By Nick Wagoner
Staff Writer

SEATTLE- The message sent ripples through Puget Sound and by the time it was received, the Rams still owned their crown.

The Seahawks punished the Rams for over three quarters Sunday at Qwest Field, but the last eight minutes or so put the rest of the NFL on notice: St. Louis is still the NFC West champion and will remain so until somebody proves otherwise.

The Rams pulled off an astonishing comeback, rebounding from a 17-point deficit to beat Seattle 33-27 in overtime. Wide receiver Shaun McDonald, one week after catching his first career touchdown, caught his most important one.
The win improved St. Louis to 3-2 and dropped the Seahawks to 3-1. More importantly, the Rams are within a half game of the Seahawks in the division, instead of three back in the loss column. As for what their second straight road win in the division means? For starters, everything.

Receiver Kevin Curtis said it is hard to explain the value of a win like this one.

“I don’t think you can measure it,” Curtis said. “It was in the division, it was a big game for us, about as big as it gets and to be down like that and come back like that, it brings your team closer together. I think it could lead to a lot of big things for us this year.”

With 12:17 left in overtime, quarterback Marc Bulger took the snap out of the shotgun on third-and-8. Bulger evaded the pass rush and searched for a receiver downfield. Suddenly, McDonald broke free and Bulger threw a perfect, arcing spiral.

The ball seemed to hang in the air for eternity before coming to rest softly in McDonald’s hands. McDonald hauled it in in stride and scored the winning touchdown from 52 yards out. His nearest pursuers were almost certainly his teammates, who came rushing off the sideline for a wild celebration. In an instant, the play, the comeback and the game was over.

The play wasn’t necessarily designed to go to McDonald, but he said Bulger made a sight adjustment. McDonald said not much went through his mind aside from getting the victory.

“Anytime the ball is in the air, I think it’s mine,” McDonald said. “The whole time I am thinking touchdown. I knew I was going to catch it; I just wanted to get in the endzone. Not too many people are going to be able to catch me after I get it.”

Rams’ coach Mike Martz said the play was an adjustment to a blitzing defense, but he didn’t expect the pass to go to McDonald, but Bulger showed no fear throwing deep on third down.

"His courage is incredible,” Martz said. “He is our leader.”

Seattle seemed to be the prohibitive favorite, picked by almost every preseason publication to steal the division crown from the Rams. The Seahawks were 3-0 and fresh off a bye week where they were able to relax and prepare for their biggest competition in the division. They weren’t just favored in the division, but also the teams’ first meeting. 

On the other hand, St. Louis was coming off an important road win against San Francisco. None of that mattered, though, in the final 8:42. 

Down 27-10, the Rams marched 66 yards on eight plays on a drive that was capped by tight end Brandon Manumaleuna’s highlight-reel catch from 8 yards out. Bulger lofted a pass to the middle of the endzone, where Manumaleuna leaped as high as his feet would take him, extended his arms like Gumby and snatched the ball with his large hands as if he had just received a manicure from Elmer and his glue company. The touchdown didn’t seem too important at the time, but instead served as a shot of energy to his team. Kicker Jeff Wilkins’ extra point cut the lead to 27-17.

Martz was left almost speechless by Manumaleuna’s catch. 

“How about that catch?” Martz said. “That’s Brandon. He’s got great hands.”

The defense did its part on Seattle’s ensuing possession, getting a three-and-out right away. St. Louis held the Seahawks to 85 yards in the second half after a rough first half, as the defense did more than its share in the comeback.
On a play that might go forgotten for obvious reasons, McDonald returned the punt 39 yards to set up the quickest of quick strikes. On the first play of the drive, Bulger dropped back and hit streaking receiver Kevin Curtis for a 41-yard touchdown. Wilkins’ extra point made it 27-24 and gave the Rams hope.

With no timeouts and only the two-minute warning remaining, Seattle still seemed to have a firm grasp on the win. In this case, looks were nothing short of deceiving. Three plays later, defensive end Leonard Little dropped Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for a sack and forced a fumble the Seahawks’ recovered. Punter Tom Rouen suffered a groin injury on his previous kick, leaving placekicker Josh Brown as the punter.

Brown’s punt traveled 35 yards when McDonald called for a fair catch at the Rams’ 36. With no timeouts and 1:14 remaining, Bulger continued to keep his poise, firing a strike to receiver Isaac Bruce for 27 yards. Two plays later, Bulger floated a perfect pass to receiver Dane Looker, who caught it along the sideline and stepped out of bounds at Seattle’s 18. “Money” Wilkins connected from 36 yards out and the game was tied at 27. 

With Old Mo(mentum) sporting the blue and gold, the Rams called heads on the coin toss and won it. Along with the coin toss win, it seemed as though everyone knew the game was about to end also. It did on McDonald’s catch three minutes and 16 seconds later.

In a game where it seemed every Rams’ player made a big play at some point, perhaps nobody was important than Bulger. In the type of game that can define a career, Bulger had what he would call his worst game in the opening three quarters. He threw three interceptions and was a big reason why the Rams were reeling. A lesser quarterback or lesser man would have crumbled under the disappointment and problems. Not Bulger, not on this day.

Martz said he doesn’t know what this kind of win could do for Bulger’s career, but he does know that it was one of the better late-game performances he has seen.

“I just was amazed at Marc’s composure,” Martz said. “He made some incredible throws that I am just amazed at. He is just a terrific player.”

Bulger finished what was shaping up as a horrid day with 325 yards on 24-of-42 passing with three touchdowns. For good measure, he added a 9-yard rushing touchdown in the first half. It was his poise and composure in the fourth quarter, though that spoke volumes.

While Bulger seems like a likely hero, there was plenty of work being done by names that don’t always show up big in the boxscore. McDonald, Curtis and Manumaleuna inparticular.

Curtis said it doesn’t matter who is making the plays on this team.

“Maybe we don’t contribute as much on a weekly basis, but everyone made plays today,” Curtis said. 

The comeback seemed unlikely after Seattle rolled up 306 yards and a 24-7 halftime lead. Perhaps spurred by the week off, the Seahawks were full of energy early, pushing the Rams all over the field in the opening half.
Running back Shaun Alexander ran for a score and tight end Jerramy Stevens and receiver Darrell Jackson caught touchdown passes from Hasselbeck to give them the early edge.

The only real bright spot in the first half for St. Louis was rookie running back Steven Jackson’s 48-yard run, a gain that was the team’s longest from scrimmage until McDonald’s catch. That run led to Bulger’s 9-yard touchdown run.
Seattle kicker Josh Brown booted a field goal in the first half and another in the fourth to complete Seattle’s scoring. Wilkins added a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter to go with his game-tying kick in the fourth.
In front of a record crowd of nearly 70,000, a crowd that was loud from start to finish, there was only one thing to say as McDonald raced to the endzone: nothing, nothing at all.

Receiver Torry Holt said he didn’t think much about all of the preseason and early season hype the Seahawks received, but instead about the importance of getting another win on the road in the division.

“We wanted to come on the road and get a win,” Holt said. “We have all heard the talk about how they are Super Bowl contenders, they are going to win the West, etcetera and you can use that as motivation or however you want to do it, but we just focus on us. We could have easily just lied down, but we stayed composed and had the opportunity to come back and win it late.”

Win it the Rams did. On a day that seemed destined to be a glorified changing of the guard in the NFC West, St. Louis made its point. Message received, loud and clear.