By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

For the first five weeks of this NFL season, the Rams have made a habit of finding themselves in close situations late in games. Fortunately for them, they had also made a habit of winning those games.

So, it stands to reason that when Sunday’s game against Seattle came down to the final ticks of the clock, the Rams had the utmost confidence that they would find a way to pull out a win.

This time, though, the Rams’ luck ran out and the Seahawks escaped the Edward Jones Dome with a scintillating and somewhat controversial 30-28 victory after kicker Josh Brown’s 54-yard field goal as time expired.

“The gods were shining on us again today,” receiver Torry Holt said. “But it shined on them more.”

The loss drops the Rams to 4-2, puts them a half game behind Seattle in the NFC West Division and ends their three game winning streak. The Seahawks are 4-1 with the win.

But it was a win that came under the most suspenseful of circumstances for Seattle. What once was a tale of two halves changed into a tale of two minutes in the most frantic of finishes in a Rams season full of them.

With the Rams trailing 27-21 and 2:54 to play, defensive end Leonard Little came up with a huge play for the second consecutive week. This time, he forced Seattle running back Maurice Morris to fumble as the Seahawks were attempting to run the ball and run out the clock.

Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy fell on the ball and the Rams had new life at their 7 with a timeout and the two minute warning in tow.

“I kind of gave the team a heart attack,” Morris said. “I put us in a situation that we shouldn’t have even been in.”

That situation eventually led to a third down play in which quarterback Marc Bulger hit receiver Shaun McDonald for a 28-yard gain. Following a false start penalty on left guard Todd Steussie, the Rams had a second-and-15 at their 33.

Coach Scott Linehan called Crush X7 Pump, a play designed to isolate receivers on safeties. In this case, it was Holt on Seattle free safety Michael Boulware. Bulger pump faked and Holt made a quick jab move that he would say later wasn’t one of his best. The offensive line gave Bulger plenty of time to throw and he floated a deep pass over Holt’s left shoulder with Boulware close behind. Holt reached back and grabbed at the ball, but couldn’t haul it in directly.

Holt’s momentum carried him forward and the ball went backward as Holt reached back with his right hand and hauled it in. Boulware fell to the ground and Holt raced in for an astonishing 67-yard touchdown. Kicker Jeff Wilkins booted the extra point to give the Rams a 28-27 lead. Holt finished with eight catches for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Bulger ended his day with 360 yards, an interception and three scores on 26-of-39 passing for a rating of 111.1.

“I thought it was going to pull us through when Torry caught that ball for the touchdown,” cornerback Tye Hill said.

Unfortunately for the Rams, the clock didn’t have all zeros yet. In fact, there was a healthy 1:44 left in the game when St. Louis kicked the ball back to Seattle. For a team that has played every play through the end of every game this season, nobody knows better than the Rams about having to finish a game out.

“I have been in too many games,” Bulger said. “A minute and a half in the NFL is forever. If they needed a touchdown, maybe you feel better, but they only needed a field goal.”

Seattle’s drive started at its 17, but a pair of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck passes netted 33 yards in just 38 seconds to put the ball at the 50 with a minute to play. Fullback Mack Strong picked up 10 yards and Hasselbeck hit Deion Branch for a 9-yard gain, giving the Seahawks the ball at the Rams’ 31.

Following Strong’s second run, the Seahawks hustled back to the line of scrimmage to try to spike the ball and stop the clock for Brown to attempt the field goal. As the Seahawks lined up, though, a flag was thrown for illegal formation because they had a wideout in the backfield leaving only six players on the line of scrimmage. The Rams came running off the sideline in celebration thinking that the offensive penalty would cause a 10-second runoff since the Seahawks were out of timeout and thus the game was over.

After some confusion, referee Ed Hochuli explained that there is no runoff for an illegal formation even though the clock was running when the penalty was committed. Brown, who had a career long of 58 and had easily connected from 49 yards earlier in the fourth quarter, pounded the ball through the uprights from 54 yards away as time expired for the victory.

Needless to say, the loss left any and everyone wondering why there wasn’t a run-off. Hochuli explained the rules after the game.

“(It’s) the nature of the penalty,” Hochuli said. “There are limited penalties that give a 10-second runoff and this is just not one of those on the list. The team was all set. They were set for a full second. They were just in an illegal formation.”

Without question, that explanation didn’t do much to ease the pain of the Rams after such a heartbreaking loss, but at the end of the day, St. Louis realized that had it played better in the second half the penalty wouldn’t have meant much of anything.

The way the game started, it appeared the Rams were ready to make a statement to the Seahawks that the division is theirs to lose. St. Louis held a 21-7 lead after a first half that was probably the team’s most complete and dominant of the young season. The Rams outgained Seattle 225-74 in the opening half behind an on fire Bulger and the sticky hands of Holt.

Bulger and Holt connected for a pair of scores in the half with running back Steven Jackson punching one in from 3 yards out also. Seattle’s lone score came on a 14-yard touchdown from Hasselbeck to Branch.

For as much as the Rams owned the first half, though, Seattle returned the favor in the second.

“We played real good in the first half,” center Richie Incognito said. “If we match that first half in the second half, we are having a different conversation right now.”

That second half featured Seattle outscoring the Rams 23-7 with 20 unanswered points until Holt’s spectacular play. The Seahawks outgained the Rams 290-143 in the half with 93 of those yards for the Rams coming on their final drive.

So, after such a dominant display, what exactly happened in the second half to change the tide? Well, there were a few reasons for the shift in momentum and the game, including some questionable pass interference calls. One of those calls, a 22-yard infraction against Hill, drew loud boos from the fans in attendance for the majority of the third quarter.

The real reason for the shift, though, according to many Rams came from the adjustments made by the Seahawks at halftime. Jackson, who finished the game with 56 yards on 20 carries, said the Rams should have done a better job of finishing off the Seahawks away after getting off to a hot start.

“Me personally, that’s what I feel,” Jackson said. “You have to put a team like Seattle away knowing they have been to a Super Bowl and they have guys in their locker room who have been there. As a team, we have to put a team away when we get up.”

Perhaps the most costly statistic for the Rams in this loss was the one that had been their most beneficial for the first five games. St. Louis entered the game leading the league at plus-12 in turnover ratio, but was minus-one against the Seahawks, including a costly fumble by Kevin Curtis on a kickoff return.

Curtis was returning in place of J.R. Reed, who was inactive. The Rams other turnover came when Bulger threw his first interception of the season to linebacker Lofa Tatupu. The Seahawks converted Curtis’ fumble into a touchdown almost immediately as Hasselbeck hit Branch for a 19-yard touchdown.

Now, the Rams turn their attention to a bye week and a showdown against the talented San Diego Chargers. This week will give them a chance to recover from the heartbreaking loss and look to the rest of the season. After going 4-2 in the first six and coming within a hair of 5-1, there’s plenty to look forward to.

“What I like about our team is we still fought, we hung in there, got the fumble and got in position to come back and make the play and we did that,” Holt said. “I am really excited and impressed by how this football team is able to fight through and give ourselves a chance to win.”