Even though Matthew Stafford is still slinging it for the Los Angeles Rams, their season is crumbling because of late-game mistakes. And their second fourth-quarter collapse against the 49ers proves they are NFC pretenders.
Eddy Piñeiro kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime and San Francisco stopped Kyren Williams on fourth down, giving the 49ers a 26-23 victory on Thursday Night Football.
The loss landed squarely on the shoulders of Rams’ head coach Sean McVay, who accepted the blame, according to ESPN.
“I’m pretty sick right now,” McVay said. “I’m sick of the spot that I put our group in to end the game, but these are the tough beats that you’ve got to be able to learn from and move forward.”
Rams are in early trouble in the NFC
It’s not like the Rams are toast. But they should be 5-0 and boasting about being the top team in the NFC.
However, they couldn’t protect the kicker. And a blocked field goal cost them the game against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. It was far worse against the 49ers.
Kyren Williams fumbled at the goal line as the Rams had the game all but wrapped up. Then, in overtime, instead of going for the tie and still having a chance to win, McVay let his ego get in the way.
The Rams went for it on fourth down and one at the 49ers’ 11-yard line. And here’s the worst part: A first down didn’t guarantee a win. The Rams still needed a touchdown to win or a field goal to tie the game. Yes, they would have been first and goal, but there were no guarantees — especially in that wild game.
Plus, a fourth-down stop ended the game. In other words, McVay gave the 49ers a chance to make one play to earn the win, while at the same time his team may have needed several more plays to win.
McVay should have kicked the field goal, tried to stop the 49ers, and had another chance to win. Could it be that McVay had zero confidence in his defense? That unit certainly did not play well.
Furthermore, McVay opted for an inside run. That gave the 49ers a chance to load up. It was like a goal-line play. A play-action pass might have been the better call. Look at the Rams’ rushing attack. They only gained 78 yards on 15 carries before that play. It’s not like they were brutalizing the 49ers at the line of scrimmage.
Again, at least McVay had the courage to accept that he spit the bit on this one, according to a post on the Rams’ YouTube page.
“Bad call by me,” he said during the Rams' post-game press conference. “Thought about maybe trying to draw them offsides. I took one [timeout], they took the other. And it was a poor decision by me right there.
“But give the 49ers credit. They made enough plays to be able to win the football game. We had plenty of chances throughout this game.”
Comically, McVay said he gave no thought to kicking a field goal. Really?
“No,” McVay said.
What?
“In hindsight, I wish I would have,” McVay said. “We came in here to try to win the football game. It didn’t go down for us, Gary. That wasn’t even a thought.
“The play selection was very poor. My job is to try to put our players in successful situations and outcomes. And that wasn’t it right there.”
Another thing that hurt the Rams came at the start of the game. The 49ers poured it on early and took a 14-0 lead. It looked like the Rams were a little shellshocked.
“We weren’t ready to go,” McVay said. “I’m really disappointed, while also excited about being able to use this as an opportunity to be able to respond. Right now, it doesn’t feel good.”
The Rams trailed 20-7 in the third quarter before mounting an impressive comeback. Now they have crushing NFC losses that could come back to haunt them.
And consider this. What if the Rams lose a playoff berth or home-field advantage because the Packers settled for a tie against the Cowboys while the Rams bull-headed their way to a loss against the 49ers? If the Packers finish 11-5-1, that trumps 11-6.
