The Sports Xchange

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The narrative has been consistent ever since the trade six months ago that brought quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for quarterback Sam Bradford.

The overriding question was which Foles were the Rams getting: the one that was off the charts in 2013 with 27 touchdown passes, two interceptions, 9.12 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 119. 2 in 10 starts, or the one last season that had 13 touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, 6.95 yards per attempt and a rating of 81.4 in eight starts.

Still, the Foles supporters pointed to one consistent number that seemed to not be totally related to his passing numbers: wins. In 2013, the Eagles were 8-2 in the games he started. Last season, the record was 6-2.

Sunday, at the Edward Jones Dome in a pulsating 34-31 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Foles was at his best again when the game was on the line, leading the Rams to a game-tying touchdown with 53 seconds remaining in regulation and then threading a picture-perfect 22-yard pass to wide receiver Stedman Bailey with cornerback Richard Sherman in coverage that put the team in position for Greg Zuerlein’s game-winning 37-yard field goal.

It sure looked like the same old Rams after Seattle overcame a 24-13 fourth-quarter deficit to take a 31-24 lead when cornerback Cary Williams came in uncontested on a blitz and blasted Foles as he was about to pass. Williams picked up the resulting fumble, and ran eight yards for the go-ahead score with 4:39 to play.

When the Rams took over, there didn’t appear to be much hope, needing to traverse 84 yards for the tying points.

But Foles went to work. After a third-and-1, three-yard run for a first down by running back Benny Cunningham, Foles hit wide receiver Tavon Austin for a seven-yard completion on third-and-3. On third-and-15 from their own 37-yard line, Foles bought time and found wide receiver Kenny Britt, who kept his feet and added extra yardage for a 21-yard play.

Three plays later, on another third-down play from the Seattle 37, the fourth of the possession, tight end Lance Kendricks came wide open when safety Dion Bailey, the replacement for holdout Kam Chancellor, fell down. Kendricks scored the touchdown that set up the tying extra point. In the drive, Foles was 5-of-8 for 73 yards, and after converting just two of their first six third-down plays in the game, the Rams were 4-for-4 in the game-tying drive.

Money time? Prior to that drive, Foles was a solid 12-for-17 for 202 yards, but had no touchdowns and fumbled twice leading to Seattle points. In that drive and overtime, he was 6-of-10 for 95 yards. In the third quarter, he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Teammates were effusive in their praise after the win, even on the defensive side of the ball. Said defensive end Chris Long said, “He’s got a lot of presence and he made some great throws tonight and was tough, all the things you’d want in a guy that can lead your team. I’m excited that we got him. He made some plays that helped us win this game. He didn’t just manage it or anything like that. He made plays to help us win the game.”

Added defensive tackle Aaron Donald, “When we needed him the most, he pulled it off for us. That’s the type of quarterback you want to be behind and type of guy you want to lead it. If we keep playing the way we’re playing, the sky’s the limit for us. We have to keep our mindset right and continue to play.”

“When you have a quarterback who comes in the huddle before anybody and just kind of gives you the word on just keeping your head up and fighting through the adversity, that’s what you need more than anything — to hear that from the head guy,” tight end Jared Cook said. “To hear the confidence he comes into the huddle with is incredible. It means everything in the world. Knowing he has confidence in you when things are going bad, gives you more confidence in him that he’s going to get the job done.”

That was the common theme from the Rams.

“Oh man, that’s big bro,” Austin said. “He comes in the huddle, he takes charge of the huddle, lets us know what he wants. You know, he always tells us that adversity is going to come. It’s all how we’re going to fight back and that’s what we did.”

Fans might have been skeptical after the Seahawks went ahead, but not the players. Said Austin, “We were on the sideline just screaming, ‘It’s definitely not over.’ We believe in him and he believes in us.”

