Tag: rams ravens

Studs and duds from the Rams’ narrow win over the Ravens

The defense came through in the clutch for the Rams today, led by Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd.

For the second week in a row, the Rams found themselves trailing on the road after Matthew Stafford turned the ball over three times. And for the second week in a row, they pulled out a victory, this time with a dramatic game-winning drive.

The Rams beat the Ravens 20-19 on Sunday afternoon, scoring a touchdown with 57 seconds left to take a one-point lead against a shorthanded Baltimore team. Stafford has mistakes to clean up, but once again, his defense helped bail him out.

Here are the best and worst performers from the Rams’ narrow win over Baltimore.

NFL expected to make 17-game schedule official this week

The NFL is expected to officially expand to a 17-game season this week. Who would the Rams play?

The NFL is officially moving to a 17-game regular season. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Sunday that the league is expected to announce the change this week, expanding the regular season by one game for each team.

Since 1978, the NFL has had a 16-game regular season, so this is the first change the league has made in more than 40 years.

The Rams will still face each NFC West team twice, and their other 2021 opponents will remain unchanged. They will face each team in the NFC North and AFC South, as well as the Giants and Buccaneers.

Their final opponent will be the Baltimore Ravens, based on the formula and rotation of divisions set for the 17th game. The NFC West will face the AFC North, with similar finishers squaring off. So because the Rams and Ravens both finished second in their respective divisions, they will play in 2021.

Then the divisions will rotate again in 2022, as they traditionally do each year.

The Rams and Ravens met in 2019, a blowout 45-6 win by Baltimore on the road in Los Angeles. The AFC and NFC will rotate home games each year, and in 2021, the AFC is expected to be the host.

NFL Week 13 power rankings: Rams only drop 1 spot after ugly loss

The Rams are still in the top 20 of Doug Farrar’s power rankings, but just barely.

The Rams haven’t technically been eliminated from playoff contention just yet, but Monday night’s 45-6 loss to the Ravens all but killed any hope they had of making the postseason. Los Angeles is now two games behind the Vikings for the final wild-card spot, and three back of the Seahawks for the No. 5 seed.

They have no chance of catching the 49ers in the NFC West and will essentially need to win out in order to have a chance at a wild-card berth. In other words, their season is over.

Their playoff odds took a big hit, but they didn’t drop very far in Doug Farrar’s power rankings for Touchdown Wire. The Rams dropped from No. 18 to 19 after their loss to the Ravens, one spot behind the Steelers and two back of the Browns.

The Rams have been teetering on the edge of irrelevance all season, as the reigning NFC champs have struggled to get and keep things together on either side of the ball, especially on offense. But this was unlike anything the franchise could be prepared for. Los Angeles’ 45-6 loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football was the worst loss for the Rams by point differential in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum era, which goes back to 1946. Wade Phillips had absolutely no answer for what Lamar Jackson brought as a runner or as a passer, and Sean McVay had to be looking on with deep envy at an opposing quarterback who can tilt the field whenever he wants. Jared Goff, the guy McVay’s going to be tied to for a very long time, was his usual unimpressive self, completing 26 of 37 passes for 212 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. If the Rams needed a reality check to shake them out of any thoughts of postseason potential, this should do it.

Unless the Vikings and Seahawks completely fall apart in the next five weeks, the Rams are going to be on the outside looking in – and with a lot of questions to answer in the offseason. Jared Goff hasn’t lived up to his contract, nor has Todd Gurley. And will they sign Jalen Ramsey to an extension?

The Rams are entering a difficult time, and Monday’s 39-point loss was a small sample of their issues right now.

Eric Weddle ‘never thought in a million years’ Rams would get destroyed

Eric Weddle was at a loss for words after the Ravens blew out the Rams.

One of the biggest storylines leading up to Monday night’s Rams-Ravens matchup was Eric Weddle’s reluctance to share intel on Baltimore with his current team. He did it out of respect for his former teammates and coaches, which angered many Rams fans.

