With John Wolford leaving the game due to a neck injury and Jared Goff battling through a balky thumb, the Rams were forced to turn to their ground game in the first half against the Seahawks.
Cam Akers rewarded them with a huge performance in the first 30 minutes of his postseason debut, going off against Seattle. He rushed for 97 yards and had 45 yards receiving in the first half, carrying the Rams offense, which had 216 total yards.
By adding 4 yards on his first carry of the third quarter, he became the first Rams rookie ever to rush for 100 yards in a playoff game. That’s hard to believe considering the talents they’ve had at running back, but Akers is the first.
First rookie in franchise history with 100+ rushing yards in a playoff game 👏 pic.twitter.com/W9fNumFZVG
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 9, 2021
Additionally, Akers is only the second rookie in franchise history with 100 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown in a playoff game.
Cam Akers had 142 scrimmage yards and 1 rush TD in the 1st half
He joins @BigGame81 (109 rec yards, 1 rec TD in Super Bowl XXXIV win) as the only rookies in franchise history with 100+ scrimmage yards & 1+ TD in a playoff game
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 9, 2021
Akers’ 142 yards from scrimmage in the first half were the most by a player in the first half of his playoff debut in the Super Bowl era, which stretches back to 1966.
So it was a historic start to Akers’ playoff career all around.
According to @EliasSports Cam Akers’ 142 scrimmage yards were the most by any player in the 1st half of a playoff debut in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
The previous mark was 133 by Alfred Jenkins in 1980 pic.twitter.com/NMARoPa6jz
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 9, 2021
