By james art 
1 on 21
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SEATTLE — The Rams’ winning formula for 2024 was supposed to be a high-scoring offense that put their defense in pass rush situations. Given the youth on the other side of the ball, it was the job of head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford to take the pressure off the defense.
But in Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, the offense, and at times the special teams, continued to put the Rams defense in compromising situations. A Stafford interception in the second quarter allowed the Seahawks to score two touchdowns in the final minute of the half. A single first down — no penalty, no less — in four fourth-quarter drives put the onus back on a defense that had already given the Rams the lead. A blocked punt on one of those missed opportunities allowed the Seahawks to start in the red zone.
Ultimately, the defense buckled, allowing Seattle to tie the game with 51 seconds left, then allowing the Seahawks to take the overtime kickoff down the field, in the red zone. But then came 4th and 1 at the Rams 16. And here the Rams defense proved it wouldn’t break.
The defensive front absorbs his blocks. Bobby Brown III dropped out of his defense as linebacker Omar Speights filled the c gap at left tackle. They combined for a shutout, and it was the opportunity the Rams (4-4) needed to escape Lumen Field with a 26-20 victory and move into second place in the NFC West.
“It’s a lot of fun to be around this group,” McVeigh said in his defense. “And they have just an infectious energy and enthusiasm. And there would have been plenty of reasons for them to be upset with what the striker was doing today, and I never felt that. And I think that’s such a great thing that reflects the caliber of character of this team.”
The Rams had seven sacks on Sunday. Six passes protected. Held the Seahawks to 4-for-15 on third down and 1-for-4 in the red zone. And he intercepted three passes, two by rookie Kamren Kinchens, whose role had been reduced to 16 snaps in the previous three games.
But when cornerback Josh Wallace left the game with a leg injury, Kinchens was ready for his opportunity. He took advantage of Byron Young’s 1st-and-goal pressure for his first career interception, returning a franchise-record 103 yards for a touchdown.
“There’s no thought process behind it,” Kinchens said. “As soon as I caught it and saw no one in front of me, it was time to run.”
He dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, but had the presence of mind to get the ball in the end zone and secure a touchdown, the third by the Rams defense in the last four games.
“I’ll invite him to the team meeting,” McVay joked. “Those are two huge plays we had to have, or I wouldn’t be sitting here feeling the way I do.”
The defense was not perfect. He committed five interceptions or neutral zone violations, two of which led directly to free plays that led to Seattle touchdowns on consecutive drives. A 3-0 Rams lead turned into a 13-3 halftime deficit, all within 31 seconds of playing time.
But that second score was only because of a dropped interception by Stafford on the drive between those two touchdowns. Even worse, as linebacker Tyrel Dodson tried to block Puka Nacua, the intended target, the receiver hit the Seahawk in the helmet and was ejected.
Naqua’s absence certainly didn’t help the Rams’ offense, but the team was struggling before his suspension. Seattle (4-5) showed little ability to stop the drive Sunday, but held the Rams to 14 yards on eight attempts in the first half. Stafford felt a lot of pressure in the pocket and made several passes to avoid sacks.
While the offense came back to tie the game in the third quarter, it sputtered again in the fourth quarter. That opened the window for QB Geno Smith to lead the Seahawks down the field, his second TD pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba tying the game with 51 seconds left.
When the Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and ran the ball with Kenneth Walker III on five of the first six plays of the drive, you’d be forgiven for having flashbacks to the season-opening loss to the Lions in which Detroit ran over a tired Rams defense. But this time the Rams stalled when Seattle elected to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal.
“We were all there talking to each other that we should buckle down. let’s go We’ve got to stop this,” said rookie Braden Fiske, who made two sacks. “We’re a young defense, we’re coming together. I think he shined tonight.”
When the Rams got the ball back, McVay kept his plan simple: Keep the ball in Stafford’s hands.
And Stafford hit the 46th game-winning shot of his career. First he hit Tyler Johnson for 24 yards, then Tutu Atwell for 16 to get into Seattle territory.
Defending against the game-winning field goal, the Seahawks went into coverage zero at their own 39. The Rams called a play, only to see a linebacker scamper to the edge of the offensive line. Receiver Cooper Koop went into motion to block this LB and secure the pass. As Stafford rolled to his left, he saw DeMarque Robinson on a corner route to the end zone.
The veteran receiver went up with one arm to secure the game-winning touchdown, his second of the game.
“I wasn’t planning on shooting that one there before the picture,” Stafford said. “Koop did a great job of giving me the edge, had a little time and just popped out.”
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