The Seattle Seahawks won’t soon forget being laughed at by the Los Angeles Rams before completing a remarkable comeback to beat their “disrespectful” NFC West rivals 38-37 in overtime in Week 16.
Middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV didn’t hesitate to call out the Rams for thinking they had the game won, and rookie do-all safety Nick Emmanwori echoed his teammate’s comments. Emmanwori posted Jones’ fiery postgame, on-field interview during which the defensive captain stated the Rams “went to laughing in our face, and they thought this [EXPLETIVE} was over with, excuse my language. They thought it was over with.”
Emmanwori captioned the post with the words, “They damn sho did ! Go Hawks.”
Those words sum up the feeling among the Seahawks after finally getting one over on their toughest opponent. The aggressive language is also a reflection of the relief at overcoming a 30-14 deficit with just over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on Thursday Night Football.
It looked like the NFC West crown and control of the top seed in the conference playoff bracket were headed to the Rams. Instead, the Seahawks rallied, largely because of a defiant defensive effort led by Jones and maintained even after potential Defensive Rookie of the Year Emmanwori left the field to be treated for a potential concussion.
Ernest Jones Led Defensive Turnaround
Jones was clear about the way his former team behaved with a 16-point advantage in the final period. As Jones put it, the Rams were “Laughing. Crazy. And they were up, 30-14. They thought it was over with. Disrespectful. As a defense, that’s disrespectful. Disrespectful to the game, because there’s too much time left on the clock for you to be thinkin’ that it’s over. I won’t put names on it. But they know. They won. And we won,” per The Tacoma News Tribune’s Gregg Bell.
While he wasn’t about to name names, Jones was more than happy to discuss how the Seahawks got settled defensively when it mattered most. The unit, dominant for most of this season, had been getting shredded by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Puka Nacua, but the Seahawks forced three-and-outs on three possessions in a row to create the platform for a comeback.
Jones explained “There were a few miscommunication times, when they were open deep in the back of the back part of the field,” Jones said. “We were just miscommunicating and weren’t on the same page. I think that shifted and we were able to get on the same page with those three and outs.”
Those improvements being made among a defensive backfield decimated by injuries was all the more impressive.
Seahawks Overcame Injuries to Beat Rams
Emmanwori wasn’t the only member of the secondary forced off early. Cornerbacks Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen also left the game with knee ailments.
Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters, including ESPN’s Brady Henderson, “Bryant’s knee injury ‘is not automatically season-ending right now,’ and that Nick Emmanwori cleared concussion protocol and would have returned if the defense had gone back out. He wasn’t sure how serious Riq Woolen’s knee injury is.”
Backups rose to the occasion in the clutch moments of the game, but credit also belongs to Macdonald. He dialled up the blitz more often during the later stages, and the pressure rattled Stafford on key plays.
It was a collective effort by the Seahawks to finally slow the Rams, but Macdonald will be concerned at how his defense gave up 581 yards. Ultimately, the Seahawks needed their offense and some narrative-changing late heroics from quarterback Sam Darnold to save the day.
In the process, the Seahawks snatched bragging rights from the Rams, but Macdonald knows the defense will need to be much better if the two teams meet again in the postseason.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Nick Emmanwori Backs Seahawks Teammate About ‘Disrespectful’ Rams appeared first on Heavy Sports.