COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — After defeating the Seahawks 36-31 on Sunday, the Rams have guaranteed themselves back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2000 and 2001.
Here are five takeaways from Week 10.
1) CAREER HIGH FOR WOODS
Robert Woods has been remarkably consistent since becoming a member of the Rams wide receiving corps last year, but there's an argument that he's also elevated his game in 2018.
Woods reached a career high with 832 yards receiving with Sunday's victory, making four receptions for 89 yards. That put him above his previous career high of 781 yards receiving, set last year.
Woods and fellow wide receiver Brandin Cooks are currently on pace to both eclipse 1,000 yards receiving this year — which would give the Rams a pair of 1,000-yard receivers for the first time since 2006 when Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce accomplished the feat.
2) MORE CREATIVE PLAYS
Speaking of Woods, head coach Sean McVay continues to come up with creative plays to get the wideout involved in the run game.
On a drive late in the first quarter, Woods took a pair of carries — both of which ended up as first downs. The first came on 2nd-and-5 from the L.A. 30, with Woods taking a pitch from Goff going from right to left, and following tight end Tyler Higbee on the lead block to move nine yards down the field.
The second play was on 1st-and-10 from the Seattle 33, when Woods lined up behind right tackle Rob Havenstein and then took a kind of inside handoff again to the left and moved 14 yards for a first down inside the red zone. Havenstein pulled on the play to lead block for Woods.
Woods came into 2018 with six career carries for 34 yards. This year alone, Woods has 13 carries for 111 yards.
That gives him 943 yards from scrimmage this year, which ranks No. 2 on the team.
3) GURLEY BEING GURLEY
Who's No. 1 in yards from scrimmage? Well, you probably could've guessed it's running back Todd Gurley.
The Georgia product extended his franchise record on Sunday by scoring a touchdown in his 13th consecutive game. And he also extended his league lead in yards rushing and yards from scrimmage, by picking up 120 yards on the ground and 40 yards through the air.
Gurley is averaging 19.8 carries per game in 2018, but needed only 16 to get up to 120 yards in Sunday's contest. And he was mainly gashing the Seattle defense, too, as his longest run of the game was only 17 yards.
Gurley now has 988 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns on 198 carries — all of which lead the league. His 13 rushing touchdowns already matches a career high, which he set last year. He also is No. 1 in touches (238), yards from scrimmage (1,390), and total touchdowns (17).
MVP? There's certainly an argument there.
4) McVAY NOT PLEASED WITH PENALTIES
While the Rams were able to win on Sunday, McVay noted postgame that he was "bothered" by the amount of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
"[N]ot pleased at all with the penalties, the self-inflicted wounds — it's not indicative of the type of football team that we want to be," McVay said. "I've got to do a better job of making sure that our standards, our expectations, are much higher with regards to how we respond to some of the things that don't go our way or if some things are being done to try to entice a response from us.
"[I]f we're going to do the things that we expect to do, if we're going to embody the types of traits and characteristics that we want to embody as a team, as an organization, we've got to be better moving forward. And I've got to do a better job, but the guys did find a way to win and that's a credit to their mental toughness to continue to compete. But there was a lot of instances that we have to avoid moving forward."
Because he was asked about it, McVay specifically pointed to outside linebacker Dante Fowler's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter that extended a Seattle, allowing the visitors to score a go-ahead touchdown. But there were more, including an unnecessary roughness penalty on defensive tackle Aaron Donald that ended up being offset by the same foul from the Seahawks.
Overall, Los Angeles was penalized 10 times for 102 yards. That's the most the Rams have been penalized all season when it comes to yards, though L.A. was also flagged 10 times in the win over Denver. On average, Los Angeles has been flagged 6.5 times per game, but in the previous three matchups, the Rams had been hit with one, two, and four penalties, respectively.
Ahead of Sunday's Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks Week 11 matchup, take a look back at photos of historical matchups between the divisional opponents.
