Sam Bradford hasn’t disintegrated under primetime pressure, but he and the St. Louis Rams’ offense were less than perfect in a first quarter that saw the Seattle Seahawks take a 7-0 lead. Bradford had three passes batted away and finished 3-for-7 with 29 yards in three brief Rams drives, all of which ended in Donnie Jones punts.
Bradford and the Rams had some trouble with penalties, including an offsides call that wasn’t on the final batted ball, but they made some of their own as well—a meaningless unnecessary roughness call brought the Seahawks over the 50-yard line after Jones’s last punt. Bradford hasn’t had that luxury—the Rams were pinned within their own five-yard line following the Seahawks’ quarter-ending punt, the sixth of the night so far.
Steven Jackson had just one carry in the Rams’ first five minutes of possession but has the long reception of the night for the Rams, at 20 yards. The Rams have given Bradford the keys to the offense, and the responsibility to carry them into the playoffs—it’s up to him to do it.