After seeing how dominant the Ravens looked against the Rams at the Coliseum, Weddle could’ve told his teammates every play that was coming before the snap and it wouldn’t have mattered. Baltimore still would’ve won this game – easily.

After the 45-6 loss, Weddle struggled to find the words to explain what had just happened to his team.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Weddle said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I never thought in a million years we’d get completely destroyed. It’s tough to put into words. Defense played awful. Couldn’t get off the field. Couldn’t help our offense.”

The Rams did almost nothing well against Baltimore. The offense finished with 221 yards but 114 of them came in the fourth quarter during garbage time. The defense allowed the Ravens to rush for 285 yards, which is more than the team allowed in its last four games combined.

Wade Phillips had no answer for anyone on Baltimore’s offense, and the combination of that and poor discipline by the defense created a lopsided score. Weddle credited the Ravens for how well they played, explaining the difficulty of defending them.

“What they’re doing on offense, a lot of times I wouldn’t know for a few seconds after they snapped it, if he handed it or he still had it,” Weddle said. “Imagine the whole defense. You’re trying to play your rules and play the guy, and these guys are just coming downhill and doubling and getting extra gaps, and you’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”

The Rams will need to regroup after their worst home loss in franchise history, traveling to Arizona for a matchup with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals on Sunday. Murray isn’t the consistent runner that Jackson is, but his quickness and speed are impossible to ignore.

Studs and duds from Rams’ 39-point loss to Ravens

Samson Ebukam had a nice performance, but he was one of the few players who actually played well.

The Rams were blown out in every phase of the game Monday night, losing 45-6 to the Baltimore Ravens. It was their worst loss in franchise history, and the most uninspiring performance under Sean McVay.

Nothing went right for them on either side of the ball, dropping their fifth game of the season with yet another touchdown-less 60 minutes of football. As hard as it is to believe, there were a few decent performances from a group of players, but there were far more who really struggled.

Here are our studs and duds from Week 12.

Studs

OLB Samson Ebukam

Ebukam was one of the few bright spots for the Rams, actually getting the start over Dante Fowler Jr. despite playing fewer snaps than him in the game. He had 1.5 sacks, three QB hits and one tackle for loss, doing a good job of keeping Lamar Jackson in the pocket by setting the edge. His speed was evident, too, showing excellent burst and explosion when chasing down Jackson.

DE Michael Brockers

Brockers continues to have a great season for the Rams. although it’s hard to call any defensive lineman a “stud” when the opponent rushes for 285 yards, but the majority of the Ravens’ biggest runs went away from Brockers. He made eight tackles, had one sack and a tackle for a loss, getting good penetration against the right side of the Ravens’ offensive line.

Offensive line

Surprisingly, the offensive line was a positive against Baltimore. The Ravens blitz more than any team in the NFL and the Rams’ offensive line did a good job against it. The two sacks Jared Goff took were on a corner blitz and a play where Gerald Everett was blocking Matt Judon. Outside of those two plays, Goff was only hit four times on 37 pass attempts. There wasn’t a whole lot of running room, but the Rams also only ran the ball seven times with running backs.

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Marcus Peters swaps jerseys with Todd Gurley, reunites with ex-teammates

Todd Gurley and Marcus Peters swapped jerseys after the Rams-Ravens game.

Marcus Peters’ tenure with the Los Angeles Rams was fairly brief, lasting less than a season and a half after he was traded by the Chiefs in 2018. The Rams shipped him off to the Ravens before this year’s trade deadline, effectively replacing him with Jalen Ramsey.

He returned to the Coliseum as a member of the Ravens on Monday night, and he could not have planned for his revenge game to go better than it did. He picked off Jared Goff and helped lift the Ravens to a 45-6 victory, also getting into it with Ramsey after the clock hit zero.

Despite showing some disdain for Ramsey, Peters is still on good terms with other members of the Rams. He swapped jerseys with Todd Gurley on the field, writing a message that said “love u brotha” and “keep ballin.”

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Peters also shared a few positive moments with his former teammates, giving Andrew Whitworth a big hug on the field after the Ravens’ win.

