It will be tough for the Los Angeles Rams to recover from their 37-38 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams fall to 11-4. Seattle swells to 12-3.
Los Angeles is now unlikely to win either the NFC conference or the NFC West division. Simply put, Seattle and the San Francisco 49ers have a much easier path.
Playoff seeding doesn’t matter much to some. A first round bye is of the upmost importance because it saves you from a surprise trip home, and now that is likely out of reach. Winning the division allows the team to host at least one home postseason game, and now that will also be difficult for the Rams to attain.
This isn’t to be overly dramatic about the loss. We knew the stakes were high coming into Thursday Night Football.
Now we must reconcile the fallout and give both credit and blame to the individuals that led us to this moment.
Winners
Kobie Turner, DT
If there’s one player on the defense that came to play Thursday night it was Kobie Turner. He consistently pressured Sam Darnold and made an early sack (plus another half sack) that got his unit off the field. Turner also dropped into coverage at the goal line to intercept Darnold to protect the margin of victory prior to the comeback.
Puka Nacua, WR
There might not be a better player in the NFL over the last three weeks than Puka Nacua, and this came come amidst personal adversity for the third-year receiver. He earned a career-high in receiving yards with 225 yards and added two scores, including the go-ahead touchdown in overtime.
Nacua is the Rams’ offense. This is especially true when Davante Adams isn’t on the field.
Chris Shula, Defensive coordinator
Both of the Rams’ interceptions on Darnold were the result of impressive scheme from Chris Shula. On the Josh Wallace pick, LA was showing man before Wallace swapped to zone and jumped underneath the outside receiver. Shula also threw a changeup to drop Turner into coverage and caught Darnold by surprise.
The overall result is poor. Shula’s defense is mostly responsible for the loss because they allowed a TD and two point conversion in overtime that led to the loss. However, he obviously gave the Rams defense a massive schematic advantage that should have been enough to win in regulation.
Terrance Ferguson, TE
Terrance Ferguson could have caught multiple touchdowns last week. He had another called back due to penalty early (Justin Dedich replaced the injured Kevin Dotson and then called for illegal man downfield) and then hauled in another that actually counted. The rookie tight end was open often but the connection is still off between him and Stafford.
Ferguson caught three of four targets for 33 yards and a score, but he left at least two big plays on the field. It could have been much, much better. That bodes well for him moving forward.
Losers
Special teams
How many fewer losses would the Rams have this season if you could delete all of their special teams woes. Maybe four? Three?
This game is no exception. There was the Rasheed Shaheed return touchdown that spurred Seattle’s comeback. Harrison Mevis missed a field goal towards the end; however, this could have been a blessing in disguise and it would have forced the Seahawks to be more aggressive towards the end. They instead were content heading into overtime was the contest was tied. Then there was a holding penalty that negated a long return after regulation.
Championship teams are effective in all three phases. The Rams simply have not been capable on special teams this season.
It could ultimately be their undoing.
Davis Allen & Colby Parkinson, TE
I counted at least five drops total between Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson. Allen had three. Parkinson had two passes bounce off his fingertips.
You cannot afford such mistakes in a game that was always going to have tight margins.
Matthew Stafford, QB
It’s unfair to put a quarterback who threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns on the loser list.
However, Stafford is supposedly the MVP frontrunner. We must hold him to a high standard.
When the Seahawks were drawing closer and cutting into a two-possession lead, Stafford did nothing to stop the bleeding or right the ship. Instead, the Rams had two very short possessions and gave Seattle the ball back quickly. They were able to effectively close the lead in a matter of four minutes according to the game clock.
This stretch featured misthrows and miscommunications between Stafford and his receivers. Was it all the quarterback’s fault? Probably not. Still, MVP’s will their teams to victory against the odds. That wasn’t Stafford on Thursday night.
Of course the Rams scored in overtime and the defense blew it. Stafford did everything he could have done. But the game should never have gotten to that point.
We overrate his ability to “snatch souls” and whether he has “ice in his veins”. If he truly has those traits, he would have put Seattle away and helped his team progress toward the one seed.
Coaching scared
Sean McVay knew this was a big game. He coached like it too… at least to start.
But the Rams played it safe into the half when they could have been aggressive and aimed for a field goal. They also should have for two points following their first touchdown. In the second half he coached to not lose, and it may have cost his team major advantages into the postseason.
On third and long, McVay called a screen to Nacua that had no chance of getting the first down. It seemed like he was setting up a fourth down “go” situation. Maybe the Rams didn’t get enough yards. Either way, he punted.
Then towards the end of regulation Los Angeles played for a field goal. Even if Mevis would have made the quick, Seattle had over two minutes to work with and would have been forced to be aggressive and look for a score. McVay was bailed out of this scared decision by the Seahawks going three-and-out. The Rams got their field goal and Seattle was content with overtime.
The team that settled for field goals was always going to lose this game. McVay seemed to understand that fact early and then let caution get the better of him late. I imagine that—if he could do it over again—the decisions would be much different. Leave it all on the table.
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