NFL News & Analysis

LA-SEA grades: Seahawks produce big plays on both sides of ball in win

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 15: Wide receiver Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams at CenturyLink Field on December 15, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tyler Lockett

Seattle Seahawks 24, Los Angeles Rams 3

Here are the top-graded players and biggest takeaways from Seattle's 24-3 win over the Rams in Week 15:

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback grade: Russell Wilson, 71.0

Even in win, Wilson still misses more throws than usual

Wilson’s stat line may look night and day from last Sunday, but the improvement was far less significant than that. The Seahawks quarterback still missed a more throws than we’re used to seeing. The fourth down underthrow to Marcel Reece would have been a far larger deal had he not gotten bailed out by a penalty, and his interception – albeit in garbage time – was a complete head-scratcher. In the end, Wilson still finished with an adjusted completion percentage of 82.6.

Top offensive grades:

WR Tyler Lockett, 78.6

TE Jimmy Graham, 74.5

RB Thomas Rawls, 71.0

WR Doug Baldwin, 68.9

C Justin Britt, 60.8

Run-blocking is non-existent

As is almost always the case when these two teams meet, the Seattle offensive line was manhandled. On 22 carries, running back Thomas Rawls gained a total of -10 yards before contact. That is not a typo. It was as dominantly as we’ve seen a defensive line move the line of scrimmage all season long. Rawls had to average 1.9 yards after contact per attempt to get to a measly 1.5 yards per carry. Thankfully, that’s the last Seattle will be seeing of the Rams defensive line this season.

Top defensive grades:

DE Michael Bennett, 86.6

LB Bobby Wagner, 83.3

CB DeShawn Shead, 82.4

S Kam Chancellor, 81.7

CB Jeremy Lane, 80.5

Defense bounces back on short rest

Just four days after giving up 38 points to the Packers, the Seattle defense looked much better against Los Angeles. The Seattle defensive ends had a field day, with the four players combining for 13 pressures, including five sacks. Thursday night was Michael Bennett’s highest pass-rushing grade of this season, and Cliff Avril’s best pass-rushing game since Week 9. However, three missed tackles in the run game and an offsides penalty brought down his overall grade. It was a little bit of a down night for Richard Sherman compared to his typical level of play. He gave up two first downs on crossing routes in man coverage and was called for a defensive holding penalty.

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterback grade: Jared Goff, 67.1

Jared Goff and the rest of the Rams' offense had their work cut out for them going up against a good Seattle defense on a short week and just days after firing former head coach Jeff Fisher. That said, it wasn’t a great night for Goff. He didn’t turn the ball over at all, but he had issues with accuracy on several occasions, including missing on what should have been a wide-open touchdown, and didn’t handle pressure well. On 13 dropbacks under pressure, he completed just two passes for 19 total yards and was sacked five times.

Top Offensive grades:

C Tim Barnes, 79.7

LG Rodger Saffold, 71.5

WR Kenny Britt, 71.2

WR Tavon Austin, 70.0

WR Pharoh Cooper, 65.2

Offense gives Goff little help

While Goff wasn’t great, neither was the rest of the offense. Goff was under pressure on 43 percent of his dropbacks, with the tackles being the biggest offenders. RT Rob Havenstein had his lowest-graded game in pass protection of his career, as he allowed seven total pressures, including three sacks. The run game didn’t go much better, as Todd Gurley was given little room to maneuver and averaged -0.2 yards before contact on his 14 carries.

Top defensive grades:

DT Aaron Donald, 90.6

DE William Hayes, 84.9

LB Alec Ogletree, 82.6

S T.J. McDonald, 79.5

DT Cam Thomas, 77.7

Backups predictably struggle

There is a reason why Cody Davis, Troy Hill, and Michael Jordan haven’t been starting all year for the Rams, and we saw why Thursday night. Hill was absurdly toasted on a fade route where he wasn’t within shouting distance of Doug Baldwin in the end zone. Jordan got picked on to the tune of six catches on six targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. And Davis got into the act by dropping to the deep middle of the defense, while everyone else played Cover-2 allowing Tyler Lockett a walk-in deep touchdown. It’s a shame that it had to spoil such a dominant performance up front.

PFF Game Ball: Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett

PFF’s player grading process includes multiple reviews, which may change the grade initially published in order to increase its accuracy. Learn more about how we grade and access grades for every player through each week of the NFL season by subscribing to Player Grades.

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