(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

He greeted Cooper Kupp, as well, who’s a player he had a lot of respect for during his time with the Rams. Peters didn’t cover Kupp much on Monday night, but the two were close in Los Angeles.

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

While on the field during the game, Peters and Robert Woods appeared to share a laugh. Peters was in coverage against Woods often in this one, helping keep the receiver in check; he had six catches for 97 yards, but a good portion of that was in garbage time.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After being traded by the Rams, Peters made it a point to go back to the team’s facility and say goodbye to his teammates and coaches. It’s something that Les Snead and Sean McVay greatly appreciated, and it’s clear his ex-teammates did, as well.

He still seems to be on good terms with many of the Rams’ current players.

Sean McVay feels ‘as responsible as anybody’ for Rams’ loss to Ravens

Here’s what Sean McVay told reporters after the Rams’ 45-6 loss.

When you lose by 39 points, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Sean McVay unsurprisingly shouldered most of it after the game, as he often does following Rams losses.

Los Angeles suffered its worst home loss in franchise history on Monday night against the Ravens, losing 45-6. The Rams did nothing well for 60 minutes, failing to slow down Baltimore’s offense or show any consistency against the Ravens’ defense.

Afterwards, McVay stepped to the podium and not only praised the Ravens, but also fell on the sword for his players.

“I trust that we have the right guys in that locker room, guys that are mentally tough, that understand that whatever we did tonight has nothing to do with what we’re going to do moving forward unless we allow it to,” McVay stated. “And that’s the mindset we’ve got to have as coaches, as players. We owe it each other to do better and I feel as responsible as anybody. I certainly have to do a better job but the only way I know how to do that is by the way you work throughout the week, the way that you consistently bring a consistent demeanor of urgency but also, ‘Hey, let’s be solution-oriented in the way we move forward.’

“Can’t wait to look at this tape, fix it and get ready for the Arizona Cardinals next week.”

McVay wasn’t afraid to give the Ravens credit where it was due. He and Wade Phillips had no answer for anything Baltimore threw at them, and it all centered around Lamar Jackson.

He can see why Jackson is a frontrunner to win NFL MVP, saying he felt like the league’s most valuable player on Monday night. But as good as the Ravens were, McVay knows the Rams did a lot to cost themselves a win.

And he knows he has to do a better job as a coach.

“Credit them, they made a lot of plays, they did some things. But certainly, I know I’ve got to do a much better job of coaching this football team and putting us in a position to make plays,” McVay said.

Any time a team runs for 285 yards, effort on the part of players is questioned. The Rams missed tackles left and right, which is nothing new for a defense against the Ravens, but it cost them a lot of yardage defensively.

McVay didn’t see an issue with players’ effort, once again putting the blame on himself.

“I don’t think it was anything to do with the effort,” he said. “Certainly, I feel responsible for not putting our players in better positions in all three phases. We’ll go back, we’ll look at it, we’ll see what we can do. There’s going to be an element of execution that that entails. We’re all in this thing together, but I feel as responsible as anybody.”

The Rams have another dynamic quarterback next up on their schedule as they’ll visit the Cardinals in Arizona. A loss in Week 13 would drop the Rams’ playoff chances to 7%, so their season hinges on this next game.

Rams set new low with worst home loss in franchise history

The Rams’ 39-point loss was their worst at home in franchise history.

Monday night was the first time since 2017 that the Rams were home underdogs, and just the second time all season that they weren’t the favorites over their opponent. That’s what happens when you’re facing the hottest team in football, even with the game being at home.

The Ravens were only favored by 3.5 points, but they won by much more than that. They blew out the Rams 45-6, completely shutting down Los Angeles’ offense and making things look easy against a defense that had allowed the fewest points in the NFL since Week 7.

Incredibly, it was the Rams’ worst home loss in franchise history. Their 39-point margin of defeat is the largest ever for the Rams, surpassing the previous high of 38 points. Overall, it’s the team’s fifth-worst loss ever, matching a 39-point road loss in 2002.

