Los Angeles Rams move on as the defense suffocates Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

Less than two weeks after Jared Goff broke his thumb at Lumen Field, the Los Angeles quarterback Rams returned to Seattle, got off the bench and led the Rams to a courageous 30-20 victory over division champion Seahawks in the wild- Saturday card.

The victory avenges a defeat in week 16 for the Seahawks, which prevented Rams from playing for the NFC West title and advances Los Angeles to the next round of the playoffs.

The Rams will play next weekend at the Green Bay Packers if the New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday. If the Bears win, the Rams will play the winner of Saturday’s match between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Football Team.

The Rams ‘triumph breaks the Seahawks’ 10-game winning streak in the home playoffs, which was the third longest streak of its kind in NFL postseason history. No fans were able to attend Saturday’s game because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With Goff continuing to recover from surgery on December 28 on the thumb of his throwing hand, John Wolford made his second career start on Saturday. However, it ended abruptly with 5:40 to play in the first quarter.

Wolford ran for a 2-yard gain in a planned race, but he suffered a neck injury when he was approached and was transported to a local hospital for precautionary measures. Wolford was later released and celebrated with the team in the locker room after the game, according to Rams coach Sean McVay.

With a small bandage on his thumb surgically repaired, Goff entered the game and completed 9 of 19 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown, when Rams broke a two-game streak without an offensive score.

The running back Cam Akers ran for 131 yards – the maximum for a Rams rookie in playoff history – and a touchdown on 28 charged and also received two 45-yard passes.

Under the command of first year coordinator Brandon Staley, Rams’ best defense stifled quarterback Russel Wilson of the Seahawks and frustrated wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Rams’ cornerback Darious Williams read Wilson’s screen, intercepted his pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 13-3 lead in the second quarter. In the entire championship, there were 784 screen passes aimed at wide receivers this regular season and no interception, according to ESPN’s survey of statistics and information.

Williams’ choice was his third against Wilson and his fifth this season.

In the second half, the Rams managed to limit Wilson to a touchdown, although Aaron Donald left the game twice, defensive player of the year for the NFL, in the third quarter due to a rib injury. Donald returned to the sideline, but did not return to the game.

Wilson was fired five times and finished 11 of 27 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns, both for Metcalf.