LA Rams were 1 FG away from post season play

By Bret Stuter | Jan 23, 2020

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: Kicker Greg Zuerlein #4 and long snapper Jake McQuaide #44 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrate an extra point in the second quarter of the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 08, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /

In a game of inches, the LA Rams week 5 loss to the Seattle Seahawks 30-29 ended up as the difference maker keeping the team out of the playoffs

The LA Rams finished 9-7 in 2019. That was not good enough to get the team into the NFL Playoffs, and had already resulted in the team making coaching changes at the defensive coordinator and running back coaching positions, as well as adding an offensive coordinator. Despite some games where the team was clearly not competitive, the team’s fortunes would have changed dramatically had they defeated the Seattle Seahawks in week five.

Had the Rams won that game, they would have ended the season with a 10-6 record. They would win the tie-breaker with the Seattle Seahawks based on head-to-head meetings (Rams would have swept), and they would have won the tie-breaker over the Minnesota Vikings due to a better conference record.

That would have placed the LA Rams at Philadelphia for the first playoff game, and the Rams had plenty of momentum going in to win that one. In fact, the LA Rams path through this year’s playoffs would be at Philadelphia, at Green Bay, and at San Francisco.

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A game of inches indeed. A game of two points. A game of “wide right”. In the end, fortune smiled on Seattle, and turned its back on Los Angeles. Oh what a difference one game made to the season! But that one game became a microcosm of the Rams entire season.

WR Brandin Cooks caught one incredible pass, but left the game due to the NFL’s concussion protocol. RB Todd Gurley started out well, but had the ball ripped out of his hands by Seahawks DE Jadaveon Clowney, and was silenced in the second half. TE Gerald Everett and WR Cooper Kupp each had 100 yard games catching the ball. QB Jared Goff completed 29 of 49 passes for 395 yards. The Rams only rushed the ball 17 times (not included one QB scramble by Goff for one yard).

The Rams took a 29-24 lead late into the fourth quarter, but failed to make a stop against the Seahawks when the team needed it most. Even after the Seahawks scored, the Rams were able to move the ball into field goal range as the game clock moved under two minutes.

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One season. One game. One drive. One missed field goal. Sometimes the NFL season is over pretty quickly. Other times, the season continues on into February. But 2019 season was so very close to something very special. The point of this is not that the Rams were robbed, but that this team entered the off-season already at a very competitive place. That is why the LA Rams should expect a solid season in 2020. The next attempt at a game winning field goal may be good the next time.