For the second consecutive week, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves down on the scoreboard in a hard fought game against a conference rival. But in the waning minutes of the game, it looked like Earl Thomas and Malcolm Smith teamed up to make the clutch play that could help the defending Super Bowl champions steal a win on the road in St. Louis

At the 1:14 mark, Rams running back Tre Mason burst through the line to convert a 3rd-and-1 that would have put the game on ice. But Smith jarred the ball loose, and ET III finished through the tackle to send it ricocheting downfield.

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Seattle corner Richard Sherman appeared to pounce on the loose ball and gain possession in the scrum, but the officials awarded possession to St. Louis with no further explanation. With the converted first down, the Rams were able to kneel out the rest of the clock, closing out a 28-26 loss that sent Seattle to 3-3.

Afterward, Earl couldn’t hide his frustration with the game-changing situation.

“It’s tough on us right now. We’re not playing disciplined ball like we want to, but we still had a chance to win the game,” No. 29 said. “I stripped the ball and it was a big scuffle and I was just trying to help Sherm get the ball. He had it but somehow … I don’t know.”

The loss was made even more frustrating by the fact that, statistically, the Seahawks dominated the contest.

Seattle outgained St. Louis 463-272, but the Rams tallied a combined 201 yards on punt and kick returns, including 90-yard punt return touchdown, which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Despite the special teams struggles, Earl refused to blame any of his teammates for the setback.

“The character is there,” ET III said. “This is not the time to point fingers. This is the time to embrace guys, and help them.”

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No. 29 made six vital tackles down the stretch to keep Seattle in the game and notch his fifth game with five or more tackles this season. The Rams also largely avoided Area 29 all day, completing just one pass over 20 yards.

Seattle started the game on a positive note. The Hawks defense was stout on St. Louis’ opening drive and forced a punt. On the ensuing possession, the Seattle offense marched all the way down to the goal line but had to settle for a short field goal.

Unfortunately, that three-point advantage would be short-lived.

Benny Cunningham returned the kick all the way to the Seattle 31-yard line, giving St. Louis a short field. From there, the Rams then tested K.J. Wright, who was forced to make the move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker due to Bobby Wagner’s injury. Between Mason and Tavon Austin, St. Louis ran four inside run plays, broken up by just one pass, to close the gap to the goal line. Mason capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run up the middle to give the Rams a 7-3 lead

The Seattle offense managed just one first down on the subsequent drive and punted back to the Rams, who began their drive from their own 26. St. Louis moved the ball well on the next drive, but the Hawks did as much damage to themselves on the drive as their opponents did to them.

Penalties

Seattle got called for three costly penalties that helped the Rams march down the field, including one that bailed St. Louis out after a failed third down conversion and another that saved them from a 3rd-and-goal from the 25. That penalty put the Rams in 1st-and-10 from the 12 and three plays later, Austin Davis found Cunningham for a five-yard touchdown.

“We gotta cut out on the penalties,” Earl said after the game. “That’s what’s hurting us.”

After the Rams had taken a 14-3 lead, Seattle’s offense was able to move across midfield and nearly into field goal range. But after Russell Wilson was sacked twice in the course of three plays, pushing the Hawks back across to their side of the 50, they were forced to punt.

The ensuing punt would turn out to be the difference in the game. As Jon Ryan boomed a deep punt, Rams returner Tavon Austin faked out the Seattle coverage team by running to his left, where he was presumed to be catching the ball. However, Austin was just a decoy as Ryan’s punt went to the opposite side of the field where Stedman Bailey made an over the shoulder catch of the kick and ran 90 yards untouched to the endzone to put St. Louis up 21-3 with 7:05 left in the half.

After yet another fruitless drive by the Seahawks offense, St. Louis took over near midfield, but the Seattle defense came up with a few key stops forcing a 52-yard field goal try for Greg Zuerlein, which missed the mark and gave the Hawks a short field with just under two minutes left in the half. Seattle took advantage and drove to just outside the red zone where Hauschka kicked a 35-yard field goal to draw Seattle back within two scores, down 21-6 at halftime.

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As the second half began, and with their backs against the wall, the Seahawks offense finally picked up steam.

On Seattle’s second drive of the half, Wilson made his biggest pass of the game when he connected with Doug Baldwin Jr., for a 19-yard gain on 3rd-and-17. Wilson then finished out the drive himself with a 19-yard touchdown run to make it 21-13.

