Opinion: Rams regaining swagger in do-or-die moments of season

LOS ANGELES — Eric Weddle noticed it before the meeting with the Arizona Cardinals a week ago. His Los Angeles Rams just had a different kind of intensity to them during pregame warmups at University of Phoenix Stadium. “This buzz” is how the veteran defensive back described it. 

When he sensed it, Weddle felt compelled to say something to coach Sean McVay.

“I said, ‘Can you feel that?’ He said, ‘Yeah, man,’ ” Weddle recounted during a conversation with USA TODAY Sports. “I said, ‘This game’s over, man.’ You could just tell we were going to go out and play well.” 

And the Rams did — producing one of their most lopsided victories of the season. 

Weddle had that same feeling Sunday afternoon as the Rams prepared for their matchup with the then-NFC West-leading Seahawks at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

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The intensity, the urgency, the focus, the energy. It was all there all over again. And once again, Weddle and his teammates translated that next-level intensity into another well-rounded outing and their eighth victory of the season. 

Sunday night’s 28-12 triumph over Seattle wasn’t just another win, however.

That was a season-saving performance for an L.A. squad that has struggled to regain the form that carried it to the Super Bowl last year. 

Entering Sunday, the Rams’ postseason hopes hung by a thread as they trailed both Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West. But by defeating the Seahawks, the Rams (8-5) kept pace in the NFC playoff race, where they remain a game back of the Minnesota Vikings for the final wild-card berth. L.A. also shook things up for the Seahawks, knocking them down from the first seed in the NFC standings to the fifth. 

It remains to be seen whether the Rams can win their three remaining games and/or get help from the opponents of the Vikings and punch their postseason ticket. But on Sunday night — which was all that mattered for the time being — they took care of business. 

McVay and his players described the victory as a total team effort because it featured key contributions from each unit, like the 21-point first-half performance from the offense and a robust outing by the defense, which held Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson without a touchdown pass for the first time this season, sacked him five times and denied the Seahawks on 9 of 14 third downs.

Indeed, an offense that has lacked the firepower from a year ago got back to “playing Rams football,” as players described it. They played fast, frequently using a no-huddle attack to keep pressure on the defense. Quarterback Jared Goff got the ball out quickly, threw with accuracy on the run and, by halftime, already had recorded only his seventh multi-touchdown game of the season. Running back Todd Gurley had one of his best outings of the season, recording 113 all-purpose yards — 23 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown and four catches for 34 yards. And whenever McVay features Gurley heavily, it paves the way for greater all-around success for the unit. 

But the majority of Sunday night’s praise belongs to the Rams’ defense because that unit repeatedly made game-saving plays.

Like forcing the Seahawks to settle for a field goal on the opening drive. Like the five sacks and six other quarterback hits. The five punts forced, a loss of downs and the Troy Hill game-sealing interception with 1:25 left. 

The third-quarter struggles of the offense could have deflated any defensive unit. Goff threw an interception that Seattle’s Quandre Diggs returned 55 yards for a touchdown, and then three minutes later, he threw a second interception to Diggs.

But the Rams forced a punt following the second Diggs’ takeaway. Then Seattle blocked the Rams’ 37-yard field goal attempt, but had to punt on its next series. 

“That toughness. Pick-six, what did we do? We got a stop,” Weddle said. “They got another pick, and the blocked field goal? Another stop, and another stop. That’s tough to do, and I think our guys rise up to those occasions. We just get fired up. It’s fun to be a part of a group where you never see us lull. ... The opportunity to pick up our team, it’s a proud moment for us.”

The defense’s ability to erase the transgressions of the offense proved invigorating, because in the fourth quarter, Goff and Co. got their groove back. They went 95 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 7-yard Gurley touchdown run off the left end that was punctuated by a violent stiff-arm to help L.A. extend its lead to 28-9 with 11:07 left. 

McVay gushed about the backing his offense received from the defense. 

“Really for them to just be able to continue to hold a great offense, great quarterback ... I thought it says a lot about our defense and their resilience, just to be able to continue to compete,” the coach said. “A couple of the turnovers where we put them in some bad spots, they didn’t flinch, they didn’t blink. Those guys did a great job all night.”

But what led to the return to Rams football?

Desperation and pride. 

Three weeks ago, the Baltimore Ravens came into the Coliseum and smacked up the Rams 45-6 on “Monday Night Football.”

Humiliated and frustrated, L.A.’s players and coaches understood that they had to increase their intensity and improve their execution if they wanted to have a chance to save their season. 

“Everyone looks at themselves. The great thing about this place is, no one is above the team, coaches included,” Weddle said. “We just dropped the ball on that. Coaches got outcoached, players got outplayed, and we vowed to not have that happen again, and when you have that from the top down, the only way to go is up. Throughout the week, the focus and attention to detail has shown.”

The approach in the week produced the pregame spike in intensity and sharpened focus that have produced the results of the last two weeks. 

“Tonight, the balance of our season and we rise up,” Weddle explained. But then he added that the pressure hasn’t subsided at all. 

“We can’t let up. ... It’s win or go home. The NFC is tough,” he stressed. “Look at where we’re at. We’re not even in and we have to win as many as we can. Because 11-5 will get in (the playoffs). But 10-6 I don’t think we will. ... These next few weeks, we’ve got to bottle this up. I don’t know exactly how we harness it, but we’ve got to figure it out.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones and listen to the Football Jones podcast on iTunes.