Mayfield Miracle on Stadium Drive. LA Rams comeback instant classic

Tough love and harsh truth

For those of you who need to be fed spoonfuls of flowery happy-happy joy-joy messages about the LA Rams right now, I don’t have that type of message.  Nor is this the ‘sky is falling!’ messaging that seems to show up more frequently about the LA Rams by fans who are disgruntled with the team’s fortunes this year.

The LA Rams were less than two minutes from falling to a 2022 NFL season record of 3-10, a point that translates into elimination from the NFL Playoffs, and signals the LA Rams organization to begin the arduous task of swiveling efforts for the 2022 NFL season into increasing efforts for the 2023 NFL season. And for the fans who want to find fault with this team, there was plenty of fertile ground to sow that negative perspective.

And if that is how you choose to support the team? Have at it.

But the Rams’ roster is much stronger today. The Rams’ front office already has two new options that can significantly help this team in the future. The team should either:

Extend QB Baker Mayfield and have a solid backup quarterback who can win games for the foreseeable future
– OR –
Allow QB Baker Mayfield to test the NFL Free Agency market. If he continues to find success for the LA Rams, that could result in the Rams being awarded a 2024 NFL Draft third-round compensatory pick.

The tide is changing

Sometimes you miss the sounds made by the winds of change if you spend too much time shouting rage. The Rams showed that this team was ready to win in Week 13. The team simply needed someone to show up and show the team how to do so.

The LA Rams had claimed former 2018 NFL Draft top-pick QB, Baker Mayfield, for more than the press coverage his presence would create on a faltering team. The LA Rams have long been a team happy to go for broke, the high-stakes rollers of the NFL.

The LA Rams have been more than happy to trade away first-round picks to acquire game-changing talent. But how often have the LA Rams been able to place a claim for a former first-round chosen quarterback who was waived by an NFL team just 5 seasons after the NFL Draft? This season may have been painful to endure, but did the Rams get an unexpected reward along the way? Whether or not Baker Mayfield proves to be a franchise quarterback for the LA Rams in the future, let’s not taint this incredible performance.