The Ravens had no trouble moving the ball in any facet on Monday night, but they were absolutely unstoppable on the ground. They carried it 48 times for 285 yards, and of those 48 rushes, none of them went for fewer than 1 yard aside from three kneel-downs to end the game.

This was also the first time a team scored a touchdown on each of its first six possessions in more than a decade, which further emphasizes how ugly this performance was by the defense – and the team as a whole.

If the Rams are going to make the playoffs, it’ll take a miraculous run in the final five weeks. Right now, their postseason odds sit at 19%, according to the New York Times, and a loss to the Cardinals on Sunday would drop them to just 7%.

Rams’ playoff chances on life support, drop to 19% after Week 12 loss

The Rams’ playoff hopes took a major hit on Monday night.

Last season, the Los Angeles Rams clinched the NFC West on Dec. 2 with a win over the Lions. This year, it’ll take a miracle for them to sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team. That’s especially evident after their most recent loss, an uninspiring 45-6 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

The Rams entered the game with a 29% chance to make the playoffs, according to the New York Times’ playoff predictor. A win would’ve pushed their chances to nearly 40%, but this loss sets them back significantly on their quest to the postseason.

After falling to the Ravens, the Rams now have just a 19% chance to make the playoffs. If they win their next three games, their odds jump to 56%, but that’s also not including the results of other games across the NFL. A loss to the Cardinals next week drops the Rams’ chances to a measly 7%, all but ending their playoff hopes.

Los Angeles hasn’t looked like a playoff team lately, scoring just two offensive touchdowns in its last three games. The defense had been playing well, but it was gashed for 285 yards by the Ravens on Monday night at home.

Not only did this loss really hurt the Rams’ playoff chances statistically, but mentally and emotionally, it was a deflating defeat.

Instant analysis of Rams’ crushing 45-6 loss to Ravens

The Rams were embarrassed by the Ravens at home, losing 45-6.

The Rams were in desperate need of a win on Monday night against the Ravens. Instead, they were served a huge slice of humble pie and left the Coliseum with a terrible taste in their mouth.

They were absolutely embarrassed by the Ravens from start to finish, and in all three phases of the game. The end result? A 45-6 loss in front of the home crowd, dropping their record to 6-5.

It was as ugly a game as they’ve played this season, allowing more rushing yards Monday night than they had in their last four games combined. Lamar Jackson played just over three quarters and was pulled with five touchdown passes and 95 yards rushing, bolstering his MVP case.

Stat to know: 285

The Ravens rushed for 285 yards, which is 18 more than the Rams had allowed in their previous four games combined. Los Angeles only had 221 yards of total offense, to put things in perspective.

Game notes

  • The defense had no answer for Jackson or the Ravens offense. There were missed tackles all over the place, poor gap discipline and a lack of physicality at all three levels of the defense. Whether it was safeties or linebackers, no one could corral Jackson or the Ravens’ running backs.
  • Jared Goff was the least of the Rams’ problems. Although he didn’t have a great performance, his first interception came with the game already out of hand and his second went right through Cooper Kupp’s hands. At one point, he was 14-for-19 but finished the game 26-for-37 with 212 yards. He missed Tyler Higbee for a touchdown after the TE broke wide open, but other than that, his accuracy seemed better against Baltimore.
  • The run game was understandably non-existent. The Ravens were up 14-0 before the first quarter even ended, forcing Los Angeles to abandon the run. Todd Gurley played the majority of the game, but he only carried it six times for 22 yards.
  • Sean McVay continues to show a lack of confidence in the offense. Down 35-6, the Rams punted the ball away on fourth-and-2 from their own 28-yard line. The Ravens scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive, making the punt look even worse. Additionally, McVay ran the ball on third-and-13 early in the game, which was called back due to penalty. On third-and-18, it was a quick bubble screen.
  • Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks both looked good in their returns to the field. Woods got open for a 24-yard gain in the fourth quarter, while Cooks had a nice 22-yard grab in traffic over the middle. Kupp caught six passes, but only for 35 yards with a long reception of 9 yards.