Category: Latest Rams news

Jalen Ramsey likely to get MRI on injured knee, played through pain

Jalen Ramsey said he was playing through a lot of pain in his knee Saturday.

Jalen Ramsey had one of his best performances as a member of the Rams on Saturday night against the 49ers, recording his first interception of the season and breaking up another pass. His presence was felt on those two plays, as well as on a big hit he laid on Emmanuel Sanders, looking like an All-Pro corner again – outside of a miscommunication between him and Taylor Rapp late in the game.

He missed some time briefly due to a knee injury, causing him to leave the game and be considered as doubtful to return. He was back on the field quickly, though, missing just one defensive series.

That doesn’t mean he was completely healthy, though. After the 34-31 loss, Ramsey discussed the injury and said he will likely head for an MRI at some point.

“I don’t know what’s going on right now. I gotta get an MRI, probably,” he said, via ESPN. “I don’t know if I can talk about injuries or not, so I won’t talk about it. But I wanted to play, so nothing was going to stop me from playing and we’ll worry about it after the game.”

Ramsey was asked if he was playing through a lot of pain, to which he simply said “indeed.” He added that he injured his knee “sometime in the first quarter.”

Rams’ Week 16 studs and duds: Donald and Fowler shine, Rapp struggles

The best and worst performances from the Rams’ 34-31 loss.

It was a stunning and humbling loss for the Rams on Saturday night, but it wasn’t all bad for the defending NFC champions. While the 34-31 defeat hurt and eliminated them from playoff contention, quite a few players did have strong performances.

Here are our studs and duds from the Rams’ Week 16 loss to the 49ers.

Studs

Tyler Higbee and Robert Woods

Higbee and Woods remain Jared Goff’s top targets in the passing game. Higbee caught nine passes for 104 yards on 11 targets, while Woods racked up 117 yards on eight catches (11 targets). No other player had more than four catches or 39 yards, as Higbee and Woods were the ones open most often – specifically on designed rollouts for Goff. Both pass-catchers had great performances, just as they have in recent weeks.

Aaron Donald

Donald once again commanded double-teams on most of his pass-rush reps, which is nothing new. Still, he recorded 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, and one tackle for loss. His sacks came at clutch moments, too, both in the second half. Donald has a huge impact each week for the Rams defense, drawing attention away from the other pass rushers.

Dante Fowler Jr.

Fowler is earning a big payday this offseason with his play in 2019. He’s up to 11.5 sacks on the year after adding 2.5 more on Saturday night, consistently getting to Jimmy Garoppolo off the edge. His speed is evident every week that he’s on the field and if the Rams can’t re-sign him this offseason, he’s going to be missed at outside linebacker in 2020.

Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey left the game briefly with a knee injury and was considered doubtful to return. He only missed a series, though, and was back out there in short order. He said afterwards that he was playing through pain and will get an MRI on his knee, but he still had a great performance. He picked off one pass and broke up another that was intercepted by Darious Williams, creating two interceptions for the Rams defense.

On the 46-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders on the final drive of the game, Ramsey indicated the blown coverage was on Taylor Rapp. It was a bad play regardless of who was at fault, and cost the Rams a win.

Darious Williams

Williams was making his first start with the Rams and the coaches couldn’t have expected him to play much better than he did. He picked off one pass, deflected another and was in coverage on a high throw to Deebo Samuel, playing great coverage on the in-breaking route. For a player with as little experience as he has, he stepped up in a big way.

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4 takeaways from Rams’ Week 16 loss to 49ers

The Rams’ season is all but over with one meaningless game remaining.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams played into January the last two years, but in 2019, their season ends in December. They were beaten by the 49ers 34-31 on Saturday night in Santa Clara, dropping their record 8-7 – and more importantly, eliminating them from playoff contention.

Here are four takeaways from the loss, which ended in heartbreaking fashion.

Two plays don’t define the defense’s performance

The Rams defense played well against the 49ers on Saturday night, but their performance will be remembered for two plays – both of which came on third-and-16. Incredibly, they each happened on the 49ers’ game-winning drive. The first was on a throw over the middle Kendrick Bourne between two defenders, but the second was the real back-breaker.

Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp had a mix-up in coverage, which allowed Emmanuel Sanders to run open for 46 yards. Three plays later, the ball was through the uprights and the Rams were heading home with a loss.

