Rams, McVay better hope decision to stick with Ficken at kicker doesn’t backfire

After losing Greg Zuerlein to a back injury, the Los Angeles Rams hope Sam Ficken can carry the load on special teams moving forward.

When looking at the historic numbers he was putting together, Greg Zuerlein suffering a back injury as a result of the team’s Week 15 game against the Seattle Seahawks was a crushing blow for the Los Angeles Rams, especially right before the playoffs. After proving he was worth keeping around for the long run last year, Zuerlein was having an unbelievable season for the Rams in 2017 by converting 38 of 40 field goals, crushing his previous career high of 26.

Reliable kickers can be difficult to find sometimes in the NFL, especially when a starter goes down at the worst possible time, as numerous teams have already been forced to deal with throughout the 2017 season. Unfortunately, Los Angeles was the latest victims to be part of that list with the loss of Zuerlein since he’s proven to be one of those kickers that seems irreplaceable, and based off what the team saw from Sam Ficken against the Tennessee Titans, there’s reasons for concern heading into January.

Despite starting Week 16 on a rough note by missing an extra point along with a 36-yard field goal, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez discussed on Wednesday how Sean McVay plans on keeping Ficken around moving forward, even if it seems extremely risky. Obviously, there’s a ton of pressure that comes for an inexperienced kicker in the NFL like Ficken this late in the season with the Rams earning the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the NFC playoff picture, but also, making the necessary field goals is part of his job as a kicker.

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Los Angeles never would have considered Ficken for the job if they didn’t believe he was capable of handling the duties over the other kickers that were auditioning last week, and now it’s up to the former Penn State star to prove his value by coming through not just in Week 17, but during the playoffs as well. Because if the Rams end up missing out on advancing in the playoffs as a result of a missed field goal or two, chances are Ficken will never land a job in the NFL again, so let’s hope this decision to give him another chance doesn’t end up backfiring for both parties.