Turf Show Times
In classic Los Angeles Rams fashion, they didn’t make it easy on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. With a chance to clinch the playoffs, the Rams just needed a win against a team that’s given them problems over the last two years. While they fell behind 24-14 in the first half, quarterback Matthew Stafford had his MVP moment and led the Rams back to secure the win. The Rams are now 11-3 and one of two teams officially in the playoffs. Let’s jump into this week’s 10 takeaways.
During the early portion of this game, it seemed as if it was going in the same direction as the Panthers game two weeks ago. The Rams were riding momentum and driving into the red zone. A Matthew Stafford interception on a tight end screen gave the Lions the ball in the red zone at the other end of the field. On the next play, Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown had the Lions in the lead, connecting in the end zone on a post route.
While the Rams took the lead back, they were struggling to slow down David Montgomery on the ground and the defense couldn’t get a stop. Nacua had an early drop and Stafford just missed a wide open Terrance Ferguson. After Stafford was sacked on 3rd-and-5, the Lions scored a touchdown on another explosive play to take a 10-point lead. Early on, it was the Lions defense making the key plays with interceptions and getting stops in big moments. This was always going to be a game in which the defense that did just enough was going to be a difference. The Rams had a slow start and fell behind because of it.
The Rams defense has had a few games this season in which they’ve started slow. They allowed 17 first-half points against the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 5 and against the Panthers in Week 13. This is a defense that allowed 20 points in the second half to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 and 26 if you count the field goal returned for a touchdown. The story is almost always the same.
Against the Lions, the Rams needed to get pressure on Jared Goff. For much of the first half, they were inconsistent, especially from the interior. Jared Verse and Byron Young were getting to Goff from the edges, but without interior pressure, the Lions quarterback was able to step up and make plays. On 10+ yard throws, he was 6-for-6 for 161 yards and two touchdowns. In total, Goff finished the first half 14-for-20 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. The secondary looked every bit of the unit that many had concerns about coming into the season. Cobie Durant got beat for touchdowns twice while Josh Wallace had a few rough moments.
Sean McVay deserves his flowers...
