The Seattle Seahawks are officially on a big-time slide.
The Seahawks have now lost three of their last four games, two of them to division rivals. The Los Angeles Rams took the Seahawks out this time, prevailing 23-16 on Sunday afternoon. Both teams now have 6-3 records, each of which matches that of the Arizona Cardinals. When all the tiebreakers work themselves out, the Seahawks actually drop from first in the division to third, while the Rams move up to second place.
It was a tough day at the office for Russell Wilson, whose MVP campaign has hit a big snag and might be in freefall. The Seahawks will have to get things turned around quickly, because they play again on Thursday night. The Rams, meanwhile, get an extra day to bask in the glow of victory, because they're on Monday Night Football next week.
Why the Rams won
Efficient offense and timely turnovers. With the exception of a couple strip-sack fumbles, Jared Goff had an excellent game. He picked apart the Seattle secondary for much of the afternoon with an array of screens and downfield throws. Josh Reynolds had a career day with eight catches for 94 yards. Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods did some work in the short-to-intermediate areas. Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett both got in on the action. And the running backs capitalized on the scoring opportunities provided by the pass offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Rams didn't exactly shut the Seahawks down, but they did hold up when it mattered. The Rams forced Seattle into just one touchdown on three red zone trips, and they turned Russell Wilson over three times. Darious Williams had a heck of a game, coming up with two incredibly athletic interceptions -- one of them in the end zone.
Why the Seahawks lost
Uninspired, turnover-happy offense and typically horrendous defense. Russell Wilson had not one, not two, but three turnovers in this game. One of them was horrendously ill-time and ill-advised, with Wilson trying to throw across his body and across the field into the end zone when he had a free first down and possibly more if he had just taken off and run with the ball. But the offense limped through the game even outside of Wilson's miscues as both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett failed to really get untracked and the run game did little of note.
Plays of the game
We've got to hand this one to Darious Williams. He made two absurdly good plays on Wilson's passes, snagging interceptions out of the air when they looked like surefire completions. The first one changed the tenor of the game when the Seahawks were set up with excellent field position, and the second seemingly snuffed out any chance of a comeback at the time.
Williams, an undrafted free agent who played sparingly during his first few seasons in the league, has been a starter in seven of the Rams' nine games this season and just had what was almost certainly the best game of his career.
Stats of the game
With a passer rating of just 57.0, Russell Wilson posted his worst mark since Week 14 of the 2018 season. This was Wilson's first game without a touchdown pass since ... the last time he played the Rams, in Week 14 of last year. It was the first time Wilson has failed to throw a touchdown and thrown multiple interceptions since Week 12 of the 2016 season, and just the fourth time he has ever done that. He now has 10 turnovers in Seattle's last four games. For a while they could be explained away by needing to take chances due to the team's horrendous defense, but that was not the case on Sunday.
What's next
The Seahawks are now 6-3 and have lost three of their last four games. They're no longer in first place in the NFC West. They host the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. The Rams are now 6-3 as well, giving them the same record as both the Seahawks and Cardinals. LA had a bye last week after being destroyed by the Dolphins back in Week 8, and the Rams have a long break before their next contest, which is against the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.
Relive the game with our live blog below.