Tony Daniel & the Seattle Seahawks had a strong victory over the St. Louis Rams
The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII, and with their recent victory over the St. Louis Rams, they’re one step closer to being two-in-a-row Super Bowl Champions. With a 12-4 record and key victories against rivals in the NFC, they’ve won their division and- perhaps best of all- will be having home games all the way to the Big one. With Seattle’s near-flawless record at home, many are now seeing their position in the Super Bowl as being extremely likely, especially with the state of Seattle’s defense.
Sunday’s game started off looking a little rough for both teams’ offense, as neither managed to get too far down the field. In fact, there likely wouldn’t have even been points on the board in the first quarter were it not for Ricardo Lockette of the Hawks plowing into a late hit on the Rams’ Tavon Austin. Austin had called fair catch, but Lockette drove into him long after the play was over. This outburst put the Rams at midfield with possession, and although the Hawks managed to keep them out of the endzone, they didn’t keep them out of the red zone. This would lead to the Rams putting up a field goal before the first 15 were up, putting the score at 3-0 in favor of St. Louis. Seattle’s defense hasn’t let a touchdown in since December 14th against the San Francisco 49ers, and they were determined to keep that streak alive.
Robert Turbin busts a move on the field
The second quarter was more of the same, despite some serious action that could have been a total game-changer. The Hawks managed to get past midfield thanks to Will Tukuafu’s full back coverage, who has been on a tear of clutch path-clearing for Seattle’s running backs. Not long after this, though, Russell Wilson was forced to throw an interception to Marcus Roberson, a rookie from Florida. And although nothing would come of this interception for the Rams, Seattle’s next possession had Marshawn Lynch fumble, resulting in just their 7th turnover on fumble this year. Not long after this, the Rams would reach the field goal one again, putting the Hawks with a big ‘ol goose egg come halftime. It would be the first time the team went scoreless in the first half since their game against the Cleveland Browns in October of 2011.
As the third quarter opened with a score of 6-0 in favor of the Rams, the Hawks scrambled to get at least a touchdown on the board. And so they did, starting right from the opening drive. Just past midfield, Russell Wilson managed to get the ball to Paul Richardson after Richardson jumped over Janoris Jenkins to make a seriously incredible catch. Eventually, though, the team would have to make a 42-yard field goal, and Steven Hauschka returned to form after the rough game with Arizona last week, getting Seattle on the board finally at 6-3. The Hawks’ defense kept the Rams stuck on a 3-and-out rotation through the quarter, including a sack by Kevin Williams on Shaun Hill of the Rams. The Seahawks would soon drive the ball down the field in a series of gains, resulting in a successful 45-yard field goal kick from Hauschka once again. At the end of the 3rd, the score was all tied up at 6-6
Bruce Irvin goes for the pick
The fourth quarter opened big, as in likely the biggest play of the day for Seattle. The Rams faced a holding call, which would soon lead into a turnover as Shaun Hill of the Rams tossed a ball purposely intended to go nowhere, only to have it scooped up by Jordon Hill of the Hawks’ defense- the first interception of his career. Seattle then quickly got the ball down the field in a 31-yard catch-and-run that got the team within the 10 yard line. Soon, Marshawn Lynch would fly through the middle of the defensive line for for a 9-yard touchdown. With about 12 minutes left to go, the score was now in favor of the Hawks- 13-6. With the Rams looking to at least make enough of a comeback to tie, they started trying to get the ball downfield as quick as possible once again. This drive was stopped by the Seahawks’ defense in a big way, once again, as Bruce Irvin caught a 49-yard interception that put the team ahead by two whole touchdowns with only 6 minutes remaining. The rest of the game featured more of the same tight defense that made the first half scoreless, leading the Seattle Seahawks to an easy victory in the second half. Final score, 20-6, Seahawks.
Seattle will have the next week off during the wild card round, then will face the lowest winning wild card seed in the divisional round. The game will be held at CenturyLink Field.
Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor celebrates