Earl and the defense then took charge and force a punt from the home team.

ET III made two key tackles to stifle the Rams and end the quarter.

Seattle’s opening drive of the final quarter saw Wilson find his groove. On 3rd-and-9 from his own 23, the Seattle quarterback found space and took off on a 52-yard run.

During the run, Earl was seen running alongside his quarterback and celebrating on the sidelines.

Wilson completed the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to make the deficit just 21-19. Seattle then went for a two-point conversion to try to tie the game, but Wilson couldn’t connect with Jermaine Kearse and the pass fell incomplete.

After watching the Seahawks nearly draw even, Rams quarterback Austin Davis, who finished 18-of-21 for 152 yards, engineered a quick eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks that restored St. Louis’ two possession lead.

But with their offense finally in rhythm, Seattle wasted little time responding and in just over two minutes completed an eight-play, 80-yard drive of their own when Wilson found Baldwin for a nine-yard touchdown to make it a 28-26 game with just 3:18 to go.

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From the there, the Seahawks turned to their defense to get a key stop and get the ball back to the offense for one last drive. For a moment, it looked like they had as a third down pass from Davis to Austin fell incomplete with 2:55 remaining.

The Rams sent out their punt team after what appeared to be a three-and-out, but again St. Louis fooled Seattle’s special teams, this time with a fake punt pass to Cunningham for 18 yards to keep the drive alive.

“Special teams killed us all day,” No. 29 said. “Special teams is a vital part of your team and when you don’t come to play stuff like this happens.”

Two more runs by Mason drained the clock down to 1:14 on 3rd-and-1 at the St. Louis 41-yard line and Seattle still had a chance if they could get one more stop. But it was there that the game’s most controversial play took place. Mason burst through the line for a first down that would’ve iced the game, and kept going.

Smith caught the Rams running back from behind and the Seattle linebacker knew he had only one play to make, so he attempted to dislodge the ball and did so successfully as Earl came in from the side with a crushing hit that ignited a free-for-all near midfield. At the end of the scrum, St. Louis was awarded the football. Television replays appeared to show Sherman holding onto the football at the bottom of the mass pile of bodies, but the play was never reviewed.

With possession at the Seattle 41 with under a minute to go and the Seahawks without a timeout, St. Louis was able to kneel out the clock and capture the close victory, sending Earl and the Hawks to their second consecutive loss.

NEXT UP

The Seahawks (3-3) will have another chance to get back on track next week, but they’ll have to make a cross-country trip to do it as they face Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers next Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Like Seattle, Carolina (3-3-1) is coming off of a disappointing loss. Sunday afternoon, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers dismantled the Panthers by a score of 38-17. Carolina gave up nearly 400 yards of total offense. For his part, Newton completed 17 of his 31 pass attempts, and threw for one touchdown and one interception while rushing for 41 yards.

ET has faced the Panthers three times in his career and the Hawks have won all three contests. Last year, No. 29 notched 10 combined tackles and a forced fumble in a 12-7 Week 1 in over Carolina.

Kickoff from Charlotte is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and CBS will have the broadcast.

RELATED LINKS

  • Sluggish start leaves Seahawks at 3-3 (Seahawks.com, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks at Rams recap (Seahawks.com, October 19, 2014)
  • Special teams breakdowns doom Seahawks against Rams (The Seattle Times, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks must regain killer instinct (The Seattle Times, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks fail on special teams, get good marks on offense (The Seattle Times, October 19, 2014)
  • Rams hold off Seahawks, 28-26 (Associated Press, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks upset at fumble call (ESPN, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks need to get rush going in a hurry (710 ESPN, October 19, 2014)
  • Five takeaways from the Seahawks loss in St. Louis (HeraldNet, October 19, 2014)
  • Horrid start, worst special teams seal 28-26 loss (Tacoma News Tribune, October 19, 2014)
  • Seahawks have time to bounce back (USA Today, October 20, 2014)
  • Are the Seahawks going to miss the playoffs (USA Today, October 19, 2014)
  • Rams hang on to beat Seahawks 28-26 (Field Gulls, October 19, 2014)
  • Trick plays lead to second consecutive loss (Field Gulls, October 19, 2014)