USA Today - 03.10.2019

SPORTS E3 USA TODAY z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 z 5C

SPORTS ON TV

Times p.m. Eastern unless noted. Check local listings.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:Georgia Southern at South Ala-

bama (ESPNU, 7:30); Temple at East Carolina (ESPN, 8)

COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER:Rutgers at Penn State

(BTN, 7); LSU at Auburn (SEC, 7); Michigan at Wiscon-

sin (BTN, 9)

GOLF:European Tour: Open de Espana, Madrid (Golf,

6 a.m. and 10 a.m.; Friday 6 a.m.); LPGA: Volunteers of

America Classic, first round, Irving, Texas (Golf, 1);

PGA Tour: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, first

round, Las Vegas (Golf, 4)

HORSE RACING:Belmont Park Live: From Elmont, N.Y.

(FS2, 1)

MLB:NL Division Series: St. Louis at Atlanta (TBS, 5);

Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers (TBS, 8:30)

NFL:Los Angeles Rams at Seattle (Fox, NFL, 8:20)

NHL:Minnesota at Nashville (NBCSN, 8)

RUGBY:World Cup: Ireland vs. Russia, Pool A, Kobe,

Japan (NBCSN, 6 a.m.); South Africa vs. Italy, Pool B,

Fukuroi, Japan (NBCSN, Friday 5:30)

SOCCER:Women’s International Friendly: USA vs.

South Korea, Charlotte, N.C. (FS1, 8)

TENNIS:ATP/WTA: Rakuten Japan Open & China Open

(Tennis, 6 a.m. and 10; Friday 6 a.m.)

TRACK AND FIELD:IAAF World Championships: in

Doha, Qatar (NBCSN, 9:15 a.m. and 1:30)

As he rolled out of the Saints’ locker room at the Su-
perdome in New Orleans last Sunday night, Cameron
Jordan seemed like the perfect person to assess what
happened earlier in the day at Ford Field in Detroit.
The thoughtful, four-time Pro Bowl defensive end
was at the heart of the biggest officiating gaffe of this
young season in Week 2, when he picked up a fumble
by Rams quarterback Jared Goff and raced 87 yards for
an apparent touchdown – only to have the game-
changing score wiped out because the officials errone-
ously called the play dead. The Rams then broke away
in the second half for a 27-9 victory.
It turns out that same crew, headed by referee Walt
Anderson, didn’t blow the whistle in Detroit on Sunday
when Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland scooped
up a Kerryon Johnson goal-line fumble and ran it back
100 yards for a touchdown – while Lions players re-
laxed and never resisted.
“I saw the highlight,” Jordan told USA TODAY
Sports. “It doesn’t matter. At this point, the New Or-
leans Saints are game-changers.”
After the Saints were robbed in Los Angeles, Jordan
slyly compared Anderson’s crew to the “Foot Locker”
associates who sell merchandise while wearing offi-
cials’ uniforms. Now he senses the impact of their
blunder. “They need to learn from their mistakes,” Jor-
dan said. “You need to find a way to get 1% better every
day. At the end of the day, we’re looking to continue
growing as people. I just wish it would have helped in
my case.”
It’s a coincidental shame that the Saints have al-
ready felt the sting of a controversial whistle after the
egregious non-call of an obvious pass interference in
the waning moments of the NFC title game cost them a
trip to Super Bowl LIII. That error fueled a rule change
that now allows for pass interference calls or non-calls
to be corrected (conceivably) by an instant replay re-
view at NFL headquarters in New York.
Yet if the first quarter of the season has proved any-
thing, it’s that regardless of the new rules, officiating is
still the ultimate X factor.
If you watched the Packers lose to the Eagles last
Thursday night on a last-minute interception, you can
feel the pain that Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur ex-
pressed when he concluded, “I really don’t know what
pass interference is anymore.”
LaFleur challenged a no-call in the third quarter,
when replays showed that Eagles cornerback Avonte
Maddox blatantly interfered with Marquez Valdes-

Scantling. But the decision on the field was upheld.

Which brings us around to the buzz phrase stan-

dard: clear and obvious.

It seemed like a clear and obvious miss, which leads

to another buzz phrase: Say what?

The growing pains for instituting new replay

tweaks have frustrated coaches, players and fans

alike. Consistency is key, but with human error fac-

tored into split-second decisions and a subjective ele-

ment involved when officiating director Al Riveron

rules on the replays from the NFL’s command center,

the threat of a blown call is as inherent to the game as

point spreads and concussions.

