The Los Angeles Rams had a playoff win in their grasp. Despite red-zone miscues and a defense being besieged by the Detroit Lions (for a half, anyway), the Rams had the Lions on the ropes.
But then Sean McVay decided to turtle at the game’s most critical moment. Now, the Rams are heading to the golf course.
After a controversial non-holding call on Puka Nacua, the Rams were still sitting in Detroit territory. Even on a long fourth-and-14, it was probably worth going for it with only roughly four minutes remaining because L.A. had just one timeout left (also thanks to McVay!). Instead, McVay had Ethan Evans punt the ball away, and the Rams never saw the ball again as their 2023 season officially came to a close.
Woof. A brutal decision that the math agrees with:
LAR decided to punt to DET from the DET 44 on 4th & 14 with 4:15 remaining in the 4th while losing 23 to 24.
With a Surrender Index of 29.05, this punt ranks at the 99.2nd percentile of cowardly punts of the 2023 season, and the 98th percentile of all punts since 1999.
— Surrender Index 90 (@surrender_idx90) January 15, 2024
I already thought the punt was silly, given the game situation. Now I see it apparently ranks in the 99th percentile of ill-advised punts over the entire season? Oh, my goodness. If that weren’t enough, the Rams settled for not one, not two, but three chip-shot field goals in the loss instead of putting the pedal to the metal. McVay coached scared all around, and the Rams’ last punt was the final cherry on top.
I have a feeling McVay will replay this sequence — including his awful timeout management and general lack of aggressiveness — in his head for a while. He and the Rams will have plenty of time to do so.