Seahawks @ Rams
Final Score: Rams 20, Seahawks 10
Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)
The Seattle Seahawks traveled to Inglewood California to play the LA Rams on a Tuesday. This game was postponed due to the plethora of COVID-19 cases on the Rams side which held out Tyler Higbee in this contest. This was a game of halves for the Rams as their defense slowed down Russell Wilson, and gave Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp enough time to take the lead and win the game. The game result was Los Angeles Rams 20, Seattle Seahawks 10.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Russell Wilson: 17/31, 156 yards, INT
A little @DangeRussWilson magic 🪄
📺 #SEAvsLAR on FOX pic.twitter.com/jreYf9UQq7
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 22, 2021
Russell Wilson has a problem emerging with his deep ball accuracy. He looks shoddy and underthrew quite a few passes to DK Metcalf. The one pass that found its way into Gerald Everett‘s hands was an underthrown terrible decision that just happened to go Russ’s way for 34 yards. The problem is that this was the offensive game plan Russ wanted. The Seahawks ran the ball 19 times when they should’ve run the ball at least 25 times.
Russ got the opportunity to be a hero late in this game and underthrew it once again into double coverage, resulting in a devastating interception. Overall, Russ threw for 156 yards and a pick, was sacked three times, and didn’t use his legs to extend plays. This late into the season it seems like Russ is defeated and is probably still not at full strength. If you have him in fantasy football, I’m looking elsewhere for the playoffs.
Running Back
Deejay Dallas: 8 carries, 41 yards, TD | 4 targets. 3 receptions, 11 yards
Rashaad Penny: 11 carries, 39 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards
DeeJay Dallas pushes through for 6️⃣ #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/6cu3ZgaolL
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) December 22, 2021
Rashaad Penny and Deejay Dallas split the workload right down the middle and it made this game frustrating to watch for fantasy managers rostering Penny. They both did carry the ball efficiently, but Dallas got the six-yard TD. Neither jumps off the page, but they both run between the tackles well. Both players should’ve had the opportunity for a higher workload but the offense just didn’t run the ball as much as I felt they should have.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Derald Everett: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 60 yards
DK Metcalf: 12 targets, 6 receptions, 52 yards
Freddie Swain: 1 target, 1 reception, 25 yards
Will Dissly: 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
Dee Eskridge: 4 targets
https://twitter.com/FTB_Vids_YT/status/1473482978374262785
DK Metcalf caught two balls for 11 yards in the first half. There just doesn’t seem to be a strong connection downfield between Russell Wilson and Metcalf. I counted four times that were either over or under-thrown. Overall it just didn’t work in this game with the Seahawks receivers. Gerald Everett the tight end had another consistent outing for the Seahawks, going for 60 yards on four catches. His best moment was a 34-yard catch to help set up a game-tying field goal. This was an impressive catch on an underthrown pass while being double covered. Freddie Swain caught a nice dig route that went for 25 yards. Overall in fantasy football, I’m worried about Metcalf, especially if Lockett comes back next week.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: 21/29, 244 yards, 2 TD, INT | 3 carries, -3 yards
Matthew Stafford became the fastest QB to hit 50K passing yards 🙌pic.twitter.com/o63q5eI8mo
— PFF (@PFF) December 22, 2021
Matthew Stafford had a pretty bad first half as the team failed to establish the run and threw the ball 19 times in the first half. It wasn’t like they were behind by 20 points either, they were tied going into the half. Stafford threw mostly short passes and took only a few shots downfield to his top receiver Cooper Kupp. His first shot to Kupp was severely underthrown and looked like they either weren’t on the same page or Stafford just didn’t see the safety playing center field. He did end his half on a positive note by throwing a 42-yard bomb to Kupp. Overall, Stafford was being quite timid against an exploitable secondary and didn’t get to take his shot until the second half.
Stafford picked up his game in the second half, throwing the ball 10 times and allowing the run game to set the tempo. He made the throws in the second half that counted. He started off the third quarter with a bang by completing a 32-yard pass to Kupp and then followed it up with a 6 yard TD to Kupp. Two drives later, Stafford got a gift as a dump-off pass to Sony Michel turned into a 24 yard gain, setting up a 29-yard crossing route into the end zone for Kupp.
Stafford got off to a slow start in this game which is understandable with the long week. Overall he pulled it together in the second half and had a decent game.
Running Back
Sony Michel: 18 carries, 92 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
Darrell Henderson: 6 carry, 23 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 4 yards
There’s the Sony Michel we all know and love pic.twitter.com/okEq3FA1uO
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 22, 2021
Sony Michel was the best back on the field for either team. In the first half, he ran for 17 yards, and the team wanted to force Matthew Stafford to do it on his own. In the second half, the Rams cooled down the passing attack and quickly fed Michel 3 carries that went for 48 yards, including a beautiful 39-yard charge. Two drives later, Michel got involved in the passing game by taking a one-yard dump-off pass and turning it into 29 yards. Overall, Michel looked like the more explosive back of the two and should figure to have a spot in this offense going forward. Darnell Henderson was coming off the COVID-IR, so this performance was most likely a result of a lack of conditioning. Overall he didn’t look bad, he just wasn’t the guy we had been seeing all season long.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Cooper Kupp: 13 targets, 9 receptions, 136 yards, 2 TD | 1 carry, 1 yard
Ben Skowronek: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards
Van Jefferson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
Brycen Hopkins: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Odell Beckham Jr: 3 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards
COOPER KUPP. UNSTOPPABLE. 🤯
pic.twitter.com/fgnub96qOB— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) December 22, 2021
Cooper Kupp had himself a game once again today. He was the heart and soul of this offense, receiving 136 of Matthew Stafford‘s 244 passing yards on the night. Kupp was a big deep ball threat in this game and attributed 103 of his receiving yards to three passes. Kupp made some awesome catches, including the 42 yarder at the end of the half where he got lit up in the air and took a bad fall. He still caught the ball. Overall, Kupp was a beast as usual and drove this team to a much-needed victory.
Ben Skowronek showed out today catching four passes for 42 yards. He was used as a slot receiver in this game and got two third-down targets. This shows the confidence that the team has in the young wideout. Van Jefferson had an 18-yard catch in this game. Odell Beckham had his biggest impact on the game getting a P.I. called on a deep route, setting up the team’s first points. Otherwise it was a quiet night for Beckham and it just seemed like he wasn’t in the gameplan after coming off the COVID list.
— Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)