Linebacker (50) Samson Ebukam of the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 42-7 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 15 football game, Sunday, December 17, 2017 in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Wide receiver (18) Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams catches pass and runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 42-7 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 15 football game, Sunday, December 17, 2017 in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Wide receiver (17) Robert Woods of the Los Angeles Rams catches pass for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 42-7 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 15 football game, Sunday, December 17, 2017 in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Runningback (30) Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, December 17th, 2017, at Centurylink field in Seattle Washington State. (Daniel Bowyer/Rams)
Defensive end (93) Ethan Westbrooks of the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 42-7 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 15 football game, Sunday, December 17, 2017 in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Defensive tackle (99) Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams sacks (3) Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 33-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Quarterback (16) Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams faces off against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 33-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Seattle, WA. (Will Navarro/Rams)
Running back #30 Todd Gurley of The Los Angeles Rams celebrates after a touchdown during the 33-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL season game five match, at CenturyLink field, on October 7, 2018, in Seattle Washington. (Daniel Bowyer/Rams)
Wide receiver(18) Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams catches a pass and runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 33-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Inside linebacker #26 Mark Barron of The Los Angeles Rams before the 33-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL season game five match, at CenturyLink field, on October 7, 2018, in Seattle Washington. (Daniel Bowyer/Rams)
Quarterback #16 Jared Goff celebrates with the offense of The Los Angeles Rams after his first down drive during the 33-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL season game five match, at CenturyLink field, on October 7, 2018, in Seattle Washington. (Daniel Bowyer/Rams)
Defensive end (96) Matt Longacre of the Los Angeles Rams returns a kickoff against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 33-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game at CenturyLink Field, Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Defensive end (56) Dante Fowler of the Los Angeles Rams jumps on a fumble and celebrates with (37) Sam Shields against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 36-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 10 regular season football game, Sunday, November 11, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Wide receiver (12) Brandin Cooks of the Los Angeles Rams catches a pass and runs for a touchdown and hands the ball to Floyd Mayweather against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 36-31 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 10 regular season football game, Sunday, November 11, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Defensive tackle (99) Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams rushes quarterback (3) Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 29-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game, Thursday, October 3, 2019, in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Tight end (81) Gerald Everett of the Los Angeles Rams caches a pass and runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 29-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game, Thursday, October 3, 2019, in Seattle, WA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Cornerback (22) Marcus Peters and Cornerback (23) Nickell Robey-Coleman of the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 29-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL Week 5 football game, Thursday, October 3, 2019, in Seattle, WA. (Will Navarro/Rams)
Running back (30) Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball and scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 28-12 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 14 regular season game, Sunday, December 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, CA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Wide receiver (17) Robert Woods of the Los Angeles Rams catches a touchdown and celebrates wth tight end (89) Tyler Higbee against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 28-12 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 14 regular season game, Sunday, December 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, CA. (Jeff Lewis/Rams)
Cornerback (20) Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angeles Rams covers wide receiver (14) DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 23-16 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 10 regular season game, Sunday, November 15, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
Defensive back (31) Darious Williams of the Los Angeles Rams intercepts a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 23-16 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 10 regular season game, Sunday, November 15, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
Tight end (81) Gerald Everett of the Los Angeles Rams catches a pass and runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the Rams 23-16 victory over the Seahawks in an NFL Week 10 regular season game, Sunday, November 15, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 13 of the 2022 NFL regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 13 of the 2022 NFL regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 18 of the 2022 NFL regular season
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 18 of the 2022 NFL regular season
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks during Week 18 of the 2022 NFL regular season
5) SWEET SWEEP
The Rams swept their season series with the Seahawks for just the third time since realignment in 2002.
The franchise won both games against Seattle in 2004 — plus a playoff game in Seattle that year — and also in 2015.
Prior to 2002, the Seahawks were a member of the AFC West and had played the Rams only seven times.
Seattle leads the regular-season series 23-18, in large part due to a Rams 10-game losing streak from 2005-2009.
The Rams, however, have won six of the last eight matchups.
