Los Angeles Times - 04.10.2019

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019D9

NFL WEEK 5:SEAHAWKS 30, RAMS 29

WEEK 1

Sept. 8

LAR 30

CAR 27

W, 1-0

Road: 1-0

WEEK 2

Sept. 15

LAR 27

NO 9

Win, 2-0.

Home: 1-0

WEEK 3

Sept. 22

LAR 20

CLE 13

Win, 3-0

Road: 2-0

WEEK 4

Sept. 29

TB 55

LAR 40

Loss, 3-1

Home: 1-1

WEEK 17

Dec. 29

VS. ARI

1:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 16

Dec. 22

AT SF

TBD

TV: TBD

R: 710

WEEK 15

Dec. 15

AT DAL

1:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 14

Dec. 8

VS. SEA

5:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 4

R: 710

WEEK 13

Dec. 1

AT ARI

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 12

Nov. 25

VS. BAL

5:15 p.m.

TV: ESPN

R: 710

WEEK 11

Nov. 17

VS. CHI

5:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 4

R: 710

WEEK 10

Nov. 10

AT PIT

1:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 9

OFF

WEEK 8

Oct. 27

VS. CIN*

10 a.m.

TV: Ch. 2

R: 710

WEEK 7

Oct. 20

AT ATL

10 a.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 6

Oct. 13

VS. SF

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 11

R: 710

WEEK 5

Oct. 3

SEA 30

LAR 29

Loss, 3-2

Road: 2-1

RAMS RESULTS, SCHEDULE * in London

climb back to the top.
The smallest of margins
decided this game, whether
it was the balletic feet of
Seahawks receiver Tyler
Lockett, an interception by
Seattle’s Tedric Thompson
that came within millime-
ters of the turf, or the do-or-
die field goal attempt by
Greg Zuerlein from 44 yards
that was wide by the width
of an upright.
“I thought it had a
chance to come back in,”
Zuerlein said. “But any time
I swing like that it’s usually
not a recipe for success.”
Said holder Johnny
Hekker: “It’s one of those
kicks where you see them
fade left at the end every
time, and this one just held
up right. It’s not going to
deter any confidence we
have in Greg because he’s an
incredible kicker. You feel
for him, it’s tough, but it’s a
game.
“You only get one shot,
and it didn’t go our way. But
we’re moving forward as a
team.”
This marked the second
time in Sean McVay’s two-
plus seasons as coach that
the Rams suffered back-to-
back defeats in the regular
season. The first time came
last year with consecutive
losses to Chicago and Phila-
delphia, and that Rams
team got to the Super Bowl.
Rams owner Stan
Kroenke, for one, wasn’t
discouraged by what he saw
Thursday night.
“I thought it was the
most complete game we’ve
played all season,” Kroenke
said. “I’m proud of the way
we hung in there. We
showed some toughness.
This division is going to be
tight. San Francisco’s
playing well too.”
That said, the Rams are
looking at an uphill chal-
lenge as steep and twisting
as Lombard Street.
They play host to San
Francisco in Week 6, and the

49ers are 3-0 with Cleveland

coming to town on Monday

night.

The 49ers, an after-

thought in recent seasons,

have a defense that’s ranked

third in yards allowed and

already has seven take-

aways, matching last sea-

son’s anemic total.

The 49ers haven’t had a

winning record in the divi-

sion since going 5-1 in 2013. In

the five seasons that fol-

lowed, they finished 2-4, 1-5,

2-4, 1-5 and 1-5 in the divi-

sion. They cycled through

coaches Jim Tomsula and

Chip Kelly before hiring

Kyle Shanahan in 2017, the

same year the Rams hired

McVay.

Though the 49ers believe

their defense has a chance

to be elite, they’re also confi-

dent their offense, which so

far has shown a pulse, can

catch up by midseason.

The Seahawks too have

reason to believe they’ll get

even better. Bookend defen-

sive ends Jadeveon Clowney

and Ziggy Ansah are just

getting used to playing with

each other, and Seattle will

get suspended pass rusher

Jarran Reed back by Week 7.

He had 10^1 ⁄ 2 sacks last sea-

son.

Disappointed as he was

after Thursday’s loss, Rams

left tackle Andrew

Whitworth was quick to

point out it’s far too early to

forecast what lies ahead.

“When you play on a

short week and come into a

place like this, you come in

and perform the way we did

at the end and really have a

chance to win, we just got to

find one more play to win it

and you’re walking in here

feeling amazing,” he said.

“I think there’s a lot there

to be proud of and remind

guys that this is the way

football works. It’s about the

diligence of continuing to

work, continuing to believe.

You keep putting perform-

ances together like that, and

the ball eventually will

bounce your way. The key to

this thing is, it doesn’t mat-

ter whether you’re 8-0 at the

beginning of the season or

4-4. It’s whether you get hot

in December and have a

chance to get in the tourna-

ment.”

