Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks: Report card yet again high on offense, low on defense

Quarterbacks

I don’t care about the interceptions, I care about the leadership and Jared Goff was poised and in control. What drove home this “A grade” for me was his QB sneak at the end of the game and his celebration afterwards — that passion is contagious and it’s been lacking a bit with Goff in the past. And 321 yards is nothing to sneeze at.

Running Backs

RB Todd Gurley II once again proved that he’s the heart and soul of the offense, rushing and catching passes all over the field, piling up 113 all-purpose yards with 3 touchdowns. The answer to the Los Angeles Rams’ red zones issues has been a large dose of Todd Gurley and he hasn’t disappointed.

Wide Receivers

Am I being too generous since they only had one touchdown? Nope. While Cooper Kupp’s impressive after the catch scramble into the end zone was much needed, the momentum of the offense relied heavily on WR Robert Woods — the guy was everywhere, accumulating 92 yards on 5 catches. That does’t seem like a lot, but watching the game, it felt like Woods was dominating the Seahawks’ secondary all game. The biggest concern has to be the two concussions in the first half that befell WR Cooper Kupp and WR Brandin Cooks. The Cooks hit was pretty violent and while I don’t think it was a dirty play, it could be a serious health issue for Cooks going forward.

Tight Ends

TE Tyler Higbee and TE Gerald Everett both showed up and were almost great. Same old same old.

Offensive Line

The Rams’ offensive line is usually the best unit of the team, but this week they showed some minor cracks in their armor, allowing Goff to get roughed up a bit.

Defensive Line

The Seahawks’ offense moved the ball on the ground to the tune of 190 yards, making our feared defensive line look like a bunch of pushovers. They had their moments with a couple of sacks, but things need to be tightened up moving forward.

Linebackers

I felt like ILB Cory Littleton had some legit moments, like his clutch psss deflection near the end of the game, but the unit as a whole was just a bit off. ILB Mark Barron was a welcome addition, but the chemistry seemed to lack polish, allowing Seattle’s run game to flourish.

Defensive Backs

Russell Wilson’s 3 touchdown passes were a product of Seattle’s ability to exploit the Rams’ secondary, making CB Marcus Peters look silly at times. I also hated CB Troy Hill’s uncesscary roughness penalty, which was the essence of a bonehead play. The defensive backs made the D look sloppy and undisciplined. CB Aqib Talib can’t come back fast enough.

Special Teams

They recovered a blocked punt! LB Cory Littleton has made a name for himself on special teams, which is hard to do, blocking his second punt of the season. Cairo Santos was 2/2 on his field goals, even though he missed an extra point (please come back soon, Greg Zuerlein!) And Blake Countess was very impressive with his kick returns with 98 yards on 4 attempts.

Coaching

When you go for it on 4th down at the end of the game and it works out, you look like a genius. If it hadn’t resulted in a first down and the Seahawks ended up scoring on the next game-winning drive, you’d be looking at a big fat red F above this text. Such is football. I felt that Coach McVay burned his second half timeouts too early, but it didn’t factor into the game, so it’s much ado about nothing at this point. When you look at the coaching in hindsight, you have to respect the gutsy decision to trot Goff out there to sneak the ball over the first down marker.