LA Rams WR Xavier Smith only needed one play to steal the hearts of fans and a W

The LA Rams did not have enough open roster slots for young former Florida A&M wide receiver Xavier Smith. Despite a sensational training camp in which he caught anything and everything thrown his way. Despite a preseason in which he caught almost every pass hurled at him from backup quarterback Stetson Bennett, the coaches and front office looked elsewhere to fill the team's initial 53-man roster.

And that was a mistake.

A player can only deliver what is asked of him. And WR Xavier Smith, can only catch the passes thrown his way. In Week 3, no passes were thrown to WR Xavier Smith. Not one. And yet, the young wide receiver had what was likely the biggest single play of the game. And it was his only play of the afternoon.

Xavier Smith delivered a jackpot.

Talk about making the most of limited opportunities.

But let's set the stage. The LA Rams had opted to tie the score, sending the game almost certainly into overtime. And as Rams fans remember, overtime is not a friendly place for an NFL team that allows their opponent to drive the football field and score a touchdown. With less than two minutes to go in the game, and the Rams needing a huge defensive stop, they kicked off to the 49ers. And the 49ers drove the football to their own 43-yard line, But then the Rams forced two incompletions, and used their final timeout after 49ers QB Brock Purdy scrambled for two yards.

The 49ers had to punt. And Xavier Smith, a player just activated from the team's practice squad, was all set to return the punt, hopefully to run out of bounds and stop the clock. But he delivered something better.

He delivered an incredible momentum-changing play:

The 49ers had to know the game situation. They had to know Smith, or any Rams punt returner for that matter, had to run out of bounds to stop the clock and preserve as much time as possible on the game clock. But they were helpless to stop the determined Smith. His moment to make a difference had arrived, and make a difference is exactly what he did.

The Rams were out of time outs. This offense had gained some momentum. But driving the football field with just 55 seconds was far too much to ask. So Xavier Smith returned the punt 38 yards to midfield. And that allowed the Rams to throw a pass to TE Colby Parkinson that drew two defensive penalties. The Rams elected a 25-yard pass interference penalty, setting up the team at the 49ers 25-yard line. A six-yard run by RB Kyren Williams set up the ideal field goal distance.

A spike from QB Matthew Stafford on the next play stopped the game clock with just a handful of seconds remaining. That set up rookie kicker Joshua Karty to boot the game-winner.

But without Xavier Smith's phenomenal punt return, there is no pass interference called. Without that punt return, there is no spike to save a few seconds on the game clock.

One play. One phenomenal, jump out of your chair and scream at the television play from Xavier Smith put the LA Rams into perfect position to win. Before his sensational punt return, the team had average six yards on just two punt returns all season.

Let's hope the team figures out some way to sign Xavier Smith to the team's 53-man roster. If not soon, you know some other team will be more than happy to do so.

As always, thanks for reading.