day 3-3-0, Fox
3-0-0, Johnson 2-3-0, Fowler 2-2-0, Donald
2-1-0, Christian 2-1-0, Gaines 2-0-0, Peters
2-0-0, Robey-Coleman 2-0-0, Talib 1-2-0, Hill
0-1-0, Smart 0-1-0, Ebukam 0-1-0. SEATTLE,
Wright 7-3-0, Kendricks 5-2-0, McDougald
4-2-0, Griffin 4-0-0, Flowers 3-2-0, Wagner
3-2-0, Ford 2-1-0, Thompson 2-1-0, Jackson
2-0-0, Clowney 1-2-0, Green 1-0-0, Taylor 1-0-0,
Woods 0-2-0, Jefferson 0-1-0, Ansah 0-1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS: RAMS, None. SEATTLE,
Thompson 1-0.
FIELD GOALS MISSED: RAMS, Zuerlein 44.
SEATTLE, Myers 48.
Officials — Referee Scott Novak, Ump Ramon
George, HL Derick Bowers, LJ Walt Coleman IV,
FJ Mike Weatherford, SJ Chad Hill, BJ Terrence
Miles, Replay Earnie Frantz.
Attendance — 68,988.
SUMMARY
156
Passes Seattle’s Russell
Wilson has thrown this
season without an intercep-
tion. He completed 17 of 23
passes for 268 yards and
four touchdowns vs. Rams.8:00
How long it took Rams’
Todd Gurley to surpass
Week 4 rushing stats. He
had six runs for 31 yards (15
for 51 for game) after five
runs for 16 vs. Tampa Bay.117
Yards receiving for Rams’
Cooper Kupp, who passed
the century mark for a
career-high fourth con-
secutive game. He had nine
catches and a touchdown.9
Turnovers for Rams over
last three games. Twenty-
three teams have fewer for
the season. The Rams had a
fumble lost and an intercep-
tion against Seattle.9-1
Seahawks’ record in
Thursday games under
coach Pete Carroll. They are
17-2 in home prime-time
games since 2010. Sean
McVay is 10-3 vs. NFC West.NATIONAL CONFERENCEWest W L T Pct. PF PA
San Francisco 3 0 0 1.000 96 54
Seattle 4 1 0 .800 133 118
RAMS 3 2 0 .600 146 134
Arizona 0 3 1 .12574 115
North W L T Pct. PF PA
Green Bay 3 1 0 .750 85 69
Chicago 3 1 0 .750 66 45
Detroit 2 1 1 .625 97 95
Minnesota 2 2 0 .500 84 63
TEMPTAG
South W L T Pct. PF PA
New Orleans 3 1 0 .750 84 92
Tampa Bay 2 2 0 .500 123 117
Carolina 2 2 0 .500 95 80
Atlanta 1 3 0 .250 70 99
East W L T Pct. PF PA
Dallas 3 1 0 .750 107 56
Philadelphia 2 2 0 .500 110 105
N.Y. Giants 2 2 0 .500 87 97
Washington 0 4 0 .00066 118
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
West W L T Pct. PF PA
Kansas City 4 0 0 1.000 135 94
CHARGERS 2 2 0 .500 90 74
Oakland 2 2 0 .50079 102
Denver 0 4 0 .000 70 93
North W L T Pct. PF PA
Cleveland 2 2 0 .500 89 91
Baltimore 2 2 0 .500 135 100
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 76 88
Cincinnati 0 4 0 .00057 110
South W L T Pct. PF PA
Houston 2 2 0 .500 78 78
Indianapolis 2 2 0 .50094 102
Jacksonville 2 2 0 .500 84 84
Tennessee 2 2 0 .500 91 62
East W L T Pct. PF PA
New England 4 0 0 1.000 122 27
Buffalo 3 1 0 .750 76 63
N.Y. Jets 0 3 0 .000 33 70
NFL
STANDINGS
SEATTLE — Russell Wil-
son fired one touchdown
pass through a mail slot —
an astounding toe-tap score
by Tyler Lockett — and con-
nected with rookie D.K. Met-
calf on a 40-yard bomb.
But neither was the fa-
vorite throw of the Seattle
quarterback on Thursday
night.
“I’d say my favorite throw
was the game-winning one,”
said Wilson, referring to a
point-blank, fourth-down
pass to Chris Carson that
the running back nearly
dropped but tipped back tohimself. “I play the game to
win.”
That’s plain to see, as Wil-
son orchestrated his NFL-
best 29th game-winning
drive in the fourth quarter or
overtime since coming into
the league in 2012.
The last three games be-
tween the Seahawks and
Rams have been decided by
a combined eight points.
The touchdown to Car-
son — Wilson’s fourth scor-
ing pass of the game — came
with two minutes 28 seconds
to play and gave the Sea-
hawks a 30-29 lead that
would hold up as the final
score.
That might have been
Wilson’s favorite throw of the
night, but his touchdown to
a diving Lockett will live on
Seahawks highlight reels for
ages.
According to NFL Next
Gen Stats, that throw had a6.3% completion probability,
the lowest on any passing
touchdown in the last three
seasons.
Wilson’s was a masterful
performance against an op-
ponent who had beaten him
three times in a row. What’s
more, Rams defensive tackle
Aaron Donald came into the
game with 10^1 ⁄ 2 career sacks
against Wilson, which ESPN
Stats & Info noted was tied
for the most sacks by any
player against a quarter-
back since Donald entered
the NFL in 2014.
