Rams 19, Seahawks 13
ST. LOUIS -- Relying on thunder-footed rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein and a defense which kept the Seahawks out of the end zone after the game's first 4 minutes and 15 seconds, St. Louis matched its win total of 2011 with a 19-13 verdict Sunday at Edward Jones Dome.
Zuerlein, a sixth-round draft pick in April out of Missouri Western, drilled field goals of 58, 48, 60 and 24 yards to make him 12-for-12 in his first four NFL games. The 60-yarder with 13:46 left in the third quarter broke his team record of 58, set with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter.
The Rams gave up a touchdown on the first possession of the game and then locked down defensively. Seattle failed to capitalize on two scoring chances in the second half after penetrating the St. Louis 15, settling for field goals each time.
On their last possession, the Seahawks reached the St. Louis 35, but Russell Wilson's pass intended for tight end Anthony McCoy was intercepted at the 25 by Bradley Fletcher when McCoy slipped on the turf. It was the third pick thrown by Wilson, the rookie quarterback from Wisconsin who finished 17-of-25 for 160 yards.
The Rams scored their only touchdown with 1:11 left in the first half on a perfectly executed fake field goal. Holder Johnny Hekker rose up from a knee and lofted a 2-yard scoring pass to Danny Amendola, who was standing by himself near the St. Louis sideline and was 30 yards away from any Seahawk.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll and his assistants were jumping up and down just before the ball was snapped, trying to get the attention of their defensive players, but their efforts were fruitless.
The result snapped a two-game winning streak for the Seahawks (2-2). Seattle was coming off a wild 14-12 Monday night win over Green Bay which ended on Golden Tate's game-winning touchdown catch as time expired.
Tate was a non-entity against the Rams, finishing with one catch for seven yards.
Marshawn Lynch rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries for Seattle, which lost for just the second time in its last 15 meetings with the Rams.
Notes: Among the inactives were St. Louis WR Steve Smith and starting LT Rodger Safford. Seattle played without RG John Moffitt ... Rams CB Cortland Finnegan failed to notch an interception for the first time this season. ... The Seahawks are traveling 26,200 miles for road games, more than any other NFL team this year except for Oakland.
