The Sports Report: Rams defeat the Seahawks

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Sam Farmer on the Rams: An NFC West showdown between the Rams and Seattle Seahawks dissolved into a back-and-forth, rub-your-eyes spectacle with a few unlikely heroes and a petting zoo full of goats. The Rams wound up winning 26-17, but it was anything but a beauty contest.

The NFL is a copycat league after all, so maybe it isn’t surprising that these teams went gaffe-for-gaffe all night.

The Seahawks would miss a kick, then the Rams would.

A dumb penalty by the Rams? “Hold my Gatorade,” countered the Seahawks.

For instance, savvy as he is, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford made a blunder at the beginning of the second quarter. On second down, eight yards away from scoring, he rolled to his right, couldn’t find a receiver, then looked to harmlessly throw the ball away. Instead he lobbed it too low, and Seattle’s Quandre Diggs ended the threat with an interception.

This didn’t look like a pair of elite teams angling to stay within reach of the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. The game — played before a fan base at times has been deemed the world’s loudest — came down to who would whiff on fewer opportunities. The Rams improved to 4-1; the Seahawks dropped to 2-3.

There were some stellar moments. Rams receiver Robert Woods, seemingly lost in the shuffle in the first four weeks, was suddenly a focal point. He was targeted a game-high 14 times, making 12 catches for 150 yards.

“I try to throw the ball where the defense tells me to throw it,” Stafford said. “He was in the spot tonight where they were telling me to throw it, and he made huge plays.”

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Matthew Stafford-Robert Woods connection propels Rams to victory over Seahawks

DODGERS

Jorge Castillo on the Dodgers: The San Francisco Giants gathered Wednesday night for a poker tournament, splitting the attention between stacking chips and scouting the National League wild-card game for their next opponent.

Giants front-office executive Yeshayah Goldfarb won the tournament, beating manager Gabe Kapler heads-up to outlast the competition. Four hundred miles south, the Dodgers survived the St. Louis Cardinals on Chris Taylor’s walk-off home run to set up the first postseason meeting in a rivalry that has spanned two coasts and 131 years in the NL Division Series.

The ending was heart-stopping, stomach-churning drama. The Giants just nodded their heads, observing the mayhem unsurprised.

“For me, it kind of felt like this was how it was going end up anyways,” Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “I felt like I didn’t even have to watch the game to figure out who we were going to play.”

The victory Wednesday was the Dodgers’ 107th in 2021. The Giants reached that number in Sunday’s regular-season finale to hold off the Dodgers for the NL West title, ending the Dodgers’ eight-year run of divisional supremacy and advancing straight to Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday. The clubs finished with the best records in the majors. No postseason series in major league history has ever featured teams with more combined wins.

“We’ve been two of the best teams all year in baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “And, so, to see us go head-to-head in the series, it’s really exciting for our players.”

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SOCCER

Kevin Baxter on soccer: In mid-August, when U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter began putting together his roster for World Cup qualifying, Ricardo Pepi wasn’t on it.

The Texas teenager, a dual national, didn’t formally announce his intention to play for the U.S. over Mexico until just before the first game. When he did, Berhalter quickly gave him a jersey and that has proved to be a good decision. Less than two months later, Pepi leads the tournament in scoring for an American team that’s unbeaten after four games, the latest victory coming Thursday when Pepi scored two second-half goals in a 2-0 win over Jamaica.

“We’re on the train. We’re just observing everything that’s happening,” Berhalter said. “It’s amazing. An 18-year-old gets an opportunity and takes advantage.”

With the win, the U.S. (2-0-2) moved past Mexico to the top of the standings on goal differential. The top three teams in the eight-team tournament qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

CHARGERS

Jeff Miller on the Chargers: The breakdowns were unfortunate, glaring and — in the words of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi — “really silly.”

Twice Monday, Justin Herbert faced almost instant pressure because of failures in the Chargers’ pass protection.

The plays resulted in a short completion and a sack, the sum total being a loss of one yard.

But despite his offense going backward, Lombardi explained that what Herbert avoided on those plays was much more significant: calamity.

“That’s not easy to do, what he did in those situations,” Lombardi said. “So his ball security and clock in his head, those things were just outstanding.”

Herbert has gone back-to-back games — victories over AFC West rivals Kansas City and Las Vegas — without a turnover.

