Rams get better of division-rival Seahawks in 1st round

The Los Angeles Rams ran past the Seahawks, 30-20, to advance to the NFC Divisional Round, where they will await either the Green Bay Packers or the New Orleans Saints.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald had a couple of early sacks of Russell Wilson on Saturday and he got another hit on the Seahawks quarterback to disrupt a deep shot to DK Metcalf in the third quarter.

It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't expected, but just two weeks after breaking the thumb on his throwing hand, Jared Goff stepped in to lead the Rams to a big road playoff win.

"We're excited about competing to go see who we play next and see if we can keep this thing rolling", McVay said.

Wilson and Co. failed to take advantage of Donald's absence and to wake up on offense until it was too late in the fourth quarter.

They won because Cam Akers rushed for 155 yards, 97 of which came in the first half, which he capped off with a 5-yard scoring run. This was 11-for-27 passing, a completion percentage of 41 being a career-low in the playoffs. They haven't scored more than 10 points in the first half of any playoff game since the Super Bowl loss to New England in February 2015. John Wolford started for the second straight week but injured his neck when he dived headfirst in the first quarter and was hit in the helmet by Jamal Adams' shoulder.

"I hate this feeling, obviously", Wilson said.

Donald was slow to get up and, once he did, took his time getting over to the Rams' locker room. Goff didn't do anything spectacular but also avoided major mistakes. "His heart, his passion for the game is special", Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. The Seahawks held the Rams without a first down on the next possession only to have D.J. Reed lose a fumble on the ensuing punt. "It's going to be about imposing your will on another team".