Seahawks Open as 1-Point Favorites vs Rams on Thursday Night Football
- After a dispiriting 33-27 home loss to the Drew Brees-less Saints in Week 3, the Seahawks bounced back in the best way possible with 27-10 win at Arizona
- Los Angeles Rams suffer 55-40 home humiliation against the Tampa Bay despite Jared Goff throwing for 517 yards
- Teams meet Thursday night in Seattle with Los Angeles holding a three-game win streak in the rivalry
With this pair of NFC West rivals now 3-1 after Week 4, Thursday night’s game in Seattle offers the chance for one of them to stake an early claim to the division crown.
Despite the disparity between the teams’ results on Sunday – Seattle beat Arizona comfortably 27-10, while Los Angeles fell to a 55-40 upset at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the game should be a close one. That’s certainly reflected in the LA Rams vs Seattle Seahawks odds & stats so far.
Rams vs. Seahawks TNF Odds
| Team | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams | +1 (-110) | O 49.5 (-110) |
| Seattle Seahawks | -1 (-110) | U 49.5 (-100) |
*Odds taken on 09/29/19
Seahawks Offense Takes Flight
It was a solid day for Seattle all around on the offensive side of the ball, as Russell Wilson went 22 of 28 for 240 yards and a touchdown.
Even better was the running game, as Chris Carson bounced back from some three lost fumbles in the first three games with 22 carries for 104 yards, and catching four passes for 41 more.
.@ccarson_32 came to BALL today. ?#GoHawks x #SEAvsAZ pic.twitter.com/ZAbE0JjkTB
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 29, 2019
And tight end Will Dissly showed that he is rapidly becoming Wilson’s favorite target, with seven catches for 57 yards and a score, giving him four on the season and six in eight career games.
All of it bodes well going up against a Rams team that just gave up 55 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Game of Two Halves
After running the score out to 20-3 at halftime, with zero penalties to boot, Seattle looked in complete control of this game.
He does it again ‼️@Will_Diss out here doing Will Dissly things.#GoHawks x #SEAvsAZ pic.twitter.com/2gyilknl5J
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 29, 2019
But head coach Pete Carroll will want to prevent a repeat of the second half on Thursday night, where a combination of penalties, defensive breakdowns and an inability to convert third downs allowed the Cardinals back into the contest.
Clowney Keys Defensive Dominance
Heading into arguably their biggest game of the season, a divisional matchup against the Rams with a three-way 3-1 tie at the top of the NFC West, Jadaveon Clowney picked the perfect time to remind everyone of his talent.
In his best game as a Seahawk, Clowney had a one-handed pick six, returning it 27 yards for the touchdown.
Jadeveon Clowney is an absolute force of nature ?
He snags a one-handed pick-6 to give the @Seahawks a 10-point lead! #SEAvsAZ pic.twitter.com/yWanU9is3K
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 29, 2019
But he was far from the only highlight on that side of the ball. Mychal Kendricks had a pair of sacks and both Rasheem Green and Ziggy Ansah added one each as the Seahawks almost doubled their season total in sacks.
With a matchup against a Jared Goff who has struggled at times this season, the Seahawks couldn’t have picked a better time to round into form.
Rams Get Blown Up
Entering the game with a defense that had given up just 49 points through the first three games, Los Angeles got absolutely torched at home by Tampa Bay on Sunday. The 55 points scored by the Buccaneers were a franchise record, as well as being the third most conceded by the Rams in team history.
Jameis Winston had four touchdowns as the #Buccaneers stunned the #LARams. #NFL pic.twitter.com/2ZPOR92cKM
— Justin Valentine (@JV_Sports_Talk) September 29, 2019
Bucs’ quarterback Jameis Winston had a field day, throwing for 385 yards and four touchdowns. Another game like that from the Rams defense and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson could easily find himself improving on the season-high 406 yards he had in Week 3 against the Saints.
Goff Airs It Out
The Rams quarterback had a career-high 68 passing attempts in this game, completing just 45 for 517 yards and two touchdowns, to go alongside three interceptions and a fumble.
Jared Goff may have thrown for over 500 yards but also was picked 3 times vs the Bucs today. With the #Rams inability to stop TB's offence, he also ended up throwing so frequently that he tied for 3rd on this all-time single game list pic.twitter.com/hGbB9BNcz7
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) September 30, 2019
On the ground, the Rams got two TDs from Todd Gurley III, but he only ran five times for 16 yards. Surely the reliance on Goff over the ground game will change against a Seahawks team that came into Week 4 giving up a league-low 203 passing yards per game.
Short Week on Tap
There’s no doubt Pete Carroll will the happier of the two coaches with just four days until the teams meet at CenturyLink Field. His Seattle team played a confident road game and took a share of the NFC West lead.
Meanwhile, Sean McVay only has four days to fix whatever ails his team, which succumbed to a Bucs team that was lit up by fellow NFC West rival the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Prediction: With a home-field advantage as good as anywhere in the NFL, expect Seattle to become increasingly favored as Thursday Night Football approaches.
For the last 20 years, Paul Attfield has worked in sports media. Starting out in his native Britain with the likes of The Independent, he eventually switched continents, with his work appearing in the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Yahoo Sports since.
