Jason Myers misses late field goal, Seahawks swept by Rams in horrific 17-16 loss

Live by the late game-winning field goal, die by the late game-winning field goal.

Jason Myers was the hero against the Washington Commanders, but his 55-yard field goal went wide right in the closing seconds. The Seattle Seahawks (6-4) are in serious jeopardy after losing 17-16 to the Los Angeles Rams (4-6). They dominated the 1st half but only led 13-7, then the offense stalled out and injury to Geno Smith really was a disaster. Bad officiating hurt the Seahawks, bad discipline hurt the Seahawks even further, and the defense lost a 16-7 lead to Matthew Stafford and company.

Hard to envision the playoffs at this point despite the current 6-4 record. And frankly, it’s hard to continue to justify supporting much of this coaching staff given the systemic problems that happen every week.

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1st Quarter

The Seahawks started the game on defense, which has been a problem at times this season, but not on this occasion. Matthew Stafford was sacked by Devon Witherspoon on 2nd and 8, giving the rookie his 3rd on the year. Pressure. from Boye Mafe resulted in a hurried Stafford throw and a three-and-out forced by the Seahawks defense.

Seattle’s offense converted its first two 3rd down attempts, once through the air to Tyler Lockett and once via Zach Charbonnet running it up the middle. Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked like he had a great sideline grab in the red zone, but Sean McVay’s challenge was successful after it was ruled that JSN was out of bounds. No problem, as JSN caught the next pass over the middle to extend the drive. Geno Smith found DK Metcalf and Lockett on consecutive plays to get into a goal-to-go situation. Two plays later, DK found the end zone on the slant pass. What an opening drive! We’re talking 14 plays, 88 yards, and 7 points!

It took only one play for the Rams to get to the Seattle 25. An encroachment on Jarran Reed gave them 1st and 5, then a defensive pass interference on Julian Love resulted in a field position flip. Love mistimed his jump and contacted Tutu Atwell before the ball got there. After committing offensive pass interference, Cooper Kupp was wide open for a touchdown on a free play but Stafford could not connect. Leonard Williams jumped and the Rams didn’t punish the Seahawks defense. Rie Woolen was flagged for DPI on Atwell on 3rd and 5, which looked shaky both for the contact and the ball being uncatchable. Three straight runs put the Rams at the 2-yard line. Sean McVay decided to go for it on 4th and goal. The Stafford throw to the end zone... incomplete! He looked for Atwell, but Tre Brown had him locked down.

2nd Quarter

Seattle steadily worked its way from the shadow of their end zone. Then Jaxon Smith-Njigba hauled in a terrific 32-yard pass in double coverage on 3rd and 10. High-point the ball and bring it down in Rams territory! Faced with 4th and 1, the Seahawks went for it and converted with Zach Charbonnet. Phil Haynes opened up the whole to burst through for 8 yards. Consecutive penalties for delay of game and illegal shift backed the Seahawks up, killing a promising drive. Jason Myers was still on point from 54 to make it 10-0.

Matthew Stafford couldn’t find anything on the next possession and ended up with three straight incomplete passes. Julian Love nearly got to Stafford on a blitz, but Stafford escaped and threw it away.

DK Metcalf got free for 52 yards on a play-action 2nd and 2 deep shot, beating former preseason Seahawk Ahkello Witherspoon all the way to the Rams’ 7. Of course, asking for consistent red zone play is too much, and the drive went backwards. Jason Myers was money from 43 to extend the lead.

The Rams finally got a good drive going with short passes and successful runs, but it came at a cost after Cooper Kupp suffered an injury. Tutu Atwell got free on a crosser to set up 1st and goal inside the 10. The Rams had 3rd and goal with :12 left at the Seattle 4, and Puka Nacua’s first target was a touchdown. Tre Brown had tight coverage but Puka caught it in traffic.

3rd Quarter

Seattle started the 2nd half with a three-and-out, including a bad drop by Will Dissly and a broken up throw on 3rd and 2. The Seahawks defense got a three-and-out forced, with some assistance by the Rams for negating a 3rd down conversion on a holding penalty. DeeJay Dallas got hit early on a punt return, giving the Seahawks great field position after the 15-yard penalty. Dallas got Seattle out of a jam by turning a 3rd and 11 checkdown into a 10-yard gain. Pete Carroll went for it on 4th and 1 and the Seahawks converted on a quick out to Charbonnet. A big holding penalty on Colby Parkinson negated a good run by Zach Charbonnet, essentially killing hopes of a touchdown. Jason Myers was called upon again to give Seattle another two-score lead, this time from 52.

