With defensive linemen jumping offside at seemingly every moment, the veteran quarterback showed great savvy by capitalizing on “free plays” twice in the final two minutes, first joining Tyler Lockett on a 30-yard touchdown run to give Seattle its first lead of the game. Moments later, after Riq Woolen made a jumping interception against Matthew Stafford and a Los Angeles penalty was added 15 yards from the turnover, Smith again took advantage of a free offside, hitting Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 47-yard gain on a corner. .

Even after Smith-Njigba was unable to get both feet on the ground on a potential touchdown on the next snap, Smith came right back to him after getting into the pocket to escape the rush, throwing him a dime up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown to push the Seahawks’ advantage to 10 points with just five seconds left.

For the half, Smith completed 10 of 17 passes for 190 yards, averaging 11.2 yards per attempt and throwing two touchdowns in a half for the first time this season. Despite suffering the crucial drop that led to an ill-fated interception in the first quarter, Smith-Njigba bounced back to catch three passes for 92 yards and his second touchdown of the season, while Lockett hauled in two passes for 43 yards and a score.

Out of the backfield, Ken Walker III rebounded well from a rough outing against the Bills, rushing 13 times for 50 yards and adding an 18-yard catch out of the backfield.

Defensively, the Seahawks had an exceptional half by slowing down the powerful Rams attack. On six possessions, coach Mike Macdonald’s team forced four punts, including two three-and-outs with pressures from Boye Mafe and Leonard Williams leading to failures on third down.

Converting just two of seven third-down opportunities in the first two quarters, Los Angeles was held to 147 total yards, including just 14 yards rushing and 1.8 yards per carry by a rejuvenated Seattle defense. Leading the charge, Williams and Dre’Mont Jones each had two quarterback hits to force Stafford into no completion, while Woolen recorded his second interception of the season and Josh Jobe continued to play well with a key pass break.

Threatening significantly in the second half, the Rams will be without star wide receiver Puka Nacua in the second half after officials ejected him from the game for hitting Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson in the helmet following the interception of Woolen. Seattle will also play the second half without right tackle George Fant, who left the game early in the game with a knee injury and was replaced by rookie Mike Jerrell.

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