You’d think the NFL can do better. It’s a bad enough

look when championships are decided by blown calls.

Now it looks even more confusing when coaches can’t

even agree on legal hits or illegal pass interference.

The ruling that got Vontaze Burfict tossed from the

game at Indianapolis last weekend – and ultimately

the season, pending appeal – for a helmet-to-helmet

blow was an easy call. The linebacker took a running

start and launched headfirst into tight end Jack Doyle.

Conversely, what happened in Buffalo wasn’t so

clear-cut. Bill Belichick defended Patriots cornerback

Jonathan Jones for the blow that knocked Bills quar-

terback Josh Allen out of the game last Sunday. Buffalo

coach Sean McDermott was livid that Jones wasn’t

ejected.

As violent as a hit as it was, by the letter of the law,

Belichick was right. Replays showed that Jones led

with his shoulder and there was “incidental” helmet-

to-helmet contact. Riveron explained as much in a

videotape recently that involved another play. That’s

another buzz phrase: incidental contact.

That, too, is such a fine line in the heat of competi-

tion. But it happens.

Then there was a controversial play on Sunday

night that, strikingly, worked to the Saints’ advantage.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was stripped of

the football in a pileup as he converted a 4th-and-

play before halftime. Wasn’t his elbow down? The re-

play seemed inconclusive, as Elliott’s elbow appeared

to hit the turf as the ball popped out. But the play stood

as a fumble.

And no, Riveron didn’t see another angle of the play

that you didn’t see at home. At this point, the replay

center only uses video from network TV feeds that are

included in the broadcast.

Elliott declined to complain about it after the Cow-

boys’ 12-10 loss.

“It really doesn’t matter if my elbow was down or

not,” he said. “I’ve got to take care of the ball in that

situation. ... I can’t leave any error for doubt.”

He was right on both counts. Sure, take care of the

ball. And be wary of the judgment calls.

Of course, that case hardly evens things up for the

Saints. But as Jordan mentioned, they might be game-

changers in another sense ... at least until the next

game-costing call goes against them.

Saints coach Sean Payton, on the front lines of the

offseason push for the rule to expand the use of instant

replay, said the Elliott fumble illustrated how officials

are increasingly leaving the decisions up to the replay.

Yet at the same time, debate has been fueled when Ri-

veron has let rulings on the field stand that seemingly

should have been overturned.

“My take, as I evaluate preseason and early into this

season,” Payton said, “I just see a much more conser-

vative approach in New York. So we have to pay atten-

tion to that.”

We will. For better or for worse.

Jarrett Bell

Columnist

USA TODAY

NFL’s officiating headaches

still won’t seem to go away

FOR THE RECORD

All times ET

MLB

Postseason
x-if necessary
WILD CARD
Tuesday: Washington, 4, Milwaukee 3
Wednesday: Tampa Bay at Oakland
DIVISION SERIES
(Best-of-5)
American League
Houston vs. Oakland-Tampa
Bay winner
Friday: Oakland-Tampa Bay winner at Hous-
ton, 2:05 p.m. (FS1)
Saturday: Oakland-Tampa Bay winner at
Houston, 9:07 p.m. (FS1)
Monday: Houston at Oakland-Tampa Bay win-
ner (MLB)
x-Tuesday: Houston at Oakland-Tampa Bay
winner (FS1)
x-Oct. 10: Oakland-Tampa Bay winner at
Houston (FS1)
N.Y. Yankees vs. Minnesota
Friday: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees, 7:07 p.m.
(MLB)
Saturday: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees, 5:
p.m. (FS1)
Monday: N.Y. Yankees at Minnesota (FS1 or
MLB)
x-Tuesday: N.Y. Yankees at Minnesota ( (FS1)
x-Oct. 10: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees (FS1)
National League
L.A. Dodgers vs. Washington
Thursday: Washington at L.A. Dodgers , 8:
p.m. (TBS)
Friday: Washington at L.A. Dodgers, 9:37 p.m.
(TBS)
Sunday: L.A. Dodgers at Washington (TBS)
x-Monday: L.A. Dodgers at Washington (TBS)
x-Oct. 9: Washington at L.A. Dodgers (TBS)
Atlanta vs. St. Louis
Thursday: St. Louis at Atlanta, 5:02 p.m. (TBS)
Friday: St, Louis at Atlanta, 4:37 p.m. (TBS)
Sunday: Atlanta at St. Louis (TBS)
x-Monday: Atlanta at St. Louis (TBS)
x-Oct. 9: St. Louis at Atlanta (TBS)

