SEATTLE_If at times the game was an eyesore, Russell Wilson showed he still can find the open man.
Four days after the worst game of his NFL career, in which he threw five interceptions against the Green Bay Packers, Wilson bounced back to toss three touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-3 on Thursday night at CenturyLink Field.
The win clinched the NFC West for the Seahawks for the third time in the past four seasons and four times since Pete Carroll became coach in 2010. It was the third time Seattle earned the clinching win at home against the Rams.
For much of the night, the game lived up to Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman's description earlier in the week that Thursday contests usually are a "poopfest." There were penalties galore for both times as well as a handful of dropped and/or ill-thrown passes by the Rams.
Then there was the oddity of Sherman suddenly blowing up at coaches on the sideline while the Seahawks were marching toward a touchdown. Sherman pointed a finger at offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after a play when a Wilson pass in the end zone for Jimmy Graham looked to be possibly intercepted. Sherman had to be held back by teammate Bobby Wagner.
Later coach Pete Carroll came over to talk to Sherman, putting his arm around him.
Sherman settled down and didn't miss any snaps, laying a huge hit on Rams quarterback Jared Goff in the fourth quarter that forced Goff to leave the game.
The one steadying force throughout was Wilson. Other than one bad pass on a fourth-down throw to Marcel Reece on a play in which a Rams penalty extended the drive, had the return to form he and his coaches had predicted.
Wilson finished 19 of 26 for 229 yards, though he also tossed his career-high 11th interception of the season late in the fourth quarter.
After a few apparently vulnerable moments early, the Seattle defense also looked like its old self most of the night, finishing with five sacks and holding the Rams to 93 yards through the first three quarters, including minus-4 in the third quarter.
After a turgid first half that saw Seattle leading 10-3 in part to a bevy of Rams mistakes, the Seahawks finally appeared to shake off the cobwebs in the second half to turn the game into a rout.
Wilson threw touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the second half_first hitting Doug Baldwin with a 1-yard TD pass in the third quarter and then Tyler Lockett on a 57-yarder early in the fourth_to put Seattle up 24-3.
The Baldwin TD put Seattle up 17-3 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
The TD came after the Rams had challenged a play in which they thought linebacker Bryce Hager stole the ball from Jimmy Graham (it was ruled he did not have possession) and then Reece was stopped on second down_the sequence during which Sherman was exploding on the sideline.
On third down, Baldwin took a quick step right and then left past Rams cornerback Troy Hill, who had been signed by the Rams this week.
The Seahawks wore their "Action Green" uniforms as part of the NFL's Color Rush promotion for all Thursday night games this season.
Action, though, hardly described what happened in the first half.
The Rams, who fired coach Jeff Fisher on Monday, came out determined early, and other than on one drive again made life miserable for the Seattle offense.
The Seahawks scored on a 13-play, 93-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Luke Willson with 12:21 left in the second quarter.
But the Seahawks gained just 13 yards on their other 14 plays, including 15 rushing on 11 attempts.
Even the scoring drive needed some help from the Rams, who committed a personal foul on a hit to the head of Wilson and then a holding call on what would have been an unsuccessful fourth-down attempt by the Seahawks.
Seattle decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 13. Wilson's pass to a wide-open Reece, though, was short, with the only cheer coming from the knowledge of the flag against the Rams.
Wilson then hit Willson on the next play.
That drive began after the Rams were stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 7, a play that initially was ruled as a first down before the Seahawks challenged the spot and it was overturned.
Seattle, though, was fortunate to have not given up a TD on the play before as Goff simply misfired on a pass to a wide-open Brian Quick in the end zone.
Earlier in the drive, Goff also underthrew receiver Michael Thomas, who initially broke wide open behind the Seattle secondary on a play that snapped from the Rams' 41.
Thomas had to come back for the ball and dropped it at about the 15.
Seattle then got a field goal of 48 yards by Stephen Hauschka after taking over at the 30 when the Rams failed on a fake punt. Rams punter Johnny Hekker, a former quarterback at Bothell High, badly underthrew Thomas, who appeared potentially in position to get the first down had the pass been on target.
Seattle, though, couldn't move and settled for a field goal.
Later in the second quarter, the Rams drove 51 yards for a 36-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein with 55 seconds left to make it 10-3.
