Earl Thomas on Rams’ fast start vs. Seahawks: ‘We understood that you can’t win a game in the first quarter’

The Los Angeles Rams’ high-flying offense started fast, but it was the Seattle Seahawks’ opportunistic defense that did what was necessary to finish the job Sunday at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

In scoring a 16-10 victory, the Seahawks not only did a good job of limiting the Rams to only one touchdown, but they also forced five turnovers. And safety Earl Thomas caused two of them.

‘When they first came out, they were on fire’

Besides forcing one of three fumbles by stripping Todd Gurley of the ball at the goal line on the Rams’ first possession, Thomas also had one of two interceptions by Jared Goff.

“When they first came out, they were on fire,” Thomas said. “But that’s expected. When you’re dealing with a team like that, they practiced. They had their first 15 (scripted plays) and they did a great job early on. But we understood that you can’t win a game in the first quarter. We just kind of fought it out and it went our way in the end.

‘(Defensive coordinator Kris) Richard did a great job of putting us in great situations’

“When I’m in position, I have to make my plays and that’s exactly what happened. (Defensive coordinator Kris) Richard did a great job of putting us in great situations and, as players, we executed pretty well.”

The key was the Seahawks’ D never lost its composure. Thomas and his fellow defenders knew exactly what they needed to do to put their team in a position to win the game.

‘That’s the great thing about experience and we just banked on that’

“We’ve been through this situation so many times before,” Thomas said. “There’s nothing new. That’s the great thing about experience and we just banked on that. We stuck to our guns and we executed at the end.”