And then, there were four.
With the Divisional Round in the rearview, we have just four teams left in the NFL’s tournament to see who gets to play in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8. The NFC Championship game is a particularly interesting pier-sixer in that it has two teams that have already faced off twice this season, with the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams splitting the series in the regular season — both times in thrilling fashion.
When we look at X-Factors for each team in these games, for the Rams, it’s all about managing a pass defense that has been leakier than anybody would like over the last two months. Cornerback is an issue, which means that the safeties must ball out beyond all expectations. Even against Sam Darnold, who the Rams have picked off six times in two games this season, it will be up to Kam Curl to keep up the standard of play he’s had throughout.
It was the play that launched a million loafing accusations, and it propelled the Los Angeles Rams to their third NFC Championship Game over the last eight seasons.
With 6:47 in overtime of the Divisional Round game between the Rams and the Chicago Bears, the call was for receiver Rome Odunze to run the vertical route in Dagger, and for receiver DJ Moore to run the dig. The Rams were in Cover-3, with Kam Curl as the deep safety. Odunze ran his vertical route, and Moore ran the dig to a point… and then, for whatever reason, he stopped his route halfway through. That allowed Curl to undercut the route and intercept the pass. The Rams started at their own 22-yard line, and their subsequent drive allowed Harrison “Thiccer Kicker” Mevis to boot a 42-yard game-winning field goal with 3:24 remaining in overtime.
Rams 20, Bears 17. Game over.
“It was just a miscommunication,” Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams said of the play, and Moore’s role in it. “Trying to just flatten him off under safety. Since the other safety was down, I felt like we had enough space over there, so tried to flatten him off and just a miscommunication. His route is to go deep and attack that angle, which he did. And, we thought we were going to go under the safety at that point, and it didn’t happen that way.”
For the record, I’m on board with Williams’ explanation — I don’t think that Moore loafed on the play. More importantly for the purposes of a Championship Game preview, I was impressed by Curl’s ability to track the route and to know when to jump on it.
Curl explained his process to The Arena: Gridiron.
(WARNING: SKIP BAYLESS ALERT. I’M VERY SORRY ABOUT THIS).
“Obviously, it started out with the formation,” Curl said of the play. “My dog, AP (pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant), man, the little meetings we’d be having on Saturdays. We got a little tell on the shots they like to take. Usually, the shots go in one direction. So when I saw the stems of the receivers, I knew I could open my hip and work that way. And I [had] eyes on Caleb.
“I knew I had my corner who was going deep behind me and just took my shot, you know what I’m saying? Slice under it and go get the ball. It just really come down to instincts, you know what I’m saying? And like I said, when I seen that ball, it was the opportunity to help my team win the game.”
Curl has come up in those important moments more often than not this season. He’s allowed 49 catches on 64 targets for 443 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 80.4. He also has 104 solo tackles, 36 stops, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two sacks, and six total pressures. Curl has lined up in split safety on 42% of his snaps, 31% as a single-high safety, 18% in the box, and 10% in the slot. So, he fits the modern model of effective versatility to which safeties must adhere.
“So many ways,” McVay said on Wednesday, when asked how Curl contributes to the defense. “He’s obviously excellent in the pass game. I think he’s got a great understanding with the concept trigger. You look at the play that he made the other day, it was unbelievable. I think he’s got a great feel for when he is part of the run fits and just being able to aggressively close space, long stride, short stride, shuffle-and-shoot, and we can activate him as a blitzer. He’s a versatile piece. I thought he was instrumental in how well we played defensively the other day. He’s a freaking stud. What an unbelievable play by him when we had to have it. That was competitive greatness at its finest.”
The Rams will need Curl at his peak on Sunday, because their pass defense has been springing leaks of late.
In Weeks 1-12, they allowed 254 completions in 398 attempts (63.8%) for 2,516 yards (6.3 yards per attempt), 13 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 79.9 — fourth-lowest in the NFL.
From Week 13 through the Divisional Round, they’ve allowed 167 completions on 273 attempts (61.2%) for 2,006 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), 16 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 91.0, which is very much more in the middle of the pack. And as their cornerbacks have been particularly vulnerable in coverage of late, Curl and his fellow safeties will need to bring their best.
If that happens, it’s probably onto another Super Bowl for Sean McVay’s crew.
See More:
