Geno Smith completed a 223-yard pass with 3:19 left and threw a career-best fourth touchdown pass to Noah Fant, giving the Seattle Seahawks a 30-25 victory over playoff-bound Los Angeles. , completed their 12th winning season and the first in 13 years. Sunday Rams.
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 334 yards and 2 TDs in his debut with the Rams (10-7), but the Rams were already in the NFC West due to strength of schedule before the game against the Seahawks (10-7). They had won a district title. The Rams rested Matthew Stafford and nearly the entire offensive line to keep them healthy for next weekend’s home playoff game.
Coach Sean McVay didn’t care, but the Rams’ first loss since Nov. 24 dropped them to the No. 4 seed behind Tampa Bay (10-7), which beat New Orleans for the NFC playoff spot. Los Angeles’ visitors in the wild-card round will be the fifth-seeded loser in Sunday night’s showdown with Detroit.
DK Metcalf, Jake Bobo and AJ Barner also caught TD passes for Seattle. Jackson Smith-Njiba had four catches, tying Tyler Lockett’s franchise record for 100 receptions in a season.
The Seahawks won six of eight games, capping a solid but ultimately disappointing first season under coach Mike McDonald.
The Rams, whose TD passes were caught by Tyler Higbee and Tyler Johnson, had won five straight and nine of 11 since the bye week.
In keeping with McVay’s lifelong policy of prioritizing rest and health over meaningless results, Los Angeles started receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, running back Kyren Williams and starting offensive lineman Alaric Jackson. , Kevin Dotson, and Rob Havenstein. McVay also allowed offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to call plays for the Rams.
Seattle took a 24-16 lead late in the third quarter on Varner’s 4-yard TD catch, but Johnson caught a 4-yard TD pass from Garoppolo early in the fourth. Los Angeles’ two-point conversion failed, but they got the ball back 90 seconds later and found Joshua Carty’s 38-yard field goal at 7:29 to take their first lead at 25-24.
After the Rams’ fumble recovery was canceled because Keir Thomas lined up offside, Fant defended Smith’s 16-yard TD pass despite being undercut and landing nearly head-first in the end zone. gave the Seahawks the lead.
Seattle’s two-point conversion attempt failed. Garoppolo then hit Higbee for a 16-yard gain on fourth-and-6 at midfield, and Los Angeles drove it all the way to the Seattle 9 in the final moments until Garoppolo threw an incompletion to Jordan Whittington on fourth down with 18 seconds left. is.
Seattle missed the playoffs two years in a row for the first time since 2009, but McDonald led the Seahawks to 10 wins for the first time in four years.
Lockett had two catches for 28 yards in what was likely his last game against Seattle after a productive 10 years with the club.
Garoppolo signed with the Rams last spring as Stafford’s backup, but the 33-year-old quarterback who led San Francisco to Super Bowl 54 played all season while Stafford took all the snaps in the first 16 games. There was nothing to do.
injury
Seahawks: Rookie DT Byron Murphy appeared to aggravate a hip injury and left in the first half. …Reserve cornerback Tre Brown missed the second half with a knee injury.
Rams: TE Hunter Long injured his knee in the first half.
to the next
Seahawks: Offseason of roster decisions, including potential contract extensions for Smith and Metcalf heading into the final year of their current contracts.
Rams: First home playoff game in three years.
Source link
