Seahawks hold on when Rams' Frerotte cannot do the same
ST. LOUIS -- Just 1 yard from the end zone, a win for the St. Louis Rams slipped through Gus Frerotte's fingers.
The backup quarterback fumbled the snap on fourth-and-goal from the Seattle 1 with 27 seconds left Sunday, allowing the Seahawks to hold on for a 24-19 victory.
Frerotte picked up the loose ball but was tackled at the 5, ending a last-ditch scoring attempt and the Rams' modest two-game winning streak after an 0-8 start.
The Seahawks have won six straight against St. Louis, and the Rams, dominant in recent seasons at home, are 0-5 at the Edward Jones Dome this season.
"We were fortunate today," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "I don't think we played our best football."
Seattle (7-4) won its third in a row by rallying for 17 straight second-half points after falling behind 19-7.
The Rams (2-9) got one last chance when the Seahawks' Josh Brown missed a 52-yard field goal with 2:44 to go. St. Louis took over at its own 42 and drove to the 4 with just more than a minute to play.
Frerotte, playing after starter Marc Bulger left with a concussion in the first quarter, missed a wide-open Isaac Bruce on first down, then threw a 2-yard pass to Drew Bennett. On third down, Steven Jackson ran to the 1, setting up the doomed final play.
Rams coach Scott Linehan said the fourth-down play was again designed to go to Jackson. Defensive Darryl Tapp said the Seahawks were ready.
"Who else was the ball going to go to but Jackson?" he asked. "That's who that whole offense is built on, so we sort of knew it was going to him, but it worked out well for us today."
The fumbled snap involved two players subbing after injuries. In addition to Frerotte, the center, Andy McCollum, was in only because starter Brett Romberg left the game with an ankle injury.
Linehan said Frerotte and McCollum share the blame for the mistake.
"When you have a bobbled snap, both guys are the guilty party," he said.
Frerotte had no explanation.
"It's pretty obvious -- it just came out. You know, it wasn't a perfect exchange.
"I can remember talking to myself walking up to the line and it just happened."
McCollum wasn't sure what happened.
"I thought he had it," he said. "I blocked my guy. I didn't know it was loose."
Matt Hassselbeck was 21 of 38 for 249 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception for the Seahawks. Maurice Morris, subbing for the injured Shaun Alexander, carried 16 times for 79 yards, and Deion Branch had 5 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Josh Wilson returned a first-quarter kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.