KIRKLAND – If the 81/2 minutes of disaster aren’t enough to fire up the Seattle Seahawks this week, the scene that followed certainly is.
Seconds after the St. Louis Rams had rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to pull out a 33-27 overtime win on Oct. 10, an unlikely celebration unfolded while 65,000 fans looked on in stunned silence.
On one end of Seattle’s Qwest Field, St. Louis players mauled receiver Shaun McDonald, who had caught the game-winning touchdown. On the other, Rams wideout Isaac Bruce planted his helmet on the 15-yard line, put one foot on top of it, and began boastfully addressing the Seattle crowd.
It’s a scene that hasn’t completely disappeared from the minds of some Seahawks.
“They know they shouldn’t have won that game, and then they’re running around at the end?” Seahawks defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said this week. “That just adds more fuel to the fire.”
Not that this rivalry needed any more flames. When the Seahawks (5-3) and Rams square off, there’s always a lot on the line. This time, there’s a little something extra.
“If we’re going to win the division, that’s the team we’ve got to go through. So it’ll be something special,” Seahawks receiver Koren Robinson said. “They’re in our division, and with the situation that happened last time, it will be something to watch on Sunday.”
The Rams (4-4) don’t need any pre-game pep talks, either. They’re coming off two consecutive home losses and wouldn’t mind getting well on a familiar rival.
“Huge game, divisional foe. Exciting as things can get,” Bruce said by conference call Thursday. “So not much talk needed.”
What Bruce remembers from the first meeting, other than the memorable comeback, was the treatment he and his teammates received from the Seattle fans. While the Seahawks built up a 27-10 advantage midway through the fourth quarter, the Rams’ sideline was getting assaulted by insults.
“Some of the stuff that they say is kind of funny, when you think about it,” Bruce said. “Some other guys need work on their humor.”
The insults were nothing compared to the treatment Bruce received during his post-game celebration. After Bernard and Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin confronted him, Bruce started for the visiting locker room and had a few Seattle fans throw plastic bottles in his direction.
“I don’t think there was any call for that,” Bruce said Wednesday. “When they’re in that mode, and they’re winning, it (would be) kind of unethical for us to throw stuff at them when they’re talking bad to you. That’s not fun.”
As for his post-game display, Bruce claimed he wasn’t taunting anyone.
“I was just excited that we won,” he said. “I was being taunted the entire game. I had no problem being taunted. Everyone in that stadium that day had a pretty good laugh – everybody. Everybody that was there. Media, their fans, our fans, you know, everybody.”
Not quite everybody was having fun. The Seahawks were shocked after the game, disappointed in the hours that followed, and angry the whole next week.
In a sense, the pain still lingers.
“We knew that when we lost that game, we would regret it later on in the year,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said this week. “This was a very, very important game that we let slip away, and we knew it as soon as we lost the game.”
While a chance to stay atop the NFC West is the Seahawks’ main motivation this week, they can’t help but feel a need to avenge an earlier missed opportunity.
“We’ll use it as motivation,” Robinson said. “Don’t come over here and try to disrespect our field. Yeah, you won the game, but keep it simple.”
Robinson was particularly put off by the Oct. 10 post-game interviews he saw, in which he perceived Rams players as being a bit too boastful.
“They came out like, ‘Yeah, we knew we had it,’” Robinson said. “That didn’t sit too well with me or some of my teammates. It’s going to be one of them games (Sunday).”
Not all of the Seahawks were upset by the antics of Rams players following one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history.
“There was some disappointment that they went out there and beat us, but they did what they had to do,” Seahawks defensive tackle Rashad Moore said. “We had a couple letdowns, and they capitalized on them.
“You can’t be mad at them for doing what they had to do. That’s their job.”
Yet one month later, there are plenty of Seahawks who are still mad at the Rams. If a possible two-game lead in the NFC West isn’t enough to get Seattle ready this week, then maybe a few painful memories will do the trick.
“Nothing needs to be said. Going into this week, we know what we’ve got to take care of,” said the Seahawks’ Bernard. “They snuck out of here with a win last time.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
