Gurley runs wild as L.A. romps at Seattle
SEATTLE — Crowds at CenturyLink Field are renowned for making so much noise in support of the Seattle Seahawks, the stadium shakes.
But on Sunday, with 69,077 on hand, it was the Los Angeles Rams who caused a seismic shift.
Todd Gurley rushed for 152 yards and scored four touchdowns and the defense and special teams dominated in a 42-7 victory that kept the Rams on track for an NFC West title and signaled what appears to be a changing of the guard in the division.
Gurley scored on runs of 1, 1 and 57 yards and also caught a touchdown pass as the Rams improved to 10-4 and increased their lead in the division to two games over the Seahawks, who have won the NFC West three times in the last four years.
The Rams avenged a Week 5 loss to the Seahawks and posted 10 wins for the first time since 2004, when they finished 12-4 and made their last playoff appearance.
The Rams play at Tennessee next week and finish the season against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Seahawks (8-6) play at Dallas and conclude the season against the Arizona Cardinals.
After last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Rams coach Sean McVay blamed himself for not getting Gurley more involved in the offense as a ball carrier.
That was not a problem against the Seahawks and their injury-depleted defense.
Gurley rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in the first half en route to a 34-0 halftime lead.
He caught a third-quarter touchdown pass to increase the lead, and then was done for the day.
Gurley finished seven yards shy of a career-best 159-yard rushing effort established during his rookie season in 2015.
Quarterback Jared Goff completed 14 of 21 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception.
Meantime, the Rams shut down Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
The Rams sacked the usually elusive Wilson seven times and limited him to 142 yards passing and 39 rushing.
Aaron Donald had three sacks, Robert Quinn two.
Pharoh Cooper averaged 18.3 yards for seven punt returns — he set up a touchdown after a 53-yarder— and consistently gave the Rams superior field position.