Akers away: Rams get better of division foe
RB rushes for 131 yards and a TD in road playoff victory
SEATTLE — A lot of Cam Akers churning yards on the ground and mostly a great Rams defense has them moving on in the NFC playoffs at the expense of division-foe Seahawks.
Akers rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, Darious Williams returned Russell Wilson’s interception 42 yards for a score, and the Rams beat the Seahawks 30-20 in the NFC wild-card playoff game Saturday.
“A lot of guys stepped up and answered the bell in a big way,” Rams coach Sean Mcvay said. “Darious Williams showing up, I thought that was a huge momentum shift for us.”
The best defense in the league during the regular season carried its dominance into the playoffs — even while missing unanimous All-pro tackle Aaron Donald for much of the second half.
No team was better at limiting yards or points than the Rams (11-6) and they continued to torment Wilson and the Seahawks (12-5).
Wilson was under siege from the defensive front and a secondary that minus one play never let DK Metcalf or Tyler Lockett break loose. Donald, before leaving with a rib injury, and Jalen Ramsey were superb. But so were other role players such as Troy Reeder, Jordan Fuller and Leonard Floyd.
Floyd had two of the Rams’ five sacks. Two of the others belonged to Donald. The Rams allowed just 278 total yards and 11 first downs.
It added up to sending the Rams into next week’s divisional playoff round, likely on the road against the top-seeded Packers unless the Bears upset the Saints.
Wilson had one of his worst playoff performances. He was 11 of 27 for 174 yards. He connected with Metcalf on a pair of TDS: 51 yards in the first half off a broken play, and a 12-yard TD with 2:28 left to make the score more respectable.
The Seahawks never played with the lead and were two of 14 on third downs. Their first home playoff game in four years was a dud without its raucous home crowd, and the Seahawks saw their 10-game home playoff win streak snapped.
Their last home playoff loss came in January 2005 to the St. Louis Rams.
“I told these guys I have no place in my brain for this outcome,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “We were planning on winning and moving on.”