Rams-Chiefs game of 2018 has a new rival, and I think this one may be better

Reason (4) - It all came down to the smallest margin of victory

So how did the Rams win a game, despite the fact that rookie kicker Joshua Karty missed an extra point? It came down to the smallest plays yielding such huge impacts. While fans may be incensed over that missed extra point, will they notice that he successfully kicked five other extra points? And then there is the fact that Joshua Karty kicked a field goal, the only field goal in the game.

Karty made eight of nine possible points on the afternoon. The team won by two points. If you successfully do the math, the Rams victory was due to Karty's ability to kick, not in spite of it. But there are more small plays that held huge impacts in this game.

For the first time this season, the Rams' offense scored early and often. While that is a natural conclusion for a team that scored 44 points in a game, it was not the same story just one week ago. The Rams failed to score a single point in the first half against the New Orleans Saints in Week 13. Since that drought, the team has scored 65 points in six NFL quarters. That is more points than this team had scored in the first three games of the season. In the end, Week 14 was decided by two points.

Which brings us to the LA Rams defense and special teams. No, the Rams young defense is not statistically superior to many NFL defenses right now. But this is a defense that has put 29 points on the scoreboard. Of the team's total 298 points scored this season, nearly 10 percent of the points scored have come from the defense. More than one game have ended up as a win as a result.

The Rams' defense/special teams rose to the occasion once again with a first-half blocked punt. It was thanks to backup ILB Jake Hummel. Backup tight end Hunter Long scooped up the football and lumbered down the field for a special team's score:

That put seven points on the scoreboard for the Rams in Week 14. The team won again by, ahem, just two points. In the end, it was the type of win that could define the team's season. After all, the situation seemed hopeless. The team had a sputtering offense, an inconsistent defense, a suspect special teams. And here came the Bills juggernaut, a team that seldom lost this season, and seldom lost to the Rams throughout the history of the NFL.

And yet, the Rams won. Now the team is 7-6, is finally over the .500 hump, and has four games remaining on the 2024 NFL Schedule. The Rams control their own destiny right now. Just in time too, as three of their final four games are against NFC West Division rivals.

Don't get me wrong, that Chiefs-Rams game in 2018 marked the emergence of QBs Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff as young quarterbacks ready to lead two NFL teams into the future. But the meeting of Bills QB Josh Allen dueling Rams QB Matthew Stafford in a slugfest felt like the NFL was trying to pass the baton to Josh Allen, all the while Stafford clenched it tightly in his grip.

Matthew Stafford is still Him. And likewise, so is Rams HC Sean McVay

As always, thanks for reading.

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