The Los Angeles Rams defied the odds as they held on to beat the Seattle Seahawks, 9-3, before 91,046 fans celebrating their successful return debut to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, September 18, a place they last called home 37 years ago.

The Rams defense came through in clutch situations including a fumble recovery by Alec Ogletree with Seattle marching in the last minute to secure the game. Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals for all nine of Los Angeles' points. He kicked a 47-yarder the fourth quarter for the insurance field goal as both offenses failed to score a touchdown.

Los Angeles Head Coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged the fans and the stadium: "That was a great win for us for all of those obvious reasons. Our first game back here the fans were incredible. It made this a tough place to play starting day one, which was really impressive."

"We had many opportunities and there's going to be a lot of things we have to correct, and we had some mistakes. But when it's said and done, we take the win."

Los Angeles led 3-0 in the first quarter on Zuerlein's 39-yarder. In the second quarter the Rams made a momentum changing goal-line stand and held Seattle to a Steven Hauschka 23-yard field goal which tied the game at 3-3. Zuerlein made it 6-3 on a 28-yard chip shot just before the half.

George Laase

Ram tight end Lance Kendricks (88) makes a critical reception in the 4th quarter

L.A. quarterback Case Keenum was 18/30 for 239 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. Todd Gurley led Ram rushers with 51 yards on 19 attempts. Kenny Britt led Ram receivers with six receptions for 94 yards. The Rams evened their 2016 season record to 1-1. They go on the road play at Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday, September 25.

Stay tuned for the full story in the coming issue of the Culver City Observer.