Sunday’s game between the Rams and Jets didn’t come down to two plays. Games in the NFL are rarely decided by such a small sample of plays. However, the Rams had a golden opportunity to win the game against New York late in the fourth quarter after a 34-yard punt return by Nsimba Webster.
From the Jets’ 37-yard line, the Rams were faced with third-and-4 with about four minutes left in the game, trailing 23-20. Jared Goff dropped back and took a shot deep to rookie running back Cam Akers, but he overthrew his target and the ball landed out of bounds.
It was a questionable call, needing only 4 yards to pick up the first, but Goff never really looked anywhere else after getting the snap, locking in on Akers running the wheel route.
Then on fourth-and-4, the Rams opted to go for it with an empty backfield. Again, Goff dropped back and took a shot deep down the field, this time targeting Gerald Everett in man coverage. The ball was on target, but safety Marcus Maye made a spectacular play to break it up and prevent a potential touchdown to Everett.
Again, a questionable call given the circumstances, but it was just inches from being a long completion at the biggest moment in the game. It just wasn’t meant to be for L.A., with May making the play of the day.
After the game, Sean McVay explained what happened on those two plays. He stopped short of blaming Goff for the two incompletions, but he did subtly say he’d have liked to see the quarterback go through his progressions on third down.
And then on fourth, if Everett was covered, McVay said Goff had Cooper Kupp underneath for an easier completion at the sticks.
“Yeah, we felt like we were going to be able to get an opportunity,” McVay said. “Really on the third down, we had some looks that we felt like we had a good isolation, but clearly, we have to be able to progress there. And then on the fourth down, had Gerald Everett in a man-to-man situation, and then Cooper on an underneath route, where, if we didn’t love that, kind of a little high-low. Ultimately, we didn’t make those plays, but we got the coverage and the looks that we were looking for there.”
Goff echoed much of what McVay said, but he did admit he wishes he would’ve given Akers a better chance to make a play on the ball rather than throwing it out of bounds.
Like McVay suggested, the Rams got the looks they wanted, the passes just fell incomplete due to an inaccurate throw and a great play from the safety.
“Yeah, the first one to Cam, I would have liked to give him a little bit more of a chance there or maybe progress through the play. Didn’t love where I put it,” Goff said. “The second one, yeah I got everything we wanted, threw a ball out there and Maye made a good play. I mean, he made a great defensive play and we weren’t able to convert on it.”
It’s hard to blame the Rams for going for it there, considering it would’ve been a 54-yard attempt by Matt Gay to tie the game, but the decision to throw it deep instead of trying to pick up 4 yards with two runs will be questioned by many.
The Rams had plenty of other chances to win the game, but these two plays will stick in the minds of fans and players for a little while.
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