NFL

AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East W LT Pct PF PA
New England 40 0 1.000 122 27
Buffalo 3 1 0 .750 76 63
N.Y. Jets 03 0 .000 33 70
Miami 04 0 .000 26 163
South W LT Pct PF PA
Houston 22 0 .500 78 78
Indianapolis 22 0 .500 94 102
Jacksonville 22 0 .500 84 84
Tennessee 22 0 .500 91 62
North W LT Pct PF PA
Cleveland 22 0 .500 89 91
Baltimore 22 0 .500 135 100
Pittsburgh 13 0 .250 76 88
Cincinnati 04 0 .000 57 110
West W LT Pct PF PA
Kansas City 40 0 1.000 135 94
Oakland 22 0 .500 79 102
L.A. Chargers 22 0 .500 90 74
Denver 04 0 .000 70 93
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East W LT Pct PF PA
Dallas 3 1 0 .750 107 56
Philadelphia 22 0 .500 110 105
WashingtonN.Y. Giants^2024 0 .5000 .000^876611897
South W LT Pct PF PA
New Orleans 3 1 0 .750 84 92
Tampa Bay 22 0 .500 123 117
AtlantaCarolina^2123 0 .5000 .250^95708099
North W LT 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 22 0 .500 84 63

West W LT Pct PF PA

San Francisco 30 0 1.000 96 54

Seattle 3 1 0 .750 103 89

L.A. Rams 3 1 0 .750 117 104

Arizona 03 1 .125 74 115

Thursday’s Game

L.A. Rams at Seattle, 8:20 p.m.

