Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Turning point: Chris Givens' big catch

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Here is a look back at the turning-point in the St. Louis Rams' 28-26 win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon:

The situation: With a third-and-6 at Seattle's 44 and a 21-19 lead that had shrunk from 21-3, the Rams looked poised to let another big lead slip away for another disappointing loss. The offense had barely moved the ball at all in the second half and now desperately needed a drive that ended in the end zone. A field goal would have helped stop the bleeding, but probably would have been little more than a quick fix delaying the inevitable. A promising drive had taken a turn for the worse after Tavon Austin gained 4 yards on first down and quarterback Austin Davis threw incomplete on second. The Rams needed points, but first they needed to move the chains.

The play: The Rams lined up with Austin split wide right, Chris Givens in the slot beneath him and Brian Quick wide to the left. With Davis in the shotgun and flanked by running back Benny Cunningham to his left and tight end Jared Cook to his right, Davis sent Cook in motion to the left before going back to the right. Seattle was in its nickel defense with cornerback Marcus Burley matched up against Givens in the slot. At the snap, the Seahawks sent linebacker Malcolm Smith on a blitz that the Rams cleanly picked up with right tackle Joe Barksdale handling Smith with relative ease. Quick ran a crossing route from Davis' left to right, which cleared out that side of the field as Austin and Cook ran deep routes down the right sideline. Burley allowed Givens a free release to the inside, possibly with the expectation that he would have safety help. But safety Kam Chancellor decided to help cover Cook and Earl Thomas took a step toward the receivers running down the right sideline, leaving him flat footed and unable to help on Givens. Givens runs a deep crossing route with a step on Burley the whole way. Given a clean pocket and plenty of time to throw, Davis fired a strike to Givens for a 30-yard gain to Seattle's 14.

The fallout: There were a ton of plays to pick from for this spot this week, and since we already went into great detail on the two big special teams plays on Sunday, I chose this one because it led to the points that would ultimately decide the game. After Givens' catch, a play made more relevant by the fact that Givens had been inactive the previous two weeks, the Rams scored three plays later when Davis hit tight end Lance Kendricks for a 4-yard touchdown. That gave the Rams a 28-19 lead, and though there were other things that happened after it to determine the outcome, we never get to those without this. Making it more important was the fact that Davis had not even attempted a pass more than 19 yards downfield until hitting Givens here.

"We thought we’d get man-to-man coverage," Davis said. "When they need a play, they trust their guys to cover man-to-man. Chris, with his speed, just ran across the field. I trusted it and obviously, we worked the play all week, and when we needed it, he made a big play. That’s how you win games. You’ve got to make big plays when the game is on the line. You’re going to have a chance to go down and win the game at the end or not. Today, we did it."

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