With 38 attempts by Herbert in each game, the Chiefs and Raiders sacked him only three times, that number aided by the quarterback’s ability to make quick decisions and even quicker passes.

STAPLES CENTER

Andrew Greif on Staples Center: When Los Angeles’ new city ordinance requiring proof of vaccination to enter a wide range of indoor venues takes effect in November, those rules won’t apply at Staples Center, city and arena officials said, because a health order previously issued by the county covers the home of the NHL’s Kings and NBA’s Lakers and Clippers.

Currently, guests 2 or older entering the arena must provide either proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative COVID test result from the previous 72 hours. That will continue to be the case, even after the city’s vaccine ordinance takes hold. Guests must also continue to wear approved face coverings when not eating or drinking.

“The ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 6 does not apply to Staples Center or Microsoft Theater, who are already subject to an existing [L.A. County Department of Public Health] order addressing this subject matter,” a spokesperson for the venues wrote Thursday.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1933 — Cliff Battles of the Boston Redskins becomes the first NFL player to gain more than 200 yards rushing with 215 yards in a 21-20 win over the New York Giants.

1949 — Walt Pastuszak has five of Brown’s 11 interceptions in a 46-0 rout of Rhode Island.

1950 — Bill Grimes of the Green Bay Packers gains 167 yards in 10 carries in a 44-31 loss to the New York Yankees.

1956 — Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitches the only perfect game in World Series history, a 2-0 triumph over Brooklyn.

1966 — Jerry DePoyster of Wyoming becomes the first player in college football to make three field goals of 50 yards or more in a game. DePoyster connects on two 54-yard tries and a 52-yarder in the Cowboys’ 40-7 rout of Utah.

1961 — Paul Hornung scores 33 points, with four touchdowns, six extra points and a field goal, to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 45-7 romp over the Baltimore Colts.

1977 — No. 7 Alabama beats No. 1 USC 21-20 in Los Angeles. USC fullback Lynn Cain scores with 38 seconds remaining but the two-point attempt fails.

1992 — Doug Smail scores two goals and the expansion Ottawa Senators rock the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 — the first regular-season NHL game by an Ottawa franchise in 58 years.

1993 — The Mighty Ducks, before 17,174 at the Arrowhead Pond, lose 7-2 to the Detroit Red Wings in their first NHL game.

1997 — Adam Oates reaches 1,000 points with three goals and two assists as the Washington Capitals post a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders.

2005 — Baylor wins a Big 12 road game for the first time in the league’s 10-year history, beating Iowa State 23-13. The Bears had been 0-37 on the road in the Big 12 Conference.

2006 — Randy Moss’ 22-yard TD catch between two defenders 51 seconds before halftime is the Oakland receiver’s 100th touchdown reception. He’s becomes the seventh receiver in NFL history with 100 TD catches.

2011 — Howard scores all its points in the fourth quarter, including 16 in the final 1:27 to beat 29-28 Florida A&M. Parker Munoz caps the improbable comeback by hitting a 21-yard field goal with 4 seconds left following FAMU’s Damien Fleming fumble on the 28-yard line.

2015 — Tampa Bay’s Jason Garrison scores his second goal of the game at 2:17 of the extra period to lead the Lightning past the Philadelphia Flyers in the first 3-on-3 overtime game in NHL history.

2016 — Will Worth and Navy stuns No. 6 Houston, romping to a 46-40 victory. Worth runs for 115 yards and throws two scoring passes for the Midshipmen. Navy hadn’t beaten a top 10 team since 1984, when it topped then-No. 2 South Carolina in Annapolis.

2017 — Aaron Rodgers throws a 12-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams with 11 seconds remaining, lifting Green Bay over the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in another thriller nine months after the Packers’ divisional playoff victory on the same field.

2018 — Drew Brees’ 62-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tre’Quan Smith makes him the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing and sends the New Orleans Saints well on their way to a 43-19 victory over the Washington Redskins. Brees enters the game needing 201 yards to eclipse Peyton Manning’s previous mark of 71,940 yards. He finishes 26 of 29 for 363 yards and three touchdowns.

Supplied by the Associated Press

And finally

Vin Scully’s call of Don Larsen’s perfect game. Watch and listen here.