Matthew Stafford said after Sunday’s win over the Vikings that he was looking forward to hopefully having a normal week of practice. He said that because the previous two weeks were rather unusual and different for the Rams.
Leading up to their game against the Seahawks, the Rams were forced to cancel practice from Wednesday to Friday due to COVID-19 before finally taking the field on Saturday – after learning the game was rescheduled from Sunday to Tuesday. They were so shorthanded that coaches had to stand in during drills.
They managed to make it through the week and beat the Seahawks before quickly turning around and facing the Vikings on Sunday.
With a short week and terrible weather throwing a wrench into their preparation for Week 16, the Rams didn’t practice Wednesday and only held a walk-through Thursday before heading to SoFi Stadium on Friday for their first full practice.
The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster for the Rams, and that’s without even mentioning all the players they lost shortly before facing the Cardinals in Week 14, a game they also won despite Jalen Ramsey, Tyler Higbee, Rob Havenstein and Brian Allen all being out.
And so here we are at the end of December looking back on what was a wildly successful month for the Rams after November was nothing short of a disaster. The schedule wasn’t easy, facing the Cardinals, Seahawks and Vikings – though their matchup with the Jaguars was obviously as favorable as it gets.
The Rams went 4-0, outscoring their opponents 117-63. That would be impressive in any month, yet the Rams did it while placing 29 players on COVID-19 reserve and watching several others going down with injuries. At no point in the month of December were the Rams at full strength, missing several starters in each of their last three games.
Against the Jaguars, they didn’t have Allen, Darrell Henderson Jr. or Sebastian Joseph-Day, who’s been on injured reserve. A week later, they faced the Cardinals without Havenstein, Higbee, Allen, Henderson and Ramsey. Their win over the Seahawks came without Havenstein, Higbee, Joe Noteboom and Jordan Fuller, cruising to a 20-10 win. And finally, they beat the Vikings on Sunday with their fourth-string left tackle and a backup center after Andrew Whitworth and Joe Noteboom were placed on COVID-19 reserve and Allen got hurt in the first half.
Greg Gaines, Ernest Jones and Henderson all got hurt in the win, too, but the Rams were still in complete control of the game from start to finish thanks to contributions from Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton, Travin Howard and Marquise Copeland.
“Alaric Jackson to be able to step in and play left tackle, no flinch. Coleman Shelton bumping into center. David Edwards starts the game at left tackle. What we’re saying, it’s unbelievable. Takes all 48. I’m exhausted,” McVay said after the victory.
It’s a real credit to the depth the Rams have across the roster that they were able to overcome all of these hurdles – from the constant shuffling of the offensive line to the rotation at cornerback with Ramsey and Deayon missing time due to COVID.
Everyone from Jackson to David Long Jr. and Kendall Blanton to Shelton stepped up at one point or another in December, and the result was a perfect 4-0 record.
And as if that wasn’t sweet enough, going undefeated could be a bit of foreshadowing if past history is any indication of where the Rams might go in the postseason.
The @RamsNFL go undefeated in December.
Last two seasons they did that: 2001 and 1999, both reached the Super Bowl.
— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) December 26, 2021
Going 4-0 in any month is difficult. Doing so with all that the Rams had to endure in December – after going winless in November, too – is incredible. This team is playing some of its best football right now and that’s without playing a single one of its last four games at full strength.
When everyone returns, the Rams might just be the team to beat in the NFC.