Los Angeles Rams fans didn’t have much to cheer about in the season following their Super Bowl LVI victory. The 2022 campaign was a highly disappointing one as the Rams limped to a 5-12 record and were routinely pegged as a group suffering from a Super Bowl hangover.
But in Week 14 after the Rams had lost six games in a row and were missing Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald, none other than Baker Mayfield provided some much-needed excitement at SoFi Stadium.
It was a Thursday night game between the Rams and Raiders, a contest few people were looking forward to, but it turned out to be a thrilling finish between two sub-.500 teams. The 48 minutes provided very little entertainment value as the Raiders got out to a 16-3 lead but in the final 12 minutes, the Rams mounted an incredible comeback led by a quarterback who had just been claimed off waivers two days earlier.
Trailing by 13 points, Mayfield led two consecutive touchdown drives: one that went 75 yards in 17 plays and 9 minutes and a second that spanned 98 yards in only eight plays and 1:45 of game time. It was the second drive that made history and won’t soon be forgotten.
That 98-yard drive was the longest go-ahead touchdown drive that began in the final 2 minutes in at least the previous 45 seasons, per ESPN. And it wasn’t just the length of the drive or the speed in which the Rams moved the ball down the field. It was the fact that Mayfield had only thrown a few passes in practice with his new team before making his Rams debut on Thursday Night Football. He’d be forgiven if he didn’t know his teammates’ names. That’s how new he was to L.A.
With the Rams set to face the Raiders this weekend, it’s a good time to relive that miraculous 98-yard touchdown drive led by Mayfield, which featured a remarkable catch by Ben Skowronek and the game-winning grab by Van Jefferson with 9 seconds remaining.