By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
Monday, Oct. 11 2004
Just up the road from rumbling Mount St. Helen's, the most spectacular eruption
Sunday was ignited by the suddenly lava-hot Rams offense.
It spewed 17 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the fourth period, then put a
sudden halt to overtime with a 52-yard bomb from quarterback
Marc Bulger to
wide receiver Shaun McDonald. The 33-27 victory ended a 10-game Qwest Field
winning streak for Seattle (3-1) and shoved the Rams (3-2) into the NFC West
chase.
The fireworks - three Bulger TD passes and a Jeff Wilkins field goal that
overturned a 17-point deficit - were dazzling. But a sturdy second half by the
defense lit the fuse.
"None of this is possible without the terrific effort by our defense in the
second half," coach Mike Martz said Monday. "We throw an interception on the
sideline, give them great field position, and we hold them to a field goal.
That wins the game for us ... that clearly wins the game for us."
Seattle took over at the Rams 40-yard line when cornerback Marcus Trufant
picked off a pass aimed at McDonald on the third play of the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks were stopped at the 16, and a 34-yard field goal by Josh Brown
made it 27-10 with 8:42 to go.
Thereafter, while Bulger and Co. were lighting up the scoreboard, the Seahawks
mustered only 11 yards on eight plays, with just one first down, in regulation.
They never touched the ball in OT.
In the first half, Seattle rolled up 306 yards, averaging 6.9 yards on 44 plays
and holding a time-of-possession advantage of 7:06. In the second half, the
Seahawks managed a mere 85 yards, getting 3.8 yards on 22 plays, and the Rams
had a possession edge of 6:52.
"I think (the offense) let the defense down in the second half," said Seahawks
running back Shaun Alexander, who collected 98 of his 150 rushing yards before
the break. "They had to play almost the whole (half). ... You can't do that
against a good team."
Fighting to the end
Even though he'd suffered a concussion that kept him on the sideline for much
of the fourth quarter, wide receiver Isaac Bruce returned in overtime and was
the first teammate to reach McDonald behind the end zone after his winning
grab.
Later, Bruce celebrated at the other end of the field, much to the disgust of
the Seahawks fans, one of whom tossed a beer bottle in his direction. "You
can't just play the first three quarters and think it's over," Bruce said. "We
pride ourselves in continuing to fight for 60 minutes with resolve."
Griese is rewarded
Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said Monday that veteran Brian Griese would start at
quarterback Monday at the Edward Jones Dome. Chris Simms made his first NFL
start Sunday vs. Arizona but suffered a sprained shoulder. In Simms' relief,
Griese completed 16 of 19 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown in the Bucs'
20-17 victory.
"I can't really say in my years of coaching that I've seen a guy come in off
the bench and play that well in a situation where we really needed him to do
that," Gruden told reporters.
Handing out kudos
Rams players of the game were: Bulger (offense), linebacker Tommy Polley
(defense) and Erik Flowers (special teams). ... With a Monday night game vs.
Tampa Bay (1-4) up next on the heels of back-to-back trips to the West Coast,
Martz is giving his players an extra day off: The next practice is scheduled
for Thursday.
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