Mayfield Miracle on Stadium Drive. LA Rams comeback instant classic

The Rams have a fighter under center

Let’s break this win down for you. With 12:20 left in this one, the LA Rams trailed the Las Vegas Raiders by the score of 16-3 and were not able to sustain drives. Even as the offense moved the football, the Rams fumbled the football to end one drive, and a series of calls against the LA Rams offensive linemen eliminated a number of positive plays.

It was all but over according to the ESPN Win Probability chart, the Rams had just a 1.2 percent chance of winning the game at that point. The LA Rams had to do three things that they had not done all season long:

The plan seemed impossible

I  : The LA Rams had to score a fourth-quarter touchdown quickly
II : The LA Rams had to hold the Raiders offense to three downs and punt
III: The LA Rams had to march down the field and score their second fourth-quarter touchdown with whatever time remained.

Okay, now that you know what the Rams were up against, how did the Rams perform?  Well, the easiest part of this plan was the first touchdown. But it was difficult to get the Rams’ offense on track, as the Rams were forced to punt on a fourth down with three yards to go. And that would have been the end of the game, if not for an incredible Raiders penalty of five yards that gave the Rams’ offense new life.

With a new lease, Baker Mayfield went back to work, finding Rams WR Ben Skowronek several times, then passing twice to WR Tutu Atwell. In the Red Zone, the Rams geared down to passing to running backs, and finally, RB Cam Akers plunged it in with first down and goal to go as the Las Vegas Raiders’ one-yard line. The Rams had gotten to within one score, now down by 16-10.

Yes, the Rams scored but exhausted nine minutes in the process.  Now, it was up to the LA Rams’ defense to force a punt.