Rams linebacker Clay
Matthews had the only sack
of the night, by either team.
But Matthews also com-
mitted a critical (and con-
troversial) penalty. He was
flagged for roughing the
passer on the winning
touchdown drive, giving Se-
attle a first down at the
Rams’ 25, when he and Wil-son bashed shoulders after
the quarterback had re-
leased the ball.
Fox color analyst Troy
Aikman staunchly defended
the hit by Matthews, and the
network’s officiating ana-
lyst, Mike Pereira, pointed
out the quarterback is not
afforded certain protections
once he’s left the pocket.
Pereira said the hit didn’t
appear to be late, either.
Regardless, the call
helped move the Seahawks
into striking range, and the
home team scored five plays
later.
“I just kind of stepped up
and scrambled,” Wilson said
of his touchdown pass to
Carson. “I was about to take
off and run, and out of the
corner of my eye in my pe-
riphery I see Chris. I was like
— pfft — just popped it to
him. I didn’t notice he bob-
bled it. I was ready to cele-brate already.”
The crowd erupted,
cheering a quarterback who
finished with a near-perfect
151.8 rating.
“Guys were making plays
like crazy tonight,” said Wil-
son, who completed 17 of 23
passes for 268 yards with
four touchdowns. “The of-
fensive line did a tremen-
dous job against a very good
defensive line. They gave me
time, they gave me opportu-
nities. We found guys down
the field and made plays.”
Said Seahawks coach
Pete Carroll: “I thought Rus-
sell played one of the best
games I’ve ever seen him
play.”
The night was dedicated
to late Seahawks owner Paul
Allen, who 22 years ago
bought the team and saved
it for Seattle. But it was Wil-
son who saved this game for
the Seahawks.COOPER KUPPof the Rams scores a touchdown late in the second quarter against the Seahawks, who escaped with a 30-29 win in the
NFC West battle at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The last three games between the teams have been decided by a combined eight points.Alika JennerGetty ImagesWilson passes his final-quarter test
He throws four
touchdown passes,
and it’s the winning
one he likes the best.
By Sam Farmergarded as a Super Bowl con-
tender looks like it could
possibly be caught in a mal-
aise that has struck count-
less teams the season after
they lost in the Super Bowl.
It’s still early of course.
There is plenty of time for
the Rams to bounce back
and make another run.
But it won’t be easy.
The Rams play the San
Francisco 49ers, unbeaten
heading into Monday night’s
game against Cleveland,
next week.
Rams coach Sean McVay
and his players did not
sound too concerned.
“There a lot of things to
look forward to,” McVay
said. “Is it disappointing?
Absolutely.
“But it’s not something
that’s going to be debilitat-
ing and going to prohibit our
ability to move forward as a
team.”
Quarterback Jared Goff
pointed out that the New
England Patriots — loser of
the Super Bowl at the end of
the 2017 season — started
last season 3-2 before mak-
ing a run to the Super Bowl,
where they defeated the
Rams.
“We’re still 3-2, we’re in a
good spot,” said Goff, who
passed for 395 yards and a
touchdown, with an inter-
ception. “We’ve been the
right side of [close games]more times than not in the
last couple years.”
Running back Todd Gur-
ley is not worried.
“We’re fine,” said Gurley,
who rushed for 51 yards and
two touchdowns in 15
carries. “We had two losses
at the end of the season last
year still made the playoffs.
“It doesn’t matter how
you start. No one remem-
bers who was 4-0, 8-0. It’s
about making it to January.”
But several players ac-knowledged there was work
to do.
“We just got to wake up
and realize we lost two in a
row,” receiver Robert Woods
said, noting that the Rams
have a few days off this week-
end before getting ready for
the 49ers on Oct. 13. “Get
your mind right and your
body right and really get
ready and just focus.”
Said safety John John-
son: “Back to the drawing
board.”The Rams won here two
years ago with a rout that
tipped the balance of power
in the NFC West. They also
won a close game last year
that send them on their way
to the division title.
But to win a third they
will have to do a better job
against Seahawks quarter-
back Russell Wilson.
The eighth-year pro, who
signed a massive contract
extension before the season,
kept plays alive and com-pleted 17 of 23 passes for 268
yards and four touchdowns.
He also rushed for 32 yards
in eight carries.
“He stole the show
tonight,” Seahawks coach
Pete Carroll said.
Or, as Rams linebacker
Cory Littleton said, “Russell
was Russell.”
The Rams trailed 14-13 at
halftime but came out fast to
start the third quarter and
went ahead on Gurley’s first
touchdown. The teams
traded touchdowns, and the
Rams led 26-21 when officials
ruled that Goff came up
short of the goal line on a
two-point conversion try.
After a Seattle field goal,
Zuerlein’s third field goal in-
creased the Rams’ lead to
29-24 with 9:19 remaining.
The Seahawks took the
lead on Wilson’s fourth-
down five-yard touchdown
pass to running back Chris
Carson with 2:28 left.
The Seahawks (4-1)
seemingly foiled the Rams
last chance when safety
Tedric Thompson inter-
cepted a pass late in the final
minutes. But the Rams got
the ball back for one more
chance before Zuerlein
missed the field-goal at-
tempt.
Zuerlein said the snap
and hold were perfect.
“I felt fine,” he said. “It
just didn’t happen that
time.”Despite loss, Rams say they’re not worried
[Rams, from D3]TODD GURLEY scores the first of his two third-quarter touchdowns.Dean RutzSeattle Times