How the Grinch stole a win (and LA Rams offense learned to run again)

When the LA Rams left the football field at halftime in Week 15, the score was tied at 3-3. But the Rams were not exactly making any use of the hard lessons learned in the previous two wins.  The first drive that resulted in a field goal started out fine.

We’ll revisit the game via ESPN’s Play by Play recap. That will allow us to break down both run and pass plays called by the Rams in this game. Please note that any quarterback sack will be considered a pass play in our analysis, but will not show up as an attempted pass in the game box stats. Here we go.

The Rams ran twice and eventually put together a 10-play scoring drive by throwing the ball six times and running it four times. But it needed a running into the kicker penalty against the Seahawks to move the ball five yards into the range of Pro Bowl kicker Matt Gay.

6 passes  4 runs (Q1 – 8:16)

But on the next series of plays, the Rams chucked a balanced offensive attack out the window. The Rams started out with the ball on their own 12-yard line. After two runs in the first four plays proved ineffective, the Rams turned to six consecutive pass plays that moved the ball down the field but eventually resulted in an interception with the first play of the second quarter.

14 passes 6 runs (Q2 – 14:49)

The LA Rams returned to the football field with 12:53 in the second quarter remaining and reset the backfield with RB Darrell Henderson. This time, the Rams did a much better job of interweaving short passes with running plays. But the play stalled on a quarterback sack with third down and eight to go. The Rams punted the ball for the first time to the Seahawks.

21 passes 11 runs (Q2 – 5:46)

The Rams offense got the ball back at their 25-yard line and connected to Cooper Kupp for a 42-yard strike that put the ball deep into Seahawks territory. But on fourth down and two yards to go, the Rams opted away from kicking a field goal and passed the football. The pass fell incomplete, and the Rams turned the ball over on downs.

26 passes 13 runs (Q2 -1:56)

After the turnover on downs, the Rams lost their shutout as the Seahawks used their two-minute drill to score a game-tying field goal. The Rams knelt on the final play of the half, with an offense that looked ridiculously similar to that of the same losing strategy of other games. Oh, but there was a second half, and that’s why we’re talking about this game after all, right?

26 passes 14 runs (Halftime)