Rams Keys To Victory Over Seahawks

Rams Safety John Johnson And Corner Nickell Robey-Coleman During Training Camp. Photo Credit: Ryan Dyrud | Sports Al Dente
Rams Safety John Johnson And Corner Nickell Robey-Coleman During Training Camp. Photo Credit: Ryan Dyrud | Sports Al Dente

Rams Keys To Victory Over Seahawks

The stakes of this game couldn’t be higher. Of course, it’s a hotly contested divisional rivalry with many playoff implications. A win for the Rams would, not only prove that the Rams are still among the best teams in the league despite several uncharacteristic losses, it would keep the Rams slim playoff hopes alive. 

Seattle is riding high into Los Angeles on a five game winning streak and playing a can’t lose brand of football. The Rams looked great against the Cardinals, but as the record shows, Seattle ain’t Arizona. The Rams will need to excel in a few areas they haven’t this season in order to get the win. Here are the Rams keys to victory over the Seahawks. 

Jared Goff Exceeding Expectations

Jared Goff is ranked 4th in the league in passing yards this season, ahead of Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Russell Wilson. Why isn’t there talk of an MVP for Jared Goff? Because he has only thrown 13 touchdowns; so has Mitch Trubisky and Ryan Fitzpatrick. He is also 4th in the league with 12 interceptions.

Luckily for Jared Goff, the biggest weakness of the Seahawks is the pass defense. They are ranked 28th in total passing yards allowed. If there is one key to beating the Seahawks, Jared Goff is the man for the job.

In their first meeting Goff passed for 395 yards, but only one TD pass. He has to start making teams pay for letting him rack up yards. In the Rams’ five losses, Goff has only thrown three touchdowns and hasn’t thrown more than two touchdowns in a single game this season. 

Make Field Goals

The Seahawks have been lucky when it comes to missed field goals. Opponents have missed 8 field goals and 3 extra points against Seattle and they make opponents pay when their kickers shank one. Two of those missed field goals directly resulted in Seahawks wins, one of which was the last second miss against the Rams.

All of the Seahawks games have been close games, they are only outscoring opponents by three points on average. The other 10-2 teams are, on average, blowing teams out; BAL by 15.8, NE by 14.8, SF by 13.8, NO by 4.2 

Greg Zuerlein has missed 6 field goals so far this season, that equals the total of misses from the previous two seasons combined. Greg “The Leg” will have to be perfect in order for the Rams to come away with a win.

Keep The Ball Away From Russell Wilson

The other force propelling Seattle to victory is Russell Wilson. He has the ability to kill a team if they give him any wiggle room whatsoever. He has orchestrated five game-winning drives this season which makes it seem that he can score at will.

The final of the Rams keys to victory will be managing their drives to keep the ball out of the hands of the only Seahawk that can beat them single-handedly. In order to do so, they will have to win the battle of time of possession and clock management in the fourth quarter. 

The Rams have done a poor job of holding onto the ball on offense. They are 28th in the league in time of possession. This is due to their unwillingness to run the ball.

In week 13 against the Cardinals, the Rams ran the ball 30 times for 132 yards. Both marks are a season-high. They also held on to the ball for over six minutes longer than their season average. Running the ball against the Seahawks is not like running the ball against Arizona, but Sean McVay will have to commit to handing the ball off even if it is just to chew up time off the clock. 

This is especially true in the fourth quarter. If the game is tight, the last thing the Rams want is the ball in the hands of Russell Wilson with more than 85 seconds left on the clock.