It was a puntfest for a bit, as neither team could sustain much offense or hold up well in pass protection. Matthew Stafford had a 91-yard touchdown possibly on a wheel route to Darrell Henderson, but he overshot him on 1st and 17. That miss turned into a punting situation, so the Seahawks got a huge break. The game took a major turn when Geno Smith got crushed by Aaron Donald on a blown block by Phil Haynes. Somehow the pass wasn’t picked off as it hung in the air forever, but Drew Lock had to come in for the injured Smith. It looked like he got hit in the head and fell hard on his right arm.

4th Quarter

Drew Lock threw an incomplete pass on 3rd and 9 to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, leading to a punt. A penalty on Devon Witherspoon for a suplex on Austin Trammell gave the Rams a free 15 yards. However, Riq Woolen picked off Matt Stafford on the flea-flicker. Stafford got drilled by Mario Edwards on the deep ball.

Seattle went three-and-out with Lock in for a second possession. The Rams had Stafford back out there after the huge shot he absorbed by Mario Edwards Jr on the interception. A big throw to Demarcus Robinson put LA in Seahawks territory. It took only a handful of snaps for the Rams to get goal-to-go. A screen pass to Darrell Henderson nullified went f or a touchdown but was erased on an OPI call on Tyler Higbee, who blocked Julian Love before the pass was thrown. Devon Witherspoon was flagged for defensive pass interference on 3rd and goal, giving the Rams another set of downs. All Witherspoon did was not contact Nacua, who tripped over Jordyn Brooks. A DREADFUL CALL. Henderson scored without any penalties on this occasion, cutting the Seahawks’ lead to 16-14 with 7:38 to go.

Lock threw a deep shot on 3rd and 11 and got picked off by Derion Kendrick on a pass intended for Tyler Lockett. A celebration penalty moved the Rams back 15 yards, but Stafford hit Nacua for a 32-yard gain anyway. Seattle had a 3rd and 15 stop, if only for a hands to the face penalty on Riq Woolen to extend the drive. The run defense got gashed by Royce Freeman and suddenly LA was in field goal range. Freeman converted a 3rd and 2 by running over Bobby Wagner for a huge conversion. A Nacua just sweep put the Rams in goal-to-go, which led to Seattle burning timeouts. Surprisingly, the Rams threw the ball and Stafford threw an incomplete pass. Another throw was caught but short of the end zone, so the chip shot field goal by Lucas Havrisik was good but with 1:31 left.

Geno Smith returned to the lineup. A throw to Lockett to his own 40 but the clock was running. Checkdown to Charbonnet for minimal gain. They reviewed this, which would’ve benefited Seattle just to stop the clock. The ruling upheld with :42 left. GENO TO DK TO THE RAMS’ 39! A run with Charbonnet with :19 and a spike with :07 left. Jason Myers from 55 for the win. Timeout, Rams. The kick is no good. Seahawks lose.

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Scoring Summary

1st Quarter: DK Metcalf 8-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith - SEA 7, LAR 0

2nd Quarter: Jason Myers 54-yard field goal - SEA 10, LAR 0

2nd Quarter: Jason Myers 43-yard field goal - SEA 13, LAR 0

2nd Quarter: Puka Nacua 4-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford - SEA 13, LAR 7

3rd Quarter: Jason Myers 52-yard field goal - SEA 16, LAR 7

4th Quarter: Darrell Henderson 1-yard touchdown run - SEA 16, LAR 14

4th Quarter: Lucas Havrisik 22-yard field goal - SEA 16, LAR 17

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Seahawks Injury Report

Running back Kenneth Walker suffered an oblique injury on the opening Seahawks drive. He did not return.

Rookie safety Jerrick Reed was ruled out with a knee injury in the 3rd quarter.

Quarterback Geno Smith suffered a right elbow injury in the 3rd quarter on a hit by Aaron Donald.

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Next week’s opponent

The Seahawks have consecutive Thursday games coming up, starting with a massive Thanksgiving evening showdown with the San Francisco 49ers (7-3) at Lumen Field. Kickoff time is 5:20 PM PT on Nov. 23 on NBC.