Tag: Rams

NFC playoff picture: Who should Rams be pulling for in Seahawks-49ers?

The Rams have to hope San Francisco gets a win on Monday night.

The Los Angeles Rams’ playoff hopes took another big hit on Sunday following their loss to the Steelers. However, thanks to a few other NFC foes losing, the Rams are still in the hunt for a postseason berth.

It’s just that a win over Pittsburgh would’ve helped their chances greatly, pushing them closer to the No. 6 seed. As it stands right now, the Rams are seventh in the conference, bunched in a tie with the Eagles and Panthers, and just one game ahead of their Week 11 opponent, the Bears.

Let’s take a look at the playoff picture as it stands right now.

NFC standings

1. West: 49ers (8-0)

2. North: Packers (8-2)

3. South: Saints (7-2)

4. East: Cowboys (5-4)

5. Wild card: Seahawks (7-2)

6. Wild card: Vikings (7-3)

In the hunt

Rams (5-4)
Eagles (5-4)
Panthers (5-4)
Bears (4-5)
Lions (3-5-1)
Cardinals (3-6-1)

Clearly, things are tight in the NFC. The Rams are 1.5 games out of a wild-card berth behind the Vikings, and two games back of the Seahawks. They trail the 49ers by 2.5 games in the division and have very little chance to catch San Francisco.

Monday night’s matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers only complicates things for the Rams. On one hand, they’ll pick up half a game on someone. On the other, one of the teams is sure to move another step ahead of the Rams – barring a tie, of course.

So who should the Rams (and fans) be rooting for tonight? Following Los Angeles’ loss on Sunday, that answer is much clearer: San Francisco.

If the 49ers win tonight, they’ll move to 9-0, which is four games ahead of the Rams. With only seven games remaining, that’s a margin too wide for Los Angeles to close. More importantly, it’ll drop the Seahawks back to 7-3, which is 1.5 games ahead of the Rams. That’s not an impossible gap to close, especially with the two teams having one matchup left this season.

Seattle winning would give the 49ers their first loss and drop San Francisco to three games ahead of the Rams, but it would also give the Seahawks a 2.5-game cushion for a wild-card spot. That’s a recipe for disaster for the Rams and would create an even steeper climb to the fifth or sixth seed.

There’s no doubt the Rams need a lot of help. They need the Cowboys, Eagles, Seahawks, Vikings and even the Panthers to lose quite a few games. The 49ers crumbling wouldn’t hurt, but San Francisco’s cushion is likely already too big for the Rams to overcome.

On Monday night, the Rams have to hope San Francisco comes away victorious and pushes further ahead in the division – simultaneously knocking the Seahawks back a bit.

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Jalen Ramsey criticizes officiating after Rams loss to Steelers

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion on the officiating after the Rams’ loss.

There’s been a lot of talk about the officiating in the NFL this season, from the controversial pass interference rule change to players being unnecessarily flagged for roughing the passer on plays that look like ordinary tackling. Clay Matthews took issue with it last month when he criticized the officials in the Lions-Packers game from Week 6, and he was subsequently fined $12,500 for it.

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion of how Sunday’s Rams-Steelers matchup was called after the game, saying he was “kind of frustrated” with how closely it was officiated. Ramsey was called for two pass interference penalties, but only one of them seemed to warrant a flag.

The biggest issue Ramsey had was with JuJu Smith-Schuster pushing off at the top of his routes without being called for offensive pass interference.

“I’m kind of frustrated a little bit with the (officiating). I’ll probably get fined for this but it’s all right. I was kind of upset with the officiating a little bit, just because he was pushing off quite a bit – especially on his first pass he caught on me, he pushed off with two hands. I thought that was clear as day. It didn’t get called, I kept playing and remained playing,” Ramsey told reporters in the locker room.

As for the pass interference penalties called on him, he only agreed with one of them. He said the first one was just incidental contact after their feet got tangled. The second pass interference call, Ramsey admitted was fair.

“Then they called a PI on me when it was for the most part incidental. They called a PI when we tripped over each other’s foot. That usually doesn’t get called,” Ramsey said. “And then they called a PI when I tugged him once. That was a tug, for sure. I can’t argue that, that was a tug. But I was kind of disappointed in some of the non-calls. He pushed off quite a bit, but it’s OK. That’s just the type of game we had. I thought they were going to let us play, that’s really why I tugged him on that one.”

This was Ramsey’s first loss as a member of the Rams, but he and the rest of the team will have a chance to bounce back next week against the Bears at home.

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Todd Gurley on not getting the ball in 4th quarter: ‘I’m used to it’

Todd Gurley on not getting the ball in the fourth quarter: “I’m used to it.”

Todd Gurley has been a catalyst for the Rams’ offense the last two years. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2017 and 2018, and was named Offensive Player of the Year in Sean McVay’s first season as head coach.

This season has been alarmingly different for Gurley. He’s not getting the ball as much, he’s finding very few running lanes and the Rams are leaning heavily on Jared Goff’s arm. That recipe cooked up by McVay has backfired terribly with the Rams limping to a 5-4 record through nine games.

Gurley seems to have grown frustrated with the offense, specifically with his usage. In Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, Gurley didn’t touch the ball once in the fourth quarter and didn’t even play the first two series to open the final frame.

After the game, he was asked whether he wanted the ball more with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.

“Um, not really. I’m used to it,” he told reporters, via Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic.

So, you mean to tell me the guy who led the NFL in touches, yards and touchdowns the last two years doesn’t want the ball more in the fourth quarter? That’s hard to imagine, but it says a lot about the current state of the Rams.

