Week 14 was not a good week for the Seattle Seahawks (10-3). They suffered a demoralizing 28-12 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams (8-5) who remain in the postseason race, and the San Francisco 49ers (11-2) reclaimed the lead in the NFC West by defeating the New Orleans Saints (10-3) on the road in one of the most exciting games of the season. The Arizona Cardinals (3-9-1) are already eliminated from playoff contention and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5). Let’s jump into the game summaries.
San Francisco 49ers 48 – New Orleans Saints 46
The 49ers and Saints exchanged blows throughout the entire game and culminated in a fitting finish – a game-winning field goal by Robbie Gould. The key play on San Francisco’s final drive was a fourth-down conversion by tight end George Kittle that put the 49ers in range for Gould’s kick to ice the game.
The two signal-callers turned in monster performances as both offenses tried to outdo the other. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 349 passing yards, four touchdown passes and an interception for a 131.7 passer rating. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw five touchdowns and rushed for another as San Francisco’s defense had trouble containing the Saints offense. Fortunately for the visitors, they did enough and won the game at the last second.
This was just the third game in NFL history in the past 55 years in which both teams had at least 27 points before halftime, as the 49ers led 28-27 at the intermission. San Francisco retook possession of the No. 1 seed in the NFC along with the division lead and now controls their own destiny. The 49ers will play the Falcons (4-9) at home in Week 15.
Pittsburgh Steelers 23 – Arizona Cardinals 17
The Cardinals dropped to 3-9-1 with a loss to the Steelers. This was their sixth consecutive defeat, and they are eliminated from postseason contention and therefore have nothing to play for besides spoiler.
State Farm Field was flooded with Steelers fans and the Cardinals pass defense struggled to stop anything, as Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 16 of his 19 passes. Meanwhile, quarterback Kyler Murray threw two touchdowns but also three interceptions and was sacked four times.
There were some crucial special teams plays that helped decide the outcome of the game. The Cardinals gave up an 85-yard punt return touchdown and scored a TD of their own that came after Pittsburgh punter Jordan Berry ran a fake punt play unsuccessfully, being stopped short of the marker. Ultimately, Arizona couldn’t do enough to win. They will play the Browns (6-7) at home next week.
Los Angeles Rams 28 – Seattle Seahawks 12
You probably already know the story – the Seahawks were thoroughly embarrassed by the Rams in the Coliseum. Los Angeles dealt Seattle its first road loss of the season and in utterly humiliating fashion. The Rams scored three touchdowns in the first half, carving up Seattle’s secondary seemingly at will.
The Seahawks offense was unable to conjure any magic of their own and were held without an offensive touchdown for the first time all season. Los Angeles’ defensive front harassed Russell Wilson often and the secondary kept his receivers in check for the most part.
Todd Gurley seems to be slowly but surely returning to form, as he totaled 79 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Rams have now won three of their last four games and their playoff hopes are still alive. This is a team that is getting hot at the right time, but they will most likely have to win out to have any chance at a postseason berth. They will play the Cowboys on the road next week.
