Los Angeles Rams upset Seahawks behind dangerous defense
The Los Angeles Rams upset the Seahawks on the back of a monster defensive effort.
Things are often fierce and vicious when the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, two NFC West rivals, square off with one another. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Wild Card Round matchup between the divisional foes in the 2021 NFL Playoffs fit that bill as well.
In the end, it was Los Angeles who pulled off the 30-20 upset and advanced in the postseason while sending Seattle home for the offseason. But it was even more impressive how they came by the win.
With Jared Goff active only as an emergency quarterback only 12 days removed from thumb surgery, backup John Wolford made his second career start — but a hit from Jamaal Adams force him out of the action due to a neck injury and put Goff in the game. The normal starter struggled amid his injury but rookie running back Cam Akers was able to rise up and shoulder the load.
However, it was the effort of the Rams defense that truly buoyed their upset performance on Wild Card Weekend. Even with losing Aaron Donald to a rib injury in the third quarter, LA was dominant on that side of the ball, forcing Russell Wilson to complete less than 50 percent of his passes while notching four sacks, a pick-six, a special teams fumble recovery and generally looking terrifying for the rest of the NFC playoff field.
The Los Angeles Rams may be a team to fear for the rest of the postseason.
What happened with the Rams in the regular season can’t be overlooked. They were inconsistent and even troublesome at times, most notably falling to the Jets late in the year. However, Sean McVay’s club has established a new identity from the one that led them to the Super Bowl a few years ago, one centered on the strength of their defense.
Additions such as Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and savvy value draft picks have helped shore up that side of the ball. And with depth improving on offense, the results are playing out on the field. The future is bright for this team in the now and beyond. But their sights are undoubtedly set on advancing further in the 2021 playoffs.
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They say that on any given Sunday, any team can win. As the road underdog, the Rams proved that adage true. They’ll still be on the road moving forward but, with the defense playing as it did on Saturday, they’re a dangerous commodity for the rest of the conference. And if nothing else, they gave a rival an early postseason exit.