Not many were closer than their 33-31 victory just five weeks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although the Los Angeles Rams hadn’t lost a game until last week Shareef Miller Jersey , their spectacular season has featured several close calls. where the Seahawks racked up 190 yards rushing, intercepted two passes by Jared Goff and came agonizingly close to a huge NFC West win.With the second-place Seahawks (4-4) visiting the Coliseum on Sunday for the rematch, the Rams (8-1) have a chance to essentially end the division race with seven weeks to go. The Rams aren’t looking that far ahead, but Aaron Donald hopes Los Angeles will learn from that narrow win in Seattle — and a 45-35 loss at New Orleans last week.“We’re in a good place, and we’re locked in,” said the Rams’ superstar defensive tackle, second in the NFL with 10 sacks. “We play these guys twice a year, so we’ve got respect for them. We’ve just got to get after them.”The Rams have never lost back-to-back regular-season games in their 1½ seasons under Sean McVay, but they’ve thrived primarily on the strength of an offense that has been able to outscore nearly every opponent, including the Seahawks. NFL scoring leader Todd Gurley rushed for three TDs in Seattle, and the Rams kept the ball out of Russell Wilson’s hands in the final 3:38 by running out the clock.The Seahawks also are coming off a loss after the Chargers won in Seattle last week, but the Seahawks know they can beat the Rams because they did it last season at the Coliseum.Even if the division race might already be out of hand, they’ve got a chance to begin their playoff rally with a statement victory.“We can’t allow them to score as many points as they put up,” Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We feel like we did a really good job against the run for the most part. We have to find a way to do that, make them one-dimensional, make sure Todd doesn’t get into the end zone as many times as he did.”More things to watch in this NFC West showdown:TOUGH CHECKDonald has sacked Wilson eight times in their careers, more than any other quarterback. But Donald and the Rams didn’t manage to sack Drew Brees last week, and they still have something to prove to the Seahawks — particularly to guard D.J. Fluker http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/zach-brown-jersey-authentic , who wasn’t impressed by the toughness of the Los Angeles defense in the clubs’ previous meeting.The Seattle offensive lineman said the Rams “want to be pass rushers,” but hadn’t “seen a team go out there and actually take it to them.” Donald had no interest in starting a public discussion this week: “We’re just going to go out there and play a game and let our play speak for us.”RUN AROUNDSeattle’s impressive rushing performance in their first meeting with the Rams included 116 yards from Chris Carson, but he is in question for the rematch because of a hip injury that caused him to sit the final 2½ quarters last week against the Chargers. Mike Davis and seldom-used Rashaad Penny probably would replace Carson.But Seattle also has offensive line concerns after Fluker injured his calf late in the loss to the Chargers. Fluker’s addition to the offensive line helped spark Seattle’s turnaround in the run game starting in late September.GURLEY GOESGurley has scored a touchdown in a franchise-record 12 straight games, and his 868 yards rushing are the NFL’s most by a whopping 162 yards over Pittsburgh’s James Connor.Gurley’s 16 TDs this season are the most in the league and the second-most in NFL history through nine games, trailing only Jim Brown’s 17 in 1958. That’s the challenge facing Seattle’s run defense, which is giving up 4.8 yards per attempt — tied for fourth-worst in the league — but has been effective in stretches.GET MARCUSFormer Washington Huskies defensive back Marcus Peters was targeted repeatedly by the Saints, and the Rams’ top corner took the blame for much of Brees’ success. The Seahawks undoubtedly saw the former Pro Bowl cover man’s struggles on video, but Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has limited options in the continued injury absence of cornerback Aqib Talib. The Rams’ best solution might be increased pressure on Wilson, who has been sacked 25 times already this season.SAFETY PLANBradley McDougald has been one of Seattle’s defensive standouts, but with a quick turnaround to facing Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers next Thursday, McDougald may end up sitting out against the Rams because of a bothersome knee injury. If McDougald can’t play, the Seahawks would turn to second-year safety Delano Hill, which could create an extremely young secondary. If Hill starts, he would play alongside second-year free safety Tedric Thompson, second-year cornerback Shaquill Griffin and rookie cornerback Tre Flowers. Nickel cornerback Justin Coleman, in his fourth season, would