Playoff games are bound to be close. Outcomes can easily come down to field goals.
Are the Los Angeles Rams able to trust rookie kicker Harrison Mevis with the game on the line?
We just watched the Baltimore Ravens get bounced from the postseason in Week 18 as their rookie, Tyler Loop, missed what would have been the winning 44-yard kick in the final moments. Loop was almost perfect from within 49 yards this season. He did not miss a single kick within 39 yards and then went eight of nine between 40-49 out. Loop doesn’t have much distance as he converted only one of four attempts from beyond 50.
This is all to say, it does not necessarily matter what your rookie kicker has done so far. Can he step up with the season hanging in the balance? Is he to be trusted in the most high leverage situations?
LA has needed big moments from kickers before. Greg Zuerlein converted a field goal to beat the Saints in the NFC Championship game and send the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018. Matt Gay helped trump Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in 2021 after the “for the love of the game play” between Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford. It’s simply the nature of the playoffs.
The Rams must feel positive about Mevis’ contributions so far in 2025. He’s made 100% of extra points and 12 of 13 field goals. He hit his only kick from more than 50 yards out. Still, Mevis’ only miss came at one of the most important times of the season: in the fourth quarter on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Mevis couldn’t convert his first game-tying try, but then made his second attempt to send the game to overtime. Los Angeles still lost. Make both kicks and the game maybe never goes beyond regulation.
Is Mevis single handily the reason the Rams did not win the NFC West and are not enjoying the benefit of a first round bye in the playoffs? Absolutely not. We do know LA has struggled mightily on special teams and it has possibly changed the outcome of multiple contests this season. Will Mevis have a “Tyler Loop moment” and be the latest special teams error in 2025?
In fairness, it’s unlikely that Mevis will decide the outcome this weekend against the Carolina Panthers. The Rams are 10.5-point favorites. If Saturday comes down to a field goal, things went poorly for LA or they played down to their competition.
But whether Mevis can make big kicks in high pressure situations does remain to be seen, and this should be on the mind of all Rams fans into the playoffs.
