St. Louis Rams Edge Seattle Seahawks In Overtime Thriller

The St. Louis Rams opened their 2015 regular season with a major NFC West test as they welcomed the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks into the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defense proved it was back to its pass rushing ways, but it was a run-stuffing play that led the Rams to a huge 34-31 win over the Seahawks in overtime to move to 1-0.

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The opening drive belonged to the Seahawks, and the Rams defense looked a little vulnerable to start. After allowing multiple long plays, the defense locked down. Thanks to Aaron Donald and William Hayes, the Rams were able to force a punt.

The first possession welcomed the start of the Nick Foles Era in St. Louis, but it did not start well. The Rams started with a loss of nine yards from Tavon Austin. Austin was lined up as the running back to start the game over Benny Cunningham, a bit of a surprise to most. The Rams went 3-&-out and then suffered a special teams breakdown. Johnny Hekker let off a booming 55-yard punt, but rookie Tyler Lockett found a hole and brought it back 57-yards to give the Seahawks the early 7-0 lead.

Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles (5) drops back to pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams next possession relied much more heavily on Foles and the passing game. The Rams went on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that saw just three running plays.

Foles found tight end Jared Cook for a 22-yard pass to start the drive, then found Benny Cunningham for an 11-yard screen pass on the drive. The drive spilled into the second quarter, but ended with a 16-yard touchdown run for Tavon Austin on the opening play of the 2nd quarter.

It was the fourth rushing touchdown of Austin’s career and tied the game at 7-7.

The momentum continued for the Rams on their next defensive possession. Despite a roughing the passer penalty on Robert Quinn, the Rams defense continued to apply pressure to Russell Wilson.

That pressure forced a short throw from Wilson which was intercepted on an incredibly athletic play by Truman Johnson. Johnson took the ball 15 yards before being brought down, giving the Rams great field position at the Seahawks 26 yard line.

The Rams were unable to do much with the field position, however as a holding call on Greg Robinson backed the offense up. The Seahawks defense flexed their muscles, only allowing the Rams to move 11 yards before forcing a Greg Zuerlein 33-yard field goal. The field goal gave the Rams their first lead of the game, 10-7.

Another special teams mistake allowed the Seahawks to come back down the field to tie the game. A 35-yard Hekker punt gave Seattle great field position at their own 35 yard line. Seattle maneuvered down the field with relative ease before a Robert Quinn sack and a solid defensive play by Akeem Ayers forced a 25-yard field goal by Stephen Hauschka at the end of the half. The field goal tied the game at 10-10 at halftime.

The first half was relatively even between the two teams. The Seahawks gained 132 yards to the Rams 118. St. Louis had 93 yards passing on 7-of-10 passing from Nick Foles. Both teams turned the ball over one time, and the Seahawks held the advantage in time of possession with 18:18 to 13:24 for the Rams.

The start of the second half was a disaster for the Rams. They turned the ball over on just the third play when Nick Foles tried to approach the line of scrimmage from his shotgun position. Center Tim Barnes snapped the ball, hitting Foles and falling to the turf. Seattle recovered the fumble, giving them great field position.

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The Rams defense held strong, however, forcing a 27-yard Hauschka field goal. The field goal gave the Seahawks a 13-10 lead with 9:40 left in the third quarter.

The Rams offense took to the field and answered on their next drive. They took the ball 80 yards on just six plays to reclaim the lead. Folks found Kenny Britt for 16 yards and Jared Cook for 30 yards on the drive, then capped it with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to give the Rams the 17-13 lead. It was the first rushing touchdown for Foles since Week 6 of the 2013 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rams defense picked up their intensity on the ensuing drive, forcing a 3-and-out. Aaron Donald made the play of the drive when he went nearly untouched through the Seahawks defensive line to collect his second sack of the game. It was the fourth sack overall for the Rams defense, and gave Donald his first multi-sack game of his career. On the next play, the Rams made up for their special teams mistakes early in the game when Tavon Austin took a John Ryan punt 74 yards for a touchdown. It was the third time in his career that Austin had returned a punt for a touchdown – one in each year of his career. The touchdown gave the Rams a 24-13 lead.

With the punt return touchdown, the Rams-Seahawks game became the first season-opening game in NFL history to have both teams score on a punt return touchdown.

The Seahawks came back onto the field with a huge answer drive. Russell Wilson went 4-for-7 on the drive before finding Jimmy Graham for a seven-yard touchdown. Graham had three receptions on the drive. The touchdown was followed by a successful 2-point conversion that cut the Rams lead down to 24-21.

The Rams had a nice drive working on their next possession, but it was ended when Isaiah Pead fumbled the ball back to the Seahawks. The Rams had completed a 42-yard screen pass to Benny Cunningham and a crazy seven-yard completion to Stedman Bailey on the drive before Pead gave the ball away.

The Seahawks moved the ball with relative ease on the ensuing drive. They had consecutive plays that went for 10, 11 and 17 yards each, setting the Seahawks up in the red zone. The Rams defense stood strong in the red zone, however, forcing a 35-yard Hauschka field goal. The field goal tied the score at 24-24 with 4:46 left in the game.

The next play from scrimmage, the Rams gave the lead back to Seattle. Cary Williams came on a blind-side blitz and hammered Nick Foles. The hit forced a fumble, which Williams picked up for a touchdown return. The score gave the Seahawks a 18-0 run and the lead 31-24. It was the third turnover of the day for the Rams.

The Rams finally got back on the clock with a huge fourth quarter, game-tying drive. They went 84 yards in 12 plays before Foles found Lance Kendricks for the 37-yard touchdown. The surprising touchdown reception from Kendricks came with just 53-seconds left in regulation. Foles was 5-of-9 on the drive.

The Rams were able to hold the Seahawks to force overtime – with Eugene Sims picking up the 6th sack of the day for the Rams in the process.

Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touch down against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The overtime game was the first time the Rams had a season-opening overtime game since a 20-17 win over Philadelphia in 2001. The Seahawks attempted to open overtime with an onside kick, which was recovered by the Rams. There was controversy, however. The Rams signaled for a fair catch on the play, which was signaled as a penalty because the ball was an onside kick. After reviewing the play, however, the kick never hit the ground and the Rams maintained possession at the 50 yard line to start overtime. They then had an amazing grab for 25 yards for Stedman Bailey over Richard Sheman. That was all the movement, as Greg Zuerlein kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Rams a 34-31 lead.

The Seahawks would get their chance. After moving the ball well, the Seahawks were faced with 4th-&-1. They handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch who was promptly stuffed by Michael Brockers to end the game. The Rams won the game 34-31 in overtime to get an incredible season-opening win.

While this matchup was expected to be a defensive battle, the teams combined for 695 yards and 65 points. The Rams finished with 352 yards to 343 for the Seahawks. Nick Foles finished 18-of-27 for 297 yards and a touchdown, adding a rushing touchdown. Defensively, the Rams were led by their defensive front. Both Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn collected two sacks, while the Rams finished with six as a team. Lamar’s Joyner also had an impressive day, totaling seven tackles and a sack. The Rams will travel to Washington DC to take on the 0-1 Redskins in Week 2 action, next Sunday.

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