The Rams know they’re

in for a battle in their divi-

sion, and they’re trying to

regain their footing after the

1-2 punch of losses to Tampa

Bay and Seattle.

“Hey,” Kroenke said with

a shrug, “New England was

3-2 last year too.”

SEATTLErunning back Chris Carson bobbles but brings down a five-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against the Rams.

Andy BaoAssociated Press

Rams have serious division fight on their hands

[Farmer,from D3]

SEATTLE — Rams
kicker Greg Zuerleinwon
the NFC championship
game last season with a 57-
yard field goal.
He kicked three field
goals against the Seattle
Seahawks on Thursday
night and was in position for
a game-winner, but his 44-
yard attempt barely missed,
and the Rams lost, 30-29, at
CenturyLink Field.
“I thought it had a chance
to come back in,” Zuerlein
said, “but any time I swing
like that it’s usually not a rec-
ipe for success.”
Zuerlein converted at-
tempts from 47 and 32 yards
in the first quarter and 36
yards in the fourth.

Gurley gets going

Running back Todd Gur-
leyrushed for 51 yards and
two touchdowns in 15 carries
and caught three passes for
six yards.
Coach Sean McVaygot
Gurley involved early in the
game. He scored on runs of
eight and one yards.
Throughout the first
quarter of the season, Mc-
Vay explained away Gurley’s
limited use as a result of the
rhythms of a game. He said
multiple times that he had
to do a better job of getting
the 2017 NFL offensive player
of the year involved.
Gurley carried the ball for
nine yards on the Rams’ first
play. By the the midpoint of
the first quarter Gurley had
five carries — as many as he
had the entire game in the
Rams’ 55-40 loss tothe
Tampa Bay Buccaneers on
Sunday.

Stepping in
Inside linebacker Bryce
Hagersat out because of a

shoulder injury suffered in

last Sunday’s defeat against

the Buccaneers.

Rookie Troy Reeder, an

undrafted free agent from

Delaware, started in Hager’s

spot.

Reeder made a team-

high 13 tackles.

Rookie safety Taylor

Rappsat out because of an

ankle sprain suffered Sun-

day.The injury prevented

the Washington state native

and former University of

Washington standout from

playing before his home-

town fans.

Marqui Christianfilled

Rapp’s role and made three

tackles.

Rookie defensive tackle

Greg Gaines, a fourth-

round draft pick from Wash-

ington, played as a backup

to Sebastian Joseph-Day

and made two tackles.

Familiar face

Rams linebacker Clay

Matthewsplayed for Sea-

hawks coach Pete Carroll at

USC.

When Matthews signed

with the Rams in March, he

uttered a funny, Harry Pot-

ter-inspired line when asked

if Carroll had wished him

luck.

“Is that taboo around

here?” Matthews said. “We

don’t speak his name, like

Voldemort?”

Matthews played against

Carroll eight times during

his 10 seasons with the

Green Bay Packers, seven

times in the regular season

and once in the playoffs.

He recorded two tackles

for losses in the regular-sea-

son games and had a sack in

a 28-22 loss to the Seahawks

in the 2014 NFC Champi-

onship Game.

On Thursday, he had one

sack and five tackles. He

also drew a roughing-the-

passer penalty in the fourth

quarter that helped keep

alive a Seahawks drive.

Matthews, who had a ca-

reer-low 3 ½ sacks last sea-

son, has six sacks this sea-

son, and 89 ½ in his career.

Paul Allen honored

The Seahawks held a

pregame ceremony to in-

duct late owner Paul Allen

as the 12th member of the

team’s Ring of Honor.

Allen bought the team on

June 30, 1997, after a public-

private partnership was

formed to build a new sta-

dium, the current Centu-

ryLink Field, to replace the

aging Kingdome.

The previous owner, Ken

Behring, threatened to leave

the Pacific Northwest, and

even moved the club to Ana-

heim for a week, where the

Seahawks set up shop in the

old Rams’ facility.

Credited with saving the

Seahawks for Seattle, Allen,

a co-founder of Microsoft,

oversaw the most successful

stretch in team history, in-

cluding a Super Bowl cham-

pionship after the 2013 sea-

son. He died last October.

During his ownership,

the Seahawks reached the

postseason 13 times and won

nine division titles.

Etc.

Receiver Brandin Cooks

was evaluated for a concus-

sion after a 29-yard recep-

tion in the fourth quarter. It

was Cooks’ only reception,

but he also carried the ball

once for 27 yards.

RAMS REPORT

Zuerlein’s bad swing leads to a big miss

By Gary Klein
and Sam Farmer

GREG ZUERLEIN was the Rams’ hero with his overtime kick in the NFC title game, but he came up short in

Seattle on Thursday as his last-second kick went right. It was his third missed field goal this season.

Abbie ParrGetty Images