NHL

Wednesday’s Games

Ottawa at Toronto

Washington at St. Louis

Vancouver at Edmonton

San Jose at Vegas

SOCCER

MLS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

W LT Pts GF GA

x-NY City FCx-Atlanta (^17) 17 126 10 4 55 5561 61 4241
x-Philadelphia 16 10 7 55 57 48
x-D.C. United 13 10 10 49 42 38
x-New York 14 13 6 48 53 48
x-Toronto FC 12 10 11 47 56 52
New England 11 10 12 45 49 54
Chicago 9 12 12 39 50 45
Montreal 11 17 5 38 44 60
Columbus 10 15 8 38 39 46
Orlando City 9 14 10 37 42 47
Cincinnati 6 22 5 23 31 75
WESTERN CONFERENCE
WLT Pts GF GA
y-Los Angeles FC 20 4 969 82 36
x-Minnesota 15 10 853 52 42
x-Seattle 15 10 853 51 49
x-LA GalaxyReal Salt Lake 16 1415 13 (^35) 50 45 4151 56 55
Portland 13 13 7 46 49 48
FC Dallas 12 12 945 48 46
San Jose 13 15 5 44 51 52
Colorado 12 15 642 57 60
Sporting KC 10 15 838 49 61
Houston 11 18 4 37 45 57
Vancouver 8 15 1034 37 58
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
North Carolina 14 5 4 46 51 21
Chicago 14 8 2 44 4128
Portland 11 6 6 39 40 31
Reign FC 10 6 7372525
Utah Royals FC 910 4 312324
Washington 8 8 6 30 2725
Houston Dash 7 11 5 26 20 34
Sky Blue FC 5 13 5 20 18 31
Orlando Pride 4 15 3 15 22 48
Champions League
(Home teams listed first)
FIRST ROUND
Top two in each group advance
GROUP A
GP WD LGF GAPts
PSG 2 2 0 0 4 0 6
Club Brugge 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Galatasaray 2 0 1 1 0 1 1
Real Madrid 2 0 1 1 2 5 1
Tuesday’s Games
Real Madrid 2, Club Brugge 2
Galatasaray 0, Paris Saint-Germain 1
GROUP B
GP WD LGF GAPts
RS BelgradeBayern Munich 22 21 00 01103 24 6 3
Olympiakos 2 0 1 1 3 5 1
Tottenham 2 0 1 1 4 9 1
Tuesday’s Games
Red Star Belgrade 3, Olympiakos 1
Tottenham 2, Bayern Munich 7
GROUP C
GP WD LGF GAPts
Man. City 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Dinamo Zagreb 2 1 0 1 4 2 3
S. Donetsk 2 1 0 1 2 4 3
Atalanta 2 0 0 2 1 6 0
Tuesday’s Games
Atalanta 1, Shakhtar Donetsk 2
Manchester City 2, Dinamo Zagreb 0
GROUP D
GP WD LGF GAPts
Atletico Madrid 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
Juventus 2 1 1 0 5 2 4
LM Moscow 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
B. Leverkusen 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
Tuesday’s Games
Juventus 3, Bayer Leverkusen 0
Lokomotiv Moscow 0, Atletico Madrid 2
GROUP E
GP WD LGF GAPts
RB SalzburgNapoli 22 11 01 01 29 06 4 3
Liverpool 2 1 0 1 4 5 3
Genk 2 0 1 1 2 6 1
Wednesday’s Games
Genk 0, Napoli 0
Liverpool 4, Red Bull Salzburg 3
GROUP F
GP WD LGF GAPts
Bor. Dortmund 2 1 1 0 2 0 4
Barcelona 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
Inter Milan 2 0 1 1 2 3 1
Slavia Prague 2 0 1 1 1 3 1
Wednesday’s Games
Slavia Prague 0, Borussia Dortmund 2
Barcelona 2, Inter Milan 1
GROUP G
GP WD LGF GAPts
Zenit St. P-burg 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
RB LeipzigLyon 22 11 01 01 32 31 4 3
Benfica 2 0 0 2 2 5 0
Wednesday’s Games
RB Leipzig 0, Lyon 2
Zenit St. Petersburg 3, Benfica 1
GROUP H
GP WD LGF GAPts
Ajax 2 2 0 0 6 0 6
Chelsea 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Valencia 2 1 0 1 1 3 3
Lille 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
Wednesday’s Games
Lille 1, Chelsea 2
Valencia 0, Ajax 3
English Premier League
GPW D L GF GA Pts
Liverpool 7 7 0 0 18 5 21
Man City 7 5 1 1 27 7 16
Leicester 7 4 2 1 13 5 14
Arsenal 7 3 3 1 12 11 12
West Ham 7 3 3 1 10 9 12
Tottenham 7 3 2 2 14 9 11
Chelsea 7 3 2 2 14 13 11
Bournemouth 7 3 2 2 13 12 11
Crystal Palace 7 3 2 2 6 7 11
Man United 7 2 3 2 9 7 9
Burnley 7 2 3 2 10 9 9
Sheffield Utd 7 2 2 3 7 7 8
Wolverhampton 7 1 4 2 9 11 7
Southampton 7 2 1 4 7 11 7
Everton 7 2 1 4 6 12 7
Brighton 7 1 3 3 5 10 6
Norwich 7 2 0 5 9 16 6
Aston Villa 7 1 2 4 8 11 5
Newcastle 7 1 2 4 4 13 5
Watford 7 0 2 5 4 20 2
WNBA
(Best-of-5; x-if necessary)
