In what was a wildly entertaining matchup between two divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Rams fell just short against the Seattle Seahawks, losing 30-29 on Thursday Night Football.
The Rams got off to a much better start to this game as they forced a fumble on the first Seahawk drive and managed to kick in two field goals to get to an early 6-0 lead. However, Russell Wilson proved to be too much in the pocket for Los Angeles as he routinely scrambled around and found his receivers for touchdowns that put them up in the first half.
The rest of the game would be a back-and-forth affair with the two teams trading punches well into the fourth quarter. Seattle looked to be in command of the game before Los Angeles managed to come up with a huge stop that gave them a shot at winning the game with less than two minutes left.
Greg Zuerlein, one of the best kickers in the league, was set up beautifully by Jared Goff and the offense as he had a chance to win the game on a 44-yard field goal attempt. However, Zuerlein uncharacteristically pushed the ball slightly to the right of the goal post, handing the Seahawks the hard-earned victory.
After the game, the kicker explained what went wrong on the attempt, via Gary Klein and Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times:
“I thought it had a chance to come back in,” Zuerlein said, “but any time I swing like that it’s usually not a recipe for success.”
Zuerlein has been one of the more reliable kickers in the league as he was responsible for getting the Rams to last year’s Super Bowl. He had been perfect on all his field goal and extra-point attempts during the game against Seattle before missing what would have been the game-winning kick.
However, it is hard to blame Zuerlein completely for the loss as Los Angeles missed out on some key plays that would have given them a more situation to work with. Gerald Everett, who had a career night hauling in seven reception for 136 yards, dropped a pass that ultimately resulted in an interception.
While Los Angeles ended up getting the ball back, a delay of game penalty in Seattle territory was just enough to throw off some of the momentum the team had built. Even though it was only a five-yard penalty, it may have proved to be the difference between the Rams winning or losing this game.
At 3-2, the Rams suddenly find themselves in third in the NFC West. Needless to say, their game against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 could have major playoff implications.
