Rams, Seahawks in ‘big one’
Showdown will be key for NFC West title, playoff berths.
SEATTLE — Perhaps it’s a strange quirk in the way the schedule falls. For each of the past eight seasons when December or early January arrived, the Rams make a visit to Seattle.
None of those chilly December trips to the Northwest carried the amount of significance as today’s meeting between the Rams and Seahawks.
There have been games of importance with playoff implications, including a 2010 pillow fight between below-.500 teams in Week 17 that decided the NFC West title. But today’s meeting represents one of the few opportunities over those eight seasons when the Rams can gain the advantage and knock Seattle from its pedestal on top of the division.
“It’s obviously going to be a big one,” Rams QB Jared Goff said. “A big one for us, a big one for them.”
If Seattle wins, the Seahawks (8-5) would be in first place in the division thanks to holding the tiebreaker over the Rams after winning in Los Angeles earlier this season. Seattle would still need to beat Dallas and Arizona to claim its fourth division title in the past five seasons. The Rams (9-4) would need Seattle to stumble in the final two weeks, or avoid any losses themselves to have hopes of a wild-card berth.
If Los Angeles wins, the division race would likely be over and Russell Wilson’s unblemished run of making the playoffs every season would be in serious jeopardy after two straight losses.
“Hopefully, here we are in a great finish mode with all of this stuff that’s out there to be had,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re going to rely on what’s brought us and see if we can pull it off.”
There’s a good chance this won’t be another 16-10 score as in Week 5 in Los Angeles. The Rams remain one of the top offenses in the NFL with Goff’s continued maturity, the top running back in the NFC in Todd Gurley, and a talented receiving corps that’ll get better with the return of Robert Woods. Seattle’s defense is far different than two months ago, potentially down as many as five starters due to injuries.
That puts a huge responsibility on Wilson to rediscover his MVP form that slipped last week. Wilson was again great in the fourth quarter with two late TD passes, but threw three interceptions earlier in the game that helped contribute to the loss to Jacksonville.
Here’s what else to watch in the NFC West showdown:
Offensive outburst: Twice this season Seattle has faced the No. 1 offense in the league at that time. Both times the Seahawks held that opponent to 10 points, including the first matchup with the Rams. It’s one of the few times this season the LA offense was stymied. Los Angeles has scored at least 20 points in 12 of 14 games, with Seattle and Minnesota the only two teams to hold down the Rams, both losses.
The biggest issue for Los Angeles in the first game was a season-high five turnovers.
Who are you? Seattle has had a month to get used to being without a trio of stars on defense: Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman.
The Seahawks could be without two more standouts this week. K.J. Wright suffered a concussion last Sunday against Jacksonville, but the bigger blow would be the potential loss of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. After being bothered by a hamstring injury for weeks, Wagner aggravated it early in the third quarter.
■ No. 2 Michigan State 86, Oakland 73: At Detroit, Cassius Winston scored 19 points, and the Spartans (10-1) went on a 12-2 run late in the game to hold off the Golden Grizzlies (6-5). Kendrick Nunn scored 32 for Oakland. Nick Ward had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Michigan State, which finished with a 45-30 edge on the boards. It was tied at 66 before the decisive run, which included two 3-pointers from Winston.
■ No. 6 Miami 59, (at) George Washington 50: Dewan Huell had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes (9-0), who scored 13 of the game’s first 15 points on their way to a 21-point lead. The Colonials (5-6) never got closer than seven after that.
■ (At) No. 8 Kentucky 93, Virginia Tech 86: Kevin Knox scored 21 points and Hamidou Diallo added 20, including a big 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining, as Kentucky (9-1) outlasted Virginia Tech (8-2) for its most significant victory this season. The Wildcats won their seventh straight and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers, with six players making at least one. Quade Green added 17 points with a pair of 3-pointers while wearing shaded protective glasses for an eye injury sustained last week against Monmouth. Ahmed Hill had 20 points, Justin Robinson 19 and Kerry Blackshear 18 for the Hokies.
■ (At) Rutgers 71, No. 15 Seton Hall 65: Corey Sanders scored eight of his season-high 22 points in a game-ending 17-2 run for the Scarlet Knights (10-3). Myles Powell had 18 points for the Pirates (9-2).
■ (At) No. 16 Virginia 80, Davidson 60: Nigel Johnson scored 22 points and Devon Hall had a career-high 20 for the Cavaliers (9-1). The Wildcats (4-4) got 20 points from Peyton Aldridge.
■ No. 17 Purdue 82, Butler 67: At Indianapolis, Carsen Edwards scored 18 points and Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas had 15 apiece for Purdue (11-2), which never trailed. Kelan Martin had 17 points for the Bulldogs (8-3).
■ Indiana 80, No. 18 Notre Dame 77 (OT): At Indianapolis, Juwan Morgan had 34 points on 13 of 17 shooting for the Hoosiers (6-5). Morgan scored four points in a few seconds late in overtime for the lead after Indiana rebounded its missed free throw. Bonzie Colson scored 29 for the Fighting Irish (8-3).
■ Oklahoma State 71, No. 19 Florida State 70:
At Sunrise, Fla., Mitchell Solomon scored on a tipin with six seconds left and then took a charge at the other end of the court as the Cowboys (8-2) gave the Seminoles (9-1) their first loss. Senior Jeffrey Carroll made his first start of the season for the Cowboys and scored 23 points. Senior Phil Cofer scored a career-high 22 points for Florida State, which made a season-high 22 turnovers.