LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams were in control from start to finish Sunday night, handing the Seahawks their worst loss of the season, 28-12, at the Coliseum.
The loss drops the Seahawks (10-3) into second place in the NFC West, one game back of San Francisco (11-2), and keeps the Rams (8-5) alive in the postseason race.
Three instant impressions from the game:
Ugly offense
How bad was the Seahawks offense Sunday night?
The Seahawks were held without an offensive touchdown for the first time since a 17-9 loss at Green Bay on the opening game of the 2017 season.
For most of the night, the Seahawks just seemed sleepy.
Russell Wilson’s MVP chances took a significant hit, just as the Seahawks QB was knocked around by a Rams’ defense front throughout the game Sunday night.
The Rams were credited with five sacks of Wilson and nine QB hits overall, and Wilson seemed about as uncomfortable in the pocket as he has in any game this season.
And when Wilson did let loose, his receivers didn’t offer much help. Malik Turner and Jacob Hollister both had costly drops in the first half, and Tyler Lockett never really got going.
Wilson made a desperate heave in the final 90 seconds — a pass intercepted by the Rams’ Troy Hill in the end zone. It was a fitting ending.
Safety valve
It wasn’t a good day for Seattle’s defense either.
Jared Goff was mostly efficient, throwing two touchdowns against two interceptions, and too often Rams receivers were running wide open in the Seattle secondary.
The Rams finished with 455 yards, including 162 on the ground.
Todd Gurley ran for 79 yards and a touchdown, including a back-breaking 7-yard score in the fourth quarter.
The one positive for the Seattle defense continues to be safety Quandre Diggs, acquired in a trade with Detroit in late October.
Diggs scored Seattle’s only touchdown on a 55-yard interception return early in the third quarter.
Diggs picked off Goff again on the next drive, this one a floated pass at the Seahawks’ 3-yard line.
How vital has the acquisition of Diggs been? Since his trade from Detroit in late October, Diggs has three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recover and, now, one touchdown — all while solidifying a shuffled secondary in the second half of the season.
Penny’s out
The Seahawks offense took a significant hit on the first drive of the game when running back Rashaad Penny suffered a left knee injury on his first touch of the game, at the end of a 16-yard reception on a screen pass from Russell Wilson.
Penny rolled over in front of the Seahawks sideline and pounded the grass in frustration, a reaction that suggested a potentially serious injury. A few minutes later, the official announcement came — Penny was out for (at least) the remainder of the game.
What a bummer for Penny, who had two of the best games of his career the past two weeks and was finally starting to look like the first-round talent the Seahawks thought they were getting in 2018.
There was no immediate word from the Seahawks on the severity of the injury, but a tweet from Penny during the third quarter appeared ominous:
“GOD makes no mistakes. Love you 12s. Thank you for the support,” he wrote.
eattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Samson Ebukam (50) and defensive end Morgan Fox (97) during first quarter action at LA Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier | Los Angeles Times)
