It’s getting hard to watch these games now. The St. Louis Rams went into the Jungle to face the Cincinnati Bengals, and barley survived. It was all Bengals since the start of the game, as the Rams offense along with Jeff Fisher still have not found an answer to improve. It was another rough day for the Rams, as the only one that produce some type of numbers was Tavon Austin.
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The Bengals had the Rams kept in check all game, and only committed little mistakes throughout the game. Rams starting quarterback last week Case Keenum was unable to get the green light, which gave Nick Foles a chance to redeem himself today. That would not be the case, as Foles would have his worst game so far as a St. Louis Rams. With the first drive of the game, Foles could not get anything produce, and right away the Rams went three and out. With a very dangerous pass offense and a Bengals team that was hungry for a win, quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green would be two names that would be heard throughout the game.
With the rushing duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, they would drive down the field to give A.J. Green the spotlight. Green would connect with Dalton from ten yards out for the touchdown. This would not be Green’s only touchdown as his name would come up in the 3rd Quarter. With the Bengals having the quick lead, they knew they had to stop rookie running back Todd Gurley, to keep this game in check. That is exactly what they did, as they made the Rams punt for another two straight offensive drives. The Rams defense would finally stow up to stop the Bengals red-hot offense, and held them to only a field goal. The Bengals would lead 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter.
The Bengals would commit one of their few mistakes in the game, as the Rams dialed up an end around from Tavon Austin. Austin would break multiple tackles, as Austin would end up having a 60 yard run. The Rams would continue to give the ball to Austin, as he would come on an end around again, and score from 5 yards out. Rams having some type of momentum, as they trailed now 10-7.
Nov 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (25) breaks a tackle from St. Louis Rams outside linebacker Akeem Ayers (56) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
That momentum was short-lived as the Bengals running attack was too much for the Rams top ten defense. On the day, the Rams defense would give up a total of 140 rushing yards. With a strong running game, the Rams forgot about the Bengals star tight end Tyler Eifert, as he would connect with Dalton for a 22 yard touchdown. With the Bengals now leading by ten, Nick Foles and got the offense going one again. Foles would drive all the way to the Bengals 23 yard line with 44 seconds left in the half, but would throw a terrible throw into coverage and was intercepted by Reggie Nelson. Halftime was here with the score 17-7.
Nov 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher coaches his team against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati defeated St. Louis 31-7. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Dalton would commit his only mistake of the game, as he had plenty of running run to get a potential first down, however threw a pass right into the hands of Janoris Jenkins. With Jenkins and the defense finally getting some results, they gave the ball into the hands of Foles, which was probably a mistake. St. Louis’ offense would produce nothing again and punted the ball. It was near the mid of the 3rd quarter, and the Bengals would put the nail in the coffin. Dalton would connect with running back Bernard for an excellent 45 yard screen play, and the very next play, Dalton would send a perfect pass to Green in the endzone; touchdown. With the score 24-7, and having the worst offense in the NFL, it was all but over.
With Foles still struggling under center, he would throw an early christmas gift to Bengals defensive back Neon Hall, as Hall would intercepted Foles and return it for the pick six. Oh, but Foles would continue to struggle. Two drives later, Foles would throw another horrible pass to receiver Kenny Britt, and get intercepted. Foles would throw for 228 yards, along with 3 costly Interceptions.
However probably the greatest moment of the whole game came in the Rams last offensive drive. Coach Jeff Fisher put in rookie quarterback Sean Mannion. Mannion would go 6/7 for 31 yards in about two minutes. Mannion looked comfortable; however the Bengals were probably not playing 100 percent. The offense continued to struggle as Gurley is getting stopped. Gurley ran for 19 yards on 9 carries. The Rams came into the Jungle hoping to re-write their season, but left with another horrible performance and their playoff hopes gone.