Let’s finally wipe the slate clean over LA Rams QB Jared Goff

LA Rams QB Goff played against the favored Seattle Seahawks with a swollen thumb and emerged the victor. Perhaps it’s time to clean the slate.

The LA Rams were 9-6 under starting quarterback Jared Goff this season, and 1-0 under backup quarterback John Wolford in the 2020 NFL regular season. While the Rams won round one of the NFL Playoffs, it required the combined effort of both John Wolford and Jared Goff to win the wild card round against the Seattle Seahawks.

Wolford left early with the game tied 0-0 and was taken to a Seattle hospital for testing and observation after a vicious hit on the helmet from Seahawk’s safety Jamal Adams. Goff was the only backup in the game, as the Rams opted not to keep Blake Bortles active for the game. That was a curious decision because Goff’s throwing hand was still suffering from the effects of thumb surgery. The thumb was swollen, and the range of motion was undoubtedly limited. So, in came Goff, swollen thumb and all, to pull out the win.

And he did. The Rams won the game 30-20  where the game was far more in the Rams favor than the final score might indicate.

Goff wins a game he shouldn’t have

Almost all deficiencies exhibited by the Rams this season were swept under the ‘Goff sucks’ rug. If the defense could not hold the lead, Goff failed to give the Rams a greater lead. If a field goal kicker missed the field goal, there was another occasion where Goff failed to score a touchdown for the team. Yes, Goff threw interceptions, and that was more frequently than anyone was truly comfortable with. But even on those occasions, the takeaways for many fans was that each loss was Goff’s responsibility.

Goff is not the problem. The Rams finished as the sixth-seed with a 10-6 record because the Rams lost six games. The Rams offense failed to score enough points in six games. The Rams defense failed to hold a lead in six games. And special teams failed to execute well enough in six games. Even the play-calling failed the Rams in six games.