The St. Louis Rams delivered big on special teams and withstood a historic day from Russell Wilson in a 28-26 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Our takeaways:
- The Rams were facing a fourth-and-3 from their own 18 with 2:55 to play when punter Johnny Hekker took the long snap and flicked a pass to running back Benny Cunningham, who rumbled 19 yards to convert the first down. It was a wildly gutsy call by Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who must have had a hunch he was going to lose if the Seahawks got the ball back.
- And if Fisher had that hunch, Russell Wilson is the reason why. The Seahawks' quarterback was a dominant force in the second half, leading touchdown drives of 82, 91 and 80 yards on Seattle's final three possessions. Wilson became the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game. The third-year pro is taking his game to another level.
- The Seahawks looked just fine without Percy Harvin. Seattle amassed 463 yards of total offense and had three players finish with 50 or more receiving yards. Doug Baldwin led the way, with seven catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
- The Rams pulled off a brilliant trick play to steal a touchdown on special teams in the second quarter. Rams players retreated to one corner of the field following a punt by Jon Ryan, drawing the Seahawks' punt coverage team into a trap. In reality, Ryan's punt had gone to the opposite side of the field, where Stedman Bailey made an over-the-shoulder catch, then sprinted 90 yards for the score. Pete Carroll unsuccessfully argued that Tavon Austin (the decoy return man) had called for a fair catch.
- The Rams had one sack in their first 311 plays this season. In the first half against the defending champs, they had three in a span of five plays. The final sack came courtesy of Robert Quinn, his first of 2014. Quinn had 19 a season ago.
- The game ended in controversy on a Tre Mason fumble with 1:14 to play. Officials ruled that the Rams recovered the fumble, though replays showed the ball appeared to be under Richard Sherman before a mass of bodies obscured the view. Play wasn't stopped for review, and St. Louis ran out the clock. Carroll wasn't happy about that one, either.
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