Said the genuine Foles, “I think that’s what’s in your heart. That’s what’s in your mind. That’s caring about one another. That’s playing with your brothers right there. That no matter what, if something does happen like that, the game’s not over. You have to lean on each other and have each others’ backs to win the game and that’s what the guys did tonight. That’s what we have to continue to do.

“Of course, you want to play cleaner. You don’t want to have turnovers. You don’t want to do that, but to me, the character of the team right there when you don’t play clean football the whole 60 or however many minutes we played, 72 or whatever it was, that shows a lot of character of the team, the guys we have. So I was really proud of each and every one of my teammates tonight.”

That never say die attitude? Foles said, “If there’s time on the clock, the game’s never over no matter what the score is. That’s been my mentality as a little kid, something my parents instilled in me … my dad … just to fight to the end no matter what because you want to leave it all on the field. You don’t want to go back in the locker room and say, ‘I wish I coulda.’ You want to say, ‘I gave it everything I had.’

“Our guys gave it everything they had tonight. Seattle came out and played a great game. They gave it everything they had. We just finished. We needed to finish.”

–The team’s inexperienced offensive line held up well and fought against a tough Seattle defense. The Rams ran only 55 plays, but averaged 6.4 yards per snap. There were some hiccups, but overall for the first time together, the play was solid.

Said Foles, “They’re resilient. Those guys come to work every day. They hear people. They know what the media says. Those guys are tremendous. Those guys fought their butt off for me tonight and I will continue to fight for them. I can’t say enough. Every single one of them did a great job tonight. Really, that’s the heart and soul of our offense. It starts with them and it always does. We have a great offensive line with depth. Great offensive line coach (Paul Boudreau) who does a tremendous job. We have to continue to improve, but I was really proud of the young guys. I was really proud of our O-Line tonight for how they played.”

REPORT CARD VS. SEAHAWKS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus – QB Nick Foles averaged 16.5 yards per completion against Seattle and 11.0 per pass attempt. There were eight plays of 20 yards or more to five different players. Foles avoided pressure deftly and was able to find checkdowns when necessary. He was at his best with the game on the line, completing crucial passes in the game-tying drive and one in overtime. He had no interceptions and a passer rating of 115.8.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C – RB Benny Cunningham didn’t have any big plays, but he forced Seattle to respect the ground game with hard running and 45 yards on 16 attempts. WR Tavon Austin scored on a 16-yard run while lined up as a runner. Isaiah Pead had a bad fumble in the fourth quarter at the Seattle 22-yard line with the Rams leading 24-21, and the Seahawks moved down the field to tie the game.

PASS DEEFNSE: A-minus – DE Robert Quinn and DT Aaron Donald led the way with two sacks each as the Rams compiled six of QB Russell Wilson. For the most part, the defense kept Wilson from breaking out for long runs, as he had just 31 yards on eight attempts with a long of 10. Wilson did complete of 32-of-41 passes, but for only 251 yards: 7.8 yards per completion and 6.12 per attempt.

RUSH DEFENSE: A – Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch had another tough day in the Edward Jones Dome. The last two seasons, Lynch combined for 76 yards on 26 carries (2.9 per attempt) in St. Louis. Sunday, he was better, but still was limited to 73 yards on 18 runs (4.1 average). Three of his runs went for 10, 12 and 24 yards so his other 15 attempts totaled 27 yards. The most notable was the fourth-and-less-than-1 stop for minus-1 yard in overtime that ended Seattle’s final possession of the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B – The main blemish was the Lockett punt return for a touchdown, but that was canceled out by Austin’s 75-yard touchdown run and the play of the game by undrafted free-agent WR Bradley Marquez. The rookie had the presence of mind to signal for a fair catch when the Seahawks opened overtime with an onside pooch kick, hoping to surprise the Rams.

COACHING: B-plus – New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti worked with what he had and while the offense wasn’t great, there were eight plays of 20 yards or more against one of the better defenses in the league. The defense was disciplined in run defense and limiting big plays from QB Russell Wilson.