Rams Again Show Knack for Winning Close Ones
After two consecutive narrow victories, new St. Louis Ram Coach Mike Martz really can appreciate the championship makeup of his team.
The Rams used a 41-yard pass play from Kurt Warner to Torry Holt to set up a 27-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins with 23 seconds left for a 37-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The defending Super Bowl champs came back to defeat Denver, 41-36, on a touchdown in the final 2:58 Monday night.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling,” said Martz, who was the offensive coordinator last season. “No one panics, no one’s critical. They’re just looking for an opportunity to win the game.”
Warner seized the opportunity with 2:05 to play and the score tied at 34-34.
“I’m bragging on the guy,” Martz said of Warner, last season’s MVP. “But he is at his best when things are at their worst.”
St. Louis drove 61 yards in eight plays for its winning score. Warner’s sideline completion to Holt came on third and 17 from the 50 after a sack for a seven-yard loss.
“Holt is money,” Warner said. “He made the big catch when we needed it.”
Said Holt: “I beat [Willie] Williams and I was thinking, ‘Just make the catch.’ It’s great they went to me in that situation. We have lots of playmakers.”
Williams was supposed to jam Holt at the line, but missed.
“We were thinking that maybe we had the game won or maybe it would be in overtime,” Williams said, “but they made the plays.”
Replay was a key in the game. With 1:26 left, officials confirmed Warner threw an incomplete pass from the St. Louis 33 on a ball Chad Brown picked up and ran into the end zone, believing it was a fumble.
“I took a hard hit on an incomplete pass,” said Warner, who was hit by Cortez Kennedy.
“Even if they would have called it a fumble, we wouldn’t have gotten a touchdown because they whistled the play dead,” Seattle Coach Mike Holmgren said.
Seattle tied it at 34-34 on a 34-yard pass play touchdown to rookie Darrell Jackson with 2:05 left. The drive was kept alive when officials ruled quarterback Jon Kitna wasn’t intercepted by Grant Wistrom at the Seattle 24 after examining a replay.
The Seahawks lost in their home opener after getting shut out last week in Miami, but they put a scare into the Rams.
Warner completed 35 of 47 passes for 386 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Marshall Faulk ran for 68 yards and made nine catches for 85 yards.
For the second time in less than a week, the Rams put a lot of drama into a victory.
“This is like Arena football,” Warner said. “You can never let your guard down.”
Kitna, nearly benched by Holmgren this week, was 20 for 31 for 245 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
“It was a long week, but that’s how it is when you lose and you play bad,” said Kitna, who made five turnovers before being benched at Miami. “We took a step in the right direction today.”
The Rams went ahead 34-27 when safety Devin Bush ran in a fumble with 5:12 left. Todd Collins sacked Kitna, causing the fumble, and Kevin Carter caught the ball in the air, running two yards before fumbling to Bush.