Rams had opportunities in loss to Seahawks
Receiver Michael Thomas drops a pass from punter Johhny Hekker as a fourth-down fake by the Rams fails in the second quarter of a game against the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 15.
A nutshell version of the Rams’ 2016 offense was on display during a six-minute stretch of the first quarter in CenturyLink Field on Thursday night. It wasn’t pretty.
One sure long touchdown pass was dropped, another short pass was thrown behind a wide-open receiver in the end zone and a drive that could have given the Rams an early lead ended in frustration, the Rams coming up short on fourth down, seven yards shy of the goal line.
“That’s been the story of our season,” tight end Lance Kendricks said after a 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams’ ninth defeat in 10 games. “We get in the red zone, and there’s always something. I’m not pointing fingers, but there’s always a reason we don’t get in there.
“Every time, it’s different. We get into that area, we need to lock in. You have to feel or smell the end zone and do everything in your power to score. That’s something we have to work on. It’s part of growing.”
The Rams entered Thursday ranked last in the NFL in points and total yards per game and 23rd in red-zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on roughly half of their trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. They failed to score a touchdown on three trips to the red zone Thursday night.
In the big picture, the missed opportunities didn’t matter—the Seahawks dominated the final three quarters while clinching their third NFC West title in four years. But an early touchdown would have at least muted one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums.
“That would have changed the game a lot, especially here,” Kendricks said. “You don’t get too many chances. We have a good defense, and they’re playing well, but they can only do so much. We don’t put them in a good situation to succeed. That’s the painful part of it.”
After going three-and-out on their first possession, the Rams started their second possession on their own 28-yard line with 9 minutes 56 seconds left in the first quarter. Three plays later, quarterback Jared Goff converted a third down by completing a six-yard pass to Kenny Britt over the middle.
Goff then dropped back from the 41 after a well-executed play-action fake and lofted a bomb to seldom-used receiver Mike Thomas, who sprinted past the Seahawks secondary on a post pattern and found himself wide open at the Seattle 12-yard line.
The pass was slightly underthrown but catchable. Thomas dropped it.
“I just tried to catch and pull, really,” Thomas said. “It should be caught. It’s something I have to learn from.”
Todd Gurley rushed for gains of 11 and two yards, and after a Seattle offsides penalty, Goff connected with Brian Quick on a play-action pass for 25 yards, giving the Rams a first down at the Seattle 16.
Goff passed to Britt for five yards and Gurley ran for four, setting up a third-and-one play from the seven. Goff was flushed out of the pocket, scrambled to his right and spotted Quick, who had flashed across the field, from left to right, and was open in the end zone.
But Goff threw the ball behind Quick, who couldn’t reach back far enough for the ball as he slid across the end zone.
John Fassel, in his first game as interim coach after replacing the fired Jeff Fisher, could have opted for an easy Greg Zuerlein field goal and a 3-0 lead. The heck with that, Fassel thought.
The former special teams coordinator, who knows he has virtually no shot of landing the full-time position, opted to go for it on fourth down and Gurley appeared to gain the necessary yard on a pitch play.
But Seattle Coach Pete Carroll challenged the spot, and after a replay review officials credited Gurley with only a half-yard gain, the second of two successful challenges for Carroll in the first quarter.
The Seahawks took over and drove 93 yards on 13 plays, with the help of a roughing-the-passer penalty on Rams tackle Dominique Easley and an Alec Ogletree holding call on fourth down. Russell Wilson hit Luke Willson with an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead.
On the Rams’ next possession, Fassel called for a fake punt from the Rams 30, but Johnny Hekker’s pass to Thomas fell several yards short. Four plays later, Seattle’s Steven Hauschka kicked a 48-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead, and the Seahawks were on their way.
“I think if I was the head coach, I probably would have done the same thing,” Fassel said. “We decided before the game that if we were in certain situations, like that fourth-and-one, that we would go for it … so there wasn’t any discussion on the sidelines.
“The fake punt, I thought we had the look. We just have to play catch, and we didn’t, and that cost us three points.”
Follow Mike DiGiovanna on Twitter @MikeDiGiovanna
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