Rams turn to Cooper Kupp to pull out win over Seahawks

INGLEWOOD — They waited 2 other days to play the game. The Rams could hold 3½ quarters to triumph it.

After a COVID-19 outbreak made it a long, unusual crippled week, the Rams struggled with the Seattle Seahawks for astir of a uncommon Tuesday crippled earlier rediscovering normal.

It was the Rams’ champion mentation of normal, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp connecting for their 2nd touchdown to propulsion retired a 20-10 triumph astatine a little afloat than mean SoFi Stadium.

Kupp’s 29-yard drawback and tally broke a necktie with 10:48 left.

The defence took it from there, stopping Seattle connected downs astatine midfield with 3:21 to play earlier Matt Gay kicked an security tract goal.

The Rams’ 3rd triumph successful a enactment improved their grounds to 10-4, tied with the Arizona Cardinals atop the NFC West, though Arizona is inactive up connected tiebreakers. The Seahawks dropped to 5-9.

Kupp caught 9 passes for 136 yards, giving him 122 receptions this season, breaking Isaac Bruce’s 26-year-old franchise grounds of 120.

Kupp became the archetypal NFL receiver successful the Super Bowl epoch to summation 90 yards oregon much successful 10 consecutive games, breaking a grounds helium had shared with Odell Beckham Jr. and Michael Irvin.

More validation for the wide receiver who was named to his archetypal Pro Bowl squad connected Monday.

The Rams volition extremity up with a clump of Pro Bowlers this play by the clip the remainder of the selections are announced this week, but that didn’t springiness them immoderate privileges Tuesday.

As the aged saying goes, connected immoderate fixed Tuesday immoderate squad deed hard by COVID-19 tin bushed immoderate different squad deed hard by COVID-19.

The Seahawks, seven-point underdogs, were looking assured erstwhile they went into halftime tied adjacent arsenic the Rams were out-gaining them 153 yards to 79.

The Rams needed a running-into-the-punter punishment connected their archetypal thrust to enactment them successful presumption for Gay to footwear a 55-yard tract goal, his 19th marque successful a enactment implicit 11 weeks.

Then they squandered 3 trips wrong the Seattle 40-yard line. From the 32, Stafford threw his archetypal interception successful 3 weeks connected an underthrown heavy shot to Kupp that was picked disconnected by Quandre Diggs. From the 31, Stafford held the shot excessively agelong and was sacked to unit a punt. Again from the 32, Coach Sean McVay decided to spell for it connected fourth-and-2, and a walk to Kupp was breached up.

After that determination by the Rams to walk up a field-goal attempt, the Seahawks went 59 yards and got a 39-yarder from Jason Myers with 10 seconds to spell successful the half.

The Rams defence was connected the job. Sacks by Aaron Donald (giving him 10 successful his eighth Pro Bowl season) and Von Miller (his archetypal with the Rams) ended the Seahawks’ archetypal 2 possessions. Jalen Ramsey covered D.K. Metcalf and a third-down walk fell to the turf.

But the defence opened the 2nd fractional by giving up a 75-yard, 11-play drive, DeeJay Dallas’ 8-yard propulsion done a pack of Rams tacklers putting Seattle astatine the 4 and Dallas’ tally implicit Leonard Floyd and Taylor Rapp putting it successful the extremity zone.

The Rams’ off-the-field challenges had been formidable for the past week.

At 1 constituent they had 29 players, including 8 regular starters, connected the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list. Those numbers were down to 16 and 3 by Tuesday. Tight extremity Tyler Higbee, close tackle Rob Havenstein and information Jordan Fuller were the starters who had failed to taxable the antagonistic tests required by a noon deadline to beryllium activated.

With apical violative enactment backup Joe Noteboom besides connected the COVID list, Bobby Evans started successful Havenstein’s place, portion halfway Brian Allen returned aft missing astir of 2 games with a genu injury.

After Seattle took its pb aboriginal successful the 2nd half, the Rams’ astir formidable situation was connected the field.

They answered it.

Taking the shot astatine their ain 14 aft the kickoff, Stafford and Kupp led the Rams connected a agelong drive. They connected archetypal connected a 32-yard walk into Seahawks territory. Then, aft a 39-yard tally by Sony Michel, they hooked up again connected an 8-yard touchdown walk to marque it 10-10.

More to travel connected this story.