In two short sentences, Gurley said more than he has all season. It’s troubling enough that he apparently doesn’t want the ball more with the game on the line, but it might be even worse that he’s “used to it.”

This isn’t to say there’s a rift developing between Gurley and McVay, but it’s clear the running back isn’t happy with his role on offense. As for why Gurley didn’t get the ball in the fourth quarter of a one-score game, McVay said it was “kind of just the rotation.”

“I thought Todd really had some tough, hard-earned runs,” McVay said in his press conference. “We got some drives going, but then at the end of the day, we ended up being in some two-minute situations at the end of the game and it was kind of hard to get back into any sort of flow running the football.”

The part about the Rams getting into two-minute situations late in the game isn’t entirely true. They shouldn’t have felt rushed at any point in the fourth quarter besides their final two drives of the game. Entering the last 15 minutes, the Steelers held just a four-point lead.

And after the Rams’ sack with 12:46 left to play, Pittsburgh was only up two points. What about that situation caused the Rams to panic and completely abandon the run after Gurley racked up 73 yards on 12 carries?

McVay and the coaches have a lot of questions to answer, but none are bigger than their usage of Gurley – and the running back has clearly taken notice of his role on offense.

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NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore says Jared Goff’s fumble should’ve been incomplete

Gene Steratore believes Jared Goff’s arm was coming forward on his controversial fumble.

One of the biggest plays in Sunday’s game between the Rams and Steelers came just before halftime when Jared Goff fumbled the ball and it was returned 43 yards by Minkah Fitzpatrick for a touchdown. That gave Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead with 1:44 left in the first half, taking any sort of momentum away from the Rams. The Steelers would hold on to the lead and go on to win 17-12.

The play was reviewed, as all touchdowns are, and the ruling on the field stood as called. Well, after watching the replay several times, many fans and analysts came away wondering if Goff actually fumbled it.

It could’ve very easily been called a forward pass and incomplete, but that’s not how the officials on the field saw it. Former NFL official and CBS analyst Gene Steratore disagreed with the ruling and shared his thoughts on the play on Twitter.

He believes Goff’s arm was coming forward when the ball came out, which would’ve made it incomplete.

After the game, Goff was asked whether it felt like a pass instead of a fumble.

“It did. I haven’t seen a replay though. So I don’t know,” he said. “Once I see a replay, I’ll let you know, but it felt like I threw it, but who knows. I haven’t seen it.”

This will probably do nothing to help the way fans feel about Sunday’s game, but a former official with 15 years of experience views this play differently than those who were on the field Sunday.

Had the play been called incomplete right away, it likely would’ve stood if the Steelers challenged it. However, since it was deemed a fumble, the officials decided there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it.

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Smith-Schuster: Jalen Ramsey said ‘so many cuss words I’ve never heard of’

Jalen Ramsey introduced a new vocabulary of curse words to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

It’s widely known that Jalen Ramsey likes to talk trash on the field. He’s a player with a lot of confidence in himself, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the league and lets people know about it.

JuJu Smith-Schuster has faced Ramsey in the past and did so again on Sunday in the Steelers’ win over the Rams. He heard an earful from Ramsey throughout the game as the two were matched up throughout the game, and afterwards, Smith-Schuster shared some insight on what Ramsey said.

Well, he said as much as he could, at least.

“It was cool, man. He talks a lot. He talks so much. He said so many cuss words I’ve never heard of, and I’m 22 years old. But he’s a good player,” Smith-Schuster told reporters.

Ramsey had some success against Smith-Schuster, but he was also called for two pass interference penalties and was beaten a few times for receptions by Smith-Schuster. The two lined up across from each other all game long, and Smith-Schuster finished with three catches for 44 yards on six targets.

He also mentioned how Ramsey is forced to follow the Rams’ scheme more closely than he had to in Jacksonville.

“It’s a lot different than him being in Jacksonville where he was able to do whatever he wants. Over here, he has to pretty much do what he’s told … so it’s different. But it was a great experience, wish we got more balls thrown at us, but it’s hard when you’re double-teamed.

Leading up to the game, Ramsey said he was “not really worried” about covering Smith-Schuster and was focused more on himself. He also said Smith-Schuster is “not Antonio Brown,” which the young receiver agreed with after the game.

“He’s right, though, I’m not Antonio Brown,” Smith-Schuster said. “I will never be Antonio Brown. I am myself. I’m JuJu Smith-Schuster. I’m not as good as him yet. I think I still have time to proceed to get to his level.”

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Rams open as 6.5-point favorites over Bears in Week 11

The Rams are home favorites over the Bears despite losing in ugly fashion Sunday.

There’s only been one game this season where the Los Angeles Rams were not favored at kickoff. Week 11 won’t be one of those games as they enter their matchup with the Chicago Bears as the favorites.

Despite losing a disappointing game to the Steelers on Sunday in which the offense scored zero touchdowns, the Rams are significant favorites over Chicago at home in Week 11. According to BetMGM, the opening line has Los Angeles favored by 6.5 points.

The fact that the Rams are at home definitely helps and pushes the line in their favor, but the home team typically only gets three points built in. So clearly the oddsmakers still view the Rams as the better team, even after that ugly loss in Pittsburgh.

The over/under line was set at 41.5 points, which is tied for the second-lowest total since Sean McVay joined the Rams. In Week 3 of 2017, the Rams-49ers game had an over/under of 40.5 points, which turned into a 41-39 shootout win by Los Angeles.

The season opener in 2017 between the Rams and Colts had an over/under of 41.5 points, and Los Angeles won that one 46-9.

This will be a prime-time matchup between the Rams and Bears with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday night. The last time these two teams met, Chicago completely shut down the Rams offense, winning 15-6.

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