LA Rams Perkins throws 1st TD pass, followed by 2 INTs

By halftime of their Week 12 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, the LA Rams offensive play-calling had been pretty conservative. The Rams had thrown for a net passing total of only 3 yards, a total that even included a six-yard forward pass by punter Riley Dixon. That was not going to do much for the Rams’ offense, as they had fallen behind by a score of 13-3.

The Rams did rally a bit in the second half when Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins finally found the end zone with a seven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Van Jefferson. That drew the Rams to within 10 points, and the Rams’ defense then made a spectacular stop of the Chiefs with an interception in their own end zone to stop the Chiefs’ certain touchdown drive.

But that meager success was too much temptation for the Rams, who had just scored a touchdown and found themselves with the football at their own 20-yard line. Ideally, the Rams should have gone with their play-calling that had been so effective. And for a moment, it appeared that the Rams would do so. The Rams opened the series with a four-yard run by rookie RB Kyren Williams.

Ideally, the next play would have been a perfect spot for a bootleg or a designed run for mobile quarterback Perkins. But with the Rams connecting with WR Van Jefferson for a score, you just had to know that the offense would dial up a pass play to Jefferson. Well, the Chiefs’ defense had that guessed as well, and Perkins threw into double coverage, resulting in an interception. Once more the Rams’ defense held the Chiefs to a field goal.

But on the next possession, now down by a score of 23-10, the Rams repeated the same play-calling. The Rams rushed on first down. The next play was a short completion to WR Brandon Powell. The next play was a scramble by Perkins to advance the football to the LA Rams’ 43-yard line. On the next play, Perkins once more looked for Van Jefferson, but this time the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Chiefs DL Carlos Dunlap, and intercepted by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton.

That led to another red-zone stand by the Rams, but the Chiefs kicked another field goal. That resulted in the Chiefs moving ahead by the score of 26-10.

The Rams got a solid game out of both their special teams and their defense in this one. While the offense tried to deliver a balanced attack, the lack of experience from Bryce Perkins and the absence of any passing offense to speak of proved to be the difference in this one.

If you need a silver lining for this one? The LA Rams are now 3-8 and are likely picking among the Top-3 selections in both rounds of Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. That means that the Rams will be selecting players with the 35th and 68th overall picks in the draft.