The St. Louis Rams Look to Finish Strong in Seattle

December 23, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) huddles up with the offense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

To simply put it, the Rams need this win.

The Rams brief noise of playoff hope was silenced by the Vikings’ stunning victory over the Texans, but a win against a red-hot Seattle team who has averaged 50 points a game the last three weeks would give this team a tremendous boost of confidence and provide another step in the right direction headed into the off-season.

St. Louis has a lot to play for as they hope to post a winning record of 8-7-1, go undefeated in the NFC West with the record of 5-0-1 and put everything on the line as this could be Steven Jackson‘s final game in a Rams’ uniform. Jackson is also 10 yards away from his historic eight consecutive 1,000 yard season.

If the Rams manage to play the role of spoiler inside the harsh confines of CenturyLink Field, it will show how the Rams perform under high expectations set by head coach Jeff Fisher.

I don’t believe in moral victories, but for a franchise that has gone 15-65 the previous five seasons and the mark of 2-14  last season shouldn’t be discouraged if they finish with the record of 7-8-1.

This tall order won’t be a walk in the park as they face the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense and the league’s second-ranked rushing attack. With a record of 10-5,  the Seattle Seahawks are on board to make the playoffs with still an outside chance of winning the division. They have an unblemished record at home  (7-0) where they are outscoring their opponents 223-82. The Seahawks are also sending four players to the highly scrutinized Pro Bowl: starters Russell Okung and Max Unger, the second leading rusher in the NFL Marshawn Lynch, followed by S Earl Thomas and KR Leon Washington.

However, winning four of their last five games, St. Louis have become road warriors as three of those four victories have come on the opponents’ home field. St. Louis went the entire first half of the season without coming away with a win on the road. In fact, this is the longest road winning streak in nine seasons for the NFL’s youngest team.

The Rams are much improved from last year, but this young team squandered many opportunities to come away with a few more victory throughout out the season.  Fisher knew he was entering a rebuilding process as he took over the reigns of the Rams head coach. You can tell by the tenacious and never quitting attitude that he has implemented in his team that he was aiming to play football in January.

St. Louis will look to add more talent through the draft and free agency to compete for the NFC West crown next year, but in the meantime knocking off Seattle is the only objective on the Rams’ mind.