Outside of that final drive, the Rams defense allowed just 274 yards and 27 points – seven of which came on a pick-six thrown by Jared Goff. The 49ers rushed for 119 yards, which was below their 147-yard average, while Jimmy Garoppolo threw two interceptions and had a passer rating of 71.2.

They’ve had better performances, but considering the opponent and the short fields San Francisco had to work with, the defense did enough to win the game.

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Jalen Ramsey explains what happened on Emmanuel Sanders’ 46-yard catch

There was a clear mix-up between Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp on the 49ers’ final drive.

There were several turning points in Saturday’s game between the Rams and 49ers. Jared Goff’s pick-six before the half comes to mind, as does the 49ers first third-and-16 conversion on their final possession.

None were bigger than the 46-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders on third-and-16 to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal, though. It was the second time on that very drive that San Francisco converted on third-and-16, this time with Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp in coverage.

It was a bizarre play by the two defensive backs, appearing to be a miscommunication. Ramsey played trail technique underneath Sanders, expecting Rapp to cover the deep half. Instead, Rapp went to the corner and left Sanders wide open down the middle.

Here’s a look at the play.

In the locker room after the game, Ramsey explained what happened.

“It wasn’t me and Eric. E-Dub was on the other side. It was me and Rapp,” Ramsey said. “We as in a form of two-man. We had an adjustment check to it because they was condensed splits. I played my technique, trusting that he was going to be over the top. And he wasn’t. That’s just what happened.”

Based on Ramsey’s reaction after the play and in the locker room, he wasn’t thrilled with the way Rapp played the route. He was expecting help over the top, which he didn’t get. It was a costly play, but it’s not the sole reason the Rams missed the playoffs.

They had several opportunities to save their season, both on Saturday night and in weeks prior. Ramsey’s frustration is understandable, though, given the way the year went for him and the Rams.

Twitter reacts to Rams’ loss, blown coverage vs. 49ers

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Rams’ heartbreaking loss to the 49ers.

After winning the NFC West in each of the last two seasons, the Los Angeles Rams not only failed to make it three straight division titles, but they won’t even be returning to the playoffs. They were officially eliminated from contention on Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium, losing 34-31 to the 49ers.

It was as heartbreaking as a loss can come, allowing the 49ers to convert on third-and-16 twice on the final drive before Robbie Gould drilled a 33-yard field goal to win it.

The biggest play of the game was a blown coverage by Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp, which resulted in a 46-yard gain by Emmanuel Sanders to set up the winning kick. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the loss and the huge play by Sanders.

 

Instant analysis of Rams’ heartbreaking 34-31 loss to 49ers

The Rams’ season-ending loss came in heartbreaking fashion to a division rival.

The Rams came into the season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. On Saturday night against the 49ers, their season effectively ended. With a heartbreaking loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, the Rams were eliminated from playoff contention.

They lost 34-31 on a last-second field goal by Robbie Gould, sending the Rams back to Los Angeles with very little to play for in Week 17.

Player of the Game: Jalen Ramsey

He had two pass breakups, including an interception. His other deflection led to an interception by Darious Williams, too, so he was the cause of two turnovers. Additionally, he laid a huge hit on Emmanuel Sanders to set the tone in the second quarter.

Stat to know: 5-for-13

The Rams only converted on five of their 13 third-down attempts, which caused drives to stall, especially early in the second half.