Finals
Washington 1, Connecticut 1
Sunday: Washington 95, Connecticut 86
Tuesday: Connecticut 99, Washington 87
Sunday: Wash. at Connecticut, 3:30 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Connecticut at Wash., 8 p.m.
x-Oct. 10: Connecticut at Washington, 8 p.m.
TENNIS
World Tour Beijing
At National Tennis Center
Beijing
Purse: $3,515,
Surface: Hardcourt outdoor
Men’s Singles - Round of 16
Andy Murray, Britain, def. Cameron Norrie,
Britain, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 6-1; Karen Khachanov
(4), Russia, def. Jeremy Chardy, France, 7-
(0), 7-6 (5); Fabio Fognini (6), Italy, def. An-
drey Rublev, Russia, 6-3, 6-4; Dominic Thiem
(1), Austria, def. Zhizhen Zhang, China, 6-3,
6-3.
Women’s Singles - Round of 32
Jennifer Brady, United States, def. Madison
Keys (11), United States, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Bianca
Andreescu (5), Canada, def. Elise Mertens,
Belgium, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Women’s Singles - Round of 16
Petra Kvitova (7), Czech Republic, def. Belinda
Bencic (9), Switzerland, 6-3, 6-3; Ashleigh
Barty (1), Australia, def. Zheng Saisai, China,
6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2; Kiki Bertens (8), Netherlands,
def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3;
Elina Svitolina (3), Ukraine, def. Sofia Kenin
(15), United States, 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-3.
ATP World Tour Tokyo
At Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo
Purse: $1,895,
Surface: Hardcourt outdoor
Singles - Round of 16
Yasutaka Uchiyama, Japan, def. Radu Albot,
Moldova, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4; Novak Djokovic (1),
Serbia, def. Go Soeda, Japan, 6-3, 7-5; Reilly
Opelka, United States, def. Gilles Simon,
France, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2); Lucas Pouille (5),
France, def. Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, 6-1,
6-2.
DEALS
BASEBALL
American League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Named T.J. Brightman
as senior vice president and chief revenue of-
ficer. Promoted Jennifer Grondahl to senior
vice president of community development &
communications, and Greg Bader to senior
vice president of administration & experi-
ence.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed DL Zach Kerr.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Signed WR Stanley
Morgan from the practice squad. Placed WR
John Ross on IR.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed DB Jordan
Richards. Placed K Stephen Gostkowski on IR.
Signed WR Kelvin McKnight to the practice
squad.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Signed G Darcy Kuem-
per to a two-year contract extension through
the 2021-22 season. Recalled F Christian
Fischer and D Kyle Capobianco from Tucson
(AHL).
SOCCER
USL Championship
USLC — Suspended Orange County’s Michael
Orozco two games; Birmingham’s Brian
Wright, Tampa Bay’s Jordan Doherty, Tulsa’s
Tobenna Uzo, Ottawa’s Wal Fall, Indy’s Ayoze,
Charlotte’s Kevan George, New Mexico’s Juan
Guzman, OKC’s Callum Ross, San Antonio’s
Walter Restrepo, Austin’s Xavier Baez, Pitts-
burgh’s Robbie Mertz, Swope Park’s Ethan Va-
nacore-Decker, Loudoun’s Ted Ku-Dipietro,
Indy’s Paddy Barrett, and ATL UTD’s Andrew
Carleton one game each.
ODDS
Pregame.com Line
Major League Baseball
Thursday
National League
Favorite Line Underdog Line
Atlanta -132 St. Louis +
American League
Favorite Line Underdog Line
OAKLAND -132 Tampa Bay +
National Hockey League
Wednesday
Favorite Line Underdog Line
TORONTO -265 Ottawa +
ST. LOUIS -146 Washington +
EDMONTON -125 Vancouver +
VEGAS -164 San Jose +
College Football
Thursday
Favorite OT O/U Underdog
Ga. Southern 121 ⁄ 2 10 46 S. ALABAMA
