RUSSELL Wilson threw for one touchdown and rushed for another as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Los Angeles Rams 20-9 on Sunday afternoon to clinch their first National Football Conference (NFC) West title since 2016.
The Seahawks (11-4) took a two-game lead over the Rams (9-6) with one game remaining in the regular season.
Wilson completed 20 of 32 passes for 225 yards, while Chris Carson rushed for a game-high 69 yards on 16 carries.
Wilson’s 13-yard scoring strike to tight end Jacob Hollister with 2:51 remaining sealed the victory.
Seattle’s defense also came up big, making a goal-line stand late in the third quarter as the Rams attempted to tie the score. Los Angeles had first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but three rushes by Malcolm Brown and a quarterback sneak by Jared Goff netted only 1 yard.
Goff was 24-of-43 passing for 234 yards, and Darrell Henderson Jr. rushed for a team-high 62 yards.
The Seahawks scored the game’s first touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, with Wilson scrambling for a 4-yard score. Facing third-and-8 from his 32, Wilson hit David Moore with a 45-yard pass down the right sideline to keep the drive going.
Neither the Rams nor the Seahawks reached the red zone, much less the end zone, in the first half, which ended in a 6-6 tie as the teams traded multiple field goals.
Los Angeles’ Matt Gay made 44- and 51-yard field goals to give the Rams 3-0 and 6-3 leads, but Seattle’s Jason Myers answered with 45- and 49-yarders. The latter came with 1:04 remaining before intermission.
Gay added a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to pull the Rams within 13-9.
The Rams reached Seattle’s 29 with 3:45 left in the first half, but Goff, scrambling to his right and throwing back against his body, tried to float a pass for Robert Woods that sailed high over the receiver and was intercepted by Quandre Diggs at the 10-yard line. Diggs returned it 25 yards to help set up the Seahawks’ second tying field-goal drive. — Reuters