Game notes

  • Two third-and-16 conversions on the 49ers’ final drive proved to be the difference. The Rams had a great chance to get off the field and get the ball back and win the game, but the defense gave up two huge plays – including a 46-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders.
  • Jared Goff played relatively well aside from an ugly pick-six right before halftime. It was a back-breaker, giving the 49ers the lead after they were trailing by 11 points just a few minutes prior. Goff finished with 323 yards and two touchdowns, making several excellent throws down the field. He did nearly throw an interception late in the fourth quarter, which was dropped by Marcell Harris, but it was a good performance by Goff.
  • Todd Gurley had two touchdowns, but his longest run was 8 yards. He didn’t seem to have much juice aside from his touchdown run, on which he showed off his speed to get to the edge. The 49ers didn’t give him much room to run, holding him to 48 yards on 15 carries.
  • Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee have carried the offense in recent weeks, and that was the case on Saturday. They both went over 100 yards receiving, catching 17 passes combined. They’ve clearly become Goff’s favorite targets, especially on the bootlegs to the right side.
  • The Rams gave up 34 points, but the defense was great until the final drive. Jalen Ramsey was especially good, breaking up two passes, including an interception. Darious Williams more than held his own in his first start, also deflecting one pass and picking off another. On the night, San Francisco only had 334 total yards, 60 of which came on the final drive.
  • Sean McVay has clearly realized Goff’s strengths right now and has utilized an abundance of screen passes and bootlegs to maximize his ability. Goff was outstanding on the run against the 49ers, and most of his completions came on designed rollouts. It’s not ideal when a coach has to constantly call bootlegs and cut the field in half, but it’s one of the few things working with Goff at the moment.
  • Aaron Donald and Dante Fowler Jr. had strong performances, combining for four sacks, five QB hits and four tackles for loss. The Rams had six sacks as a team with Morgan Fox and Samson Ebukam recording the other two.

Rams eliminated from playoff contention after 34-31 loss to 49ers

The Rams are just the fifth team since 2009 to miss the playoffs after reaching the Super Bowl the year before.

As quickly as the Rams rose to the top of the NFC West the last two years, they fell just as fast in 2019. They lost to the 49ers on Saturday night as Robbie Gould drilled a 33-yard field goal, sending the Rams home with their seventh loss of the year.

With that, the Rams were eliminated from playoff contention, giving the final wild-card spot to the Vikings. It was a heartbreaking 34-31 loss, which came after the 49ers converted twice on third-and-16 on their final game-winning drive.

The Rams are just the fifth team since 2009 to miss the playoffs the year after reaching the Super Bowl. The most recent team to do so was the Panthers in 2016 after losing to the Broncos in the Super Bowl one year before.

At 8-7, the Rams are hardly a terrible team, but it was still a highly disappointing season for a team that just reached the Super Bowl. They had high hopes in 2019, attempting to win the NFC West for a third straight year.

Instead, they’ll be watching football in January from home for the first time since 2016.

Tyler Higbee sets Rams TE record for receptions in a season

Tyler Higbee etched his name into the record books on Saturday.

In the first 10 games of the season, Tyler Higbee had 26 catches for 212 yards and one touchdown. In the four games since, he’s caught 34 passes for 85 yards … and counting.

With eight more catches in the first three quarters of Saturday night’s game against the 49ers, Higbee made franchise history for the most catches by a tight end in a single season, setting the record at 60.

The previous high was 59 catches by Pete Holohan in 1988.

Higbee benefited greatly from Gerald Everett’s absence, but even with Everett healthy in Week 16, it’s Higbee getting the bulk of the action at tight end.

He deserves the snaps he’s getting, too. Higbee has caught at least seven passes in each of the last four games and is attempting to go over 100 yards receiving for the fourth straight week, too.

He already holds the record for the most 100-yard games in a row by a Rams tight end at three.

Watch: Darious Williams picks off tip-drill deflection by Jalen Ramsey

Darious Williams pulled down the first interception of his career on Saturday night.

Darious Williams made his first start with the Rams on Saturday night in place of the injured Troy Hill and he made it count with an interception. On the 49ers’ opening drive of the second half, Jalen Ramsey deflected a pass over the middle.

It was batted around a couple times before Williams jumped up and snatched it out of the air for the interception.

The interception was Williams’ first in his NFL career, and it came at a perfect time to set the Rams up with great field position.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize as Greg Zuerlein missed a 52-yard field goal, keeping the score 24-21 in favor of San Francisco.

Jared Goff just accomplished something no other Rams QB ever has

Jared Goff is the first Rams QB to reach 4,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

As Todd Gurley’s workload decreases, Jared Goff’s grows exponentially. He’s become the center of the Rams offense, throwing the ball more than just about any other quarterback in the league.

That’s led to some gaudy yardage numbers from Goff, even if it hasn’t translated to a strong season as a whole. On Saturday night, he surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in 2019, giving him two straight seasons with 4,000-plus yards.

He’s the first Rams quarterback ever to reach that number in back-to-back seasons.

Goff reached 4,000 yards on more than 550 attempts, and he has a chance to surpass his yardage total from last season of 4,688 yards in Week 17. He needs 698 yards in the final two games of the season to tie his mark from 2018.