LA Rams Russ Yeast heartbreaking gaffe leads to Texans TD

The LA Rams‘ defense certainly gave a spirited game against the Houston Texans’ starting offense in the first half of the game. Until the final two minutes of the game, the contest had been a defensive battle, with the Rams scratching and clawing out a couple of field goals to cling to a shaky 6-0 lead.

40 seconds remaining in the first half, and the Texans ran for a quick first down to get the football out to the 35-yard line. From that point on, the Rams faced a Texans offense that was determined to take long shots. The first two bombs fell incomplete. But on the third toss, the Texans got the outcome they desperately needed. Texans quarterback David Mills threw a long 32-yard pass to WR Phillip Dorsett, which was initially ruled an incompletion.

Unfortunately, Rams defensive back Russ Yeast was flagged for unsportsmanlike contact, as he initiated a helmet-to-helmet contact that resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. But upon review of the play, the officials determined that what appeared to be an incomplete pass was complete. That placed the football on the Rams’ 18-yard line with time running out.

From there, quarterback David Mills threw an 18-yard dart to WR Nico Collins. That was a heartbreaker for a defense that had played right into halftime, and the hangover stuck around as the Texans came out with a quick third-quarter touchdown with some strong running by Texans running back Royce Freeman.

I don’t mean to throw shade at a young Rams rookie defensive back who is in the fight of his life for playing time this year, but it’s the type of mistake that resulted in an immediate score that, due to halftime, carried over to a second score in the second half.