A St. Louis Rams Fan Behind Enemy Lines: NFL Week 11

November 11, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola (16) catches a pass in front of San Francisco 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers (22) during the overtime at Candlestick Park. The play was called back due to illegal formation. The 49ers and the Rams tied 24-24. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The St. Louis Rams played in one of the wildest football games I have ever seen on Sunday at Candlestick Park.  There was plenty of big plays and near misses for a Rams team hungry for a win, on the road as double digit underdogs.  A team that has been as bad as the Rams have over the last 5 plus years could get excited about a tie, and perhaps if the Rams had trailed all game and clawed their way back to get the tie that would be the case, however this was the Rams game to lose and with it ending in a tie that’s just how it feels.  The Rams are now 3-5-1 as they prepare to host the reeling New York Jets.  There are plenty of positives to take away from the Rams game at Candlestick on Sunday, but for any professional team a game that doesn’t end in a win doesn’t end how you would want it to.  Meanwhile the Seattle Seahawks were hosting the New York Jets at Century Link field in one of the least competitive games of week 10.  The Jets only score came on a 21 yard fumble return for a TD as their offense only managed to generate 185 total yards of offense and 11 first downs.  The Seahawks are now 6-4 heading into their bye week and feeling pretty good about their playoff chances, so what are the fans and local media talking about in the inland northwest?

Playoffs.  Yes the playoffs appear to be a very realistic possibility as the Seahawks still have 3 of their 6 games at Century Link Field where they have yet to lose a game.  Those three games will also provide the Seahawks with an opportunity to improve their winless record within the division as they are all against NFC West teams.  Like all football fans Seahawks fans are incredibly optimistic and are even looking towards an NFC West title as they now sit even with the 49ers in the win column.  Of course the 49ers have yet to lose a game within the division and also reached 6 wins after playing one less game, but after watching the 49ers struggle to a tie against the Rams most Seahawks fans are feeling pretty confident right now.

Russell Wilson.  At least I didn’t make the quarterback the number one item this time.  Wilson has been incredible at home in 2012 having only thrown the 1 game winning interception against Green Bay on Monday Night Football.  Sure Wilson doesn’t throw the ball 40 times a game or put up huge numbers but he is brutally efficient at leading an offense that is still focused on running the ball.  In the game against the Jets the Seahawks held the ball for over 36 minutes, of course when the opposing quarterback only completes 40% of his passes you are probably going to have a good day.  Wilson is averaging  183 yards on 62% passing with 1.5 TD and 0.8 INT per game this season, again those aren’t eye popping numbers but the efficiency is impressive. 

Defense.  The Seahawks defense held the Jets to 3.7 yards per play and only 2/11 on third down on Sunday.  Clearly the defense has found its groove again and the Seahawks will ride it all the way into the playoffs!  That is what some Seattle fans and area sportscasters are saying following the Seahawks performance against the Jets.  Lets not get too excited here though as the Jets have the NFL’s 30th ranked offense in terms of yards per game and 24th in points per game.  They haven’t exactly been a juggernaut as Sanchez is completing only 52% of his passes so far this season, the Seattle defense had a good game but lets not get too excited about its “return to dominance”. 

With the concussion to Alex Smith and the Seahawks rookie QB playing at such a high level the NFC West race looks as if it will be much closer than anyone would have guessed 3 weeks ago.  The Rams still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the ring and make a push for the playoffs and potentially the NFC West title, but it would probably require them to win out the rest of the season and get some help from other teams in the NFL to make that happen.