be the veteran of the group. TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have fired Steve Wilks after just one season as head coach.Wilks’ firing Monday followed a 3-13 season, the franchise’s worst record in 18 years and the worst in the NFL this season.He is the first Cardinals coach to be fired after one season since Joe Kuharich in 1952.At a news conference http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-isaiah-johnson-jersey , team President Michael Bidwill called Wilks “one of the hardest-working coaches I’ve ever been around” and a man respected throughout the organization.But Bidwill cited the number of losses and the lack of competitiveness in many of those games as a reason for the firing, saying the team went backward on offense and defense.“It’s a results-oriented business,” Bidwill said, “and if you don’t win everybody knows what happens.”Wilks, 49, was hired after Bruce Arians retired following five seasons in Arizona. It was a dramatic shift in styles and a mistake, Bidwill acknowledged.“When I look back at last year obviously I didn’t get it right,” Bidwill said. “I take responsibility for it and we’re going to make sure we get it right this time around.”He said he couldn’t get behind a plan Wilks presented for the 2019 season.Bidwill contended the now-vacant Cardinals job would be the most attractive of the eight NFL openings, noting the team’s core of talented players, a young franchise quarterback, the top overall draft pick and subsequent picks and plenty of salary cap space.Bidwill said requests for interviews would go out to teams shortly and informal contact already had been made with two coaches who are out of football.Arians was known for his flamboyant personality and dynamic offense. The low-keyed Wilks came to the job with an entire coaching resume on defense.He was defensive backs coach at Carolina for five seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator by Panthers coach Ron Rivera for the 2017 season.Wilks wanted to build a team centered on toughness up front and a power running game. But things fell apart quickly. The offensive line struggled even before it was decimated by injuries and the defense was susceptible to big plays, especially on the ground.Rookie Josh Rosen took over at quarterback four games into the season, replacing the ineffective Sam Bradford.The offense struggled and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was fired seven games into the season, replaced by quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich.Injuries continued to accumulate. Eventually, 17 players ended up on injured reserve. On the offensive line, only rookie center Mason Cole made it through the season.Arizona lost nine games by double digits, five by 20 points or more. The Cardinals were 1-7 at home, their worst record there since moving to Arizona. The miserable record guaranteed the Cardinals their first No. 1 overall draft pick in 60 years.Bidwill said he had concerns about the coaching situation early on.“It was a cumulative effect as it went on, but I wanted to make sure I gave him the whole season Devin Bush Jersey , every opportunity, to turn it around because I thought it was most fair to him,” he said. “But you saw from the very beginning, even when we had a healthy squad, the first two games we were outscored 58-6 so I had some concerns from the very beginning.”Bidwill said he understood the frustration of fans as the season got worse.“I’m a fan first,” he said. “It’s been frustrating for me to watch these games and I don’t know that anybody has been hurting more than me. I’ve been extremely frustrated, had a lot of sleepless nights, looked in the mirror about what things I can be doing differently to make this organization better and that’s what we’re going to be doing going forward, is make sure we get it right.”The team’s offense finished last in the league, where it had been all season.General manager Steve Keim acknowledged he bears some responsibility for this awful season but added “at the end of the day I have the utmost confidence in myself that I’m going to be able to get this thing turned around and head us in the right direction.”Bidwill voiced his support for Keim, noting the general manager was “the chief architect of the winningest five years in this franchise’s history.”After Arizona’s last-second 27-24 loss at Seattle on Sunday, players seemed unanimous in their desire for Wilks to be given a second season.“I’ve let it be known, I love the man,” star receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “I think he’s an unbelievable coach. It’s been a tough year, and we all understand this is a results business, but it’s hard for me to separate the business from the personal. I’ve got a heart, and I’m human. I really like coach.”With Wilks’ status confirmed, there is still one major uncertainty: Will Fitzgerald be back for a 16th season?