Temple 12 11 47^1 ⁄ 2 E. CAROLINA
Friday
Favorite OT O/U Underdog
UCF 31 ⁄ 24 60 CINCINNATI
SAN JOSE ST 7 6^1 ⁄ 264 New Mexico
Saturday
Favorite O TO/U Underdog
South Florida 131 ⁄ 211 51 UCONN
LOUISVILLE 41 ⁄ 261 ⁄ 261 Boston College
UNC 8101 ⁄ 2481 ⁄ 2 GA. TECH
Texas 10 11 61 W. VIRGINIA
PENN ST 202855 Purdue
N ILLINOIS 71 ⁄ 2 5551 ⁄ 2 Ball St
Tulane +1 3 45 ARMY
DUKEKANSAS ST 65 51 4950 PittsburghBaylor
Maryland 131 ⁄ 2131 ⁄ 2551 ⁄ 2 RUTGERS
Oklahoma St 7 10 62^1 ⁄ 2 TEXAS TECH
WISCONSIN 351 ⁄ 2 36 57^1 ⁄ 2 Kent St
E. Michigan 61 ⁄ 261 ⁄ 254 CENT. MICH.
MIAMI 101 ⁄ 21447 Virginia Tech
MISSOURI 232465 Troy
Liberty 4 5 60 NM STATE
COLORADO 3 4 63 Arizona
San Diego St 7 71 ⁄ 2511 ⁄ 2 COLO. ST
UCLAOREGON 8161 ⁄ 25171 ⁄ 26646 Oregon StCalifornia
Washington 13 16^1 ⁄ 252 STANFORD
SMU 14 1362 Tulsa
MICHIGAN 6 3 47 Iowa
MINNESOTA 14 1458 Illinois
UAB 10 9 42 Rice
NEBRASKA 8 7 49 Northwestern
Georgia 23 25 51^1 ⁄ 2 TENNESSEE
Air Force 2 31 ⁄ 2441 ⁄ 2 NAVY
TOLEDO 4 1681 ⁄ 2 W. Michigan
OklahomaOhio 3341 ⁄ (^23131) ⁄^12 ⁄ (^26751) BUFFALOKANSAS
IOWA ST 4 3 44 TCU
MISSISSIPPI 6 7 62 Vanderbilt
Marshall 61 ⁄ 2 4 56 MIDDLE TN
NOTRE DAME 461 ⁄ 2451 ⁄ 2601 ⁄ 2 Bowling Green
Arkansas St 71 ⁄ 271 ⁄ 2711 ⁄ 2 GEORGIA ST
W Kentucky 1 31 ⁄ 2441 ⁄ 2 OLD DMINION
Auburn 21 ⁄ 2 3471 ⁄ 2 FLORIDA
FIU 252666 UMass
Memphis 131 ⁄ 2141 ⁄ 264 LA.-MONROE
LSUOHIO STATE 23 21 19^1 ⁄ 2 28 72^1 ⁄^24811 ⁄⁄^22 Michigan StUtah St
UTEP +2 1 45 UTSA
Boise St 21 22^1 ⁄ 2551 ⁄ 2 UNLV
NFL
Thursday
Favorite O T O/U Underdog
SEATTLE +1 1^1 ⁄ 2 49 LA Rams
Sunday
FavoriteBaltimore 2 O (^12) ⁄ 3 T O/U (^1) ⁄ 2441 ⁄ 2 PITTSBURGHUnderdog
Chicago 5 5 40 Oakland
CINCINNATI 4 3 47 Arizona
CAROLINA 3 3 41 Jacksonville
Minnesota 41 ⁄ 251 ⁄ 2441 ⁄ 2 NY GIANTS
New England 131 ⁄ 2151 ⁄ 2421 ⁄ 2 WASHINGTON
PHILADELPHIA 13 13^1 ⁄ 2431 ⁄ 2 NY Jets
NEW ORLEANS 61 ⁄ 23 47 Tampa Bay
HOUSTON 4 5 49 Atlanta
TENNESSEE 1 3 38 Buffalo
LA CHARGERSDALLAS 57361 ⁄ 246441 ⁄ 2 Green BayDenver
KANSAS CITY 10 1156 Indianapolis
Monday
Favorite O T O/U Underdog
SAN FRANCISCO 3 3 46 Cleveland
Rams (3-1) at Seahawks (3-1)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET
CenturyLink Field, Seattle
TV: Fox, NFL Network
Pregame.com line:Rams by 1^1 ⁄ 2
Rams’ keys to victory:Los Angeles can firmly
take control of this game early by stunting the
Seahawks’ offense and keeping them out of the
end zone. DT Aaron Donald, the two-time reign-
ing Defensive Player of the Year, has been held in
check this season and needs a breakout game to
add to his sack count. The Rams will need to
avoid the pressure of Seattle’s revamped defen-
sive line, which has yet to live up to its lofty ex-
pectations.
Seahawks’ keys to victory: After losing to the
Saints in Week 3 – their first September home
loss in the Pete Carroll era – the Seahawks will be
hungry to win, especially under the lights of
prime time. With the run game unreliable through
the first month and despite shaky pass protec-
tion to start the season, Seattle will have to find a
way to ensure QB Russell Wilson has the time he
needs to connect with top targets Tyler Lockett
and DK Metcalf. The Seahawks will need more
than field goals to win against a Rams team sure
to put points on the board.
Matchup to watch: Rams QB Jared Goff vs. Sea-
hawks’ defense.If Seattle’s Legion of Boom can’t
hinder Goff and company from the start, this
could be a long night in the Emerald City. Veteran
LBs Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright have their
work cut out for them.
Who wins?To compete in the NFC West, Seattle
can’t afford a home loss to a divisional opponent.
Although the Seahawks have risen to the occa-
sion in national games, the Rams will prove to be
too complete a team to stop. Rams, 32-
Liz Mathews, USA TODAY Network
THURSDAY NIGHT PREVIEW