Inside the 95-yard drive that shows the Rams’ offense is back on the rise

Inside the 95-yard drive that shows the Rams’ offense is back on the rise

Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1444934/2019/12/09/inside-the-95-yard-drive-that-shows-the-rams-offense-is-back-on-the-rise/?source=twittered

LOS ANGELES — Pick-six. Interception. Missed field goal. Punt. The Rams’ offense, which made Seattle look silly in the first half, made everyone in the Coliseum nervous with four dismal third-quarter drives and zero points.

The Rams nursed a 12-point lead as the fourth quarter started, and the Seahawks clearly remained capable of a comeback, one that would have decimated the Rams’ already slim playoff hopes.

It’s not easy to turn around a sputtering offense in the middle of a half, but the Rams did it Sunday night when they completed a 95-yard touchdown drive to take a commanding 19-point lead on the way to a 28-12 victory over the Seahawks.

The drive, which included two runs, two play-action passes and three jet-sweep runs, was both timely and revelatory. Coach Sean McVay, who did an admirable job early in the game of establishing the run, enjoyed the fruit of that as he kept Seattle’s defense off-balance and showed a lot of trust in his players, particularly his blocking tight ends, his receivers and quarterback Jared Goff.

The Rams, left for dead just two weeks ago, are back. Their offense is humming again, the defense is dominant and, after they improved to 8-5 Sunday, suddenly a 10-6 finish doesn’t seem unrealistic at all. Will that be enough for a playoff spot? That’s largely in the hands of Minnesota, which at 9-4 holds the second and final wild-card spot in the NFC, but there’s nothing the Rams can do about that.

They followed up a “yeah but it was Arizona” victory over the Cardinals last week with arguably their most complete game of the season, and it led to locker-room optimism.

“This is a different team, a different mentality,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “You know what? I think we’re shooting our shot for the next three weeks.”

There’s reason to believe. The Rams had great balance and execution throughout the first half, when they easily built a 21-3 lead, and when things started to go sideways in the third quarter, they stabilized themselves with a 95-yard drive. Here’s how it went, with insight from the key players involved.

First-and-10, Rams’ 5-yard line

The Rams came out in 12 personnel, with tight ends flanking the tackles, and made the reasonable decision to hand the ball to running back Malcolm Brown, who at a stout 222 pounds, is more of a bruiser than Todd Gurley. It didn’t work, as Brown was stuffed for no gain.

Second-and-10, Rams’ 5-yard line

This is the one. This is the play that illustrates why Rams fans should retain hope.

Early in the game, when the Rams were in 12 personnel, they ran. When they were in 11 personnel, they passed. That type of predictability is easy to sniff out, and there’s no way McVay would have attempted to sustain it. Eventually, not only did he vary the play-calling in 12 personnel but he utilized the play-action game often and slowly phased out 11 personnel altogether. McVay still made stuff look different.

On this play, Tyler Higbee lined up just outside right tackle Bobby Evans, while Johnny Mundt was set just to Higbee’s right. The Rams did this often, with both tight ends on the same side of the formation. This time, Mundt took off down the field as Goff faked a handoff to Brown.

Goff rolled right but Seattle defensive end Jadeveon Clowney recovered quickly and pressured Goff as he rolled toward the sideline. Meanwhile, Higbee, who had positioned himself as a check-down option at the 7-yard line, noticed that the Seahawks seemed to have forgotten about him. Higbee kept his eyes on Goff, who eventually returned the glance. Higbee turned upfield just as Goff threw across his body. Higbee turned the short catch into a 32-yard gain, and the Rams were on the move.

“He’s got good vision,” Higbee said of Goff. “I was just trying to find some open space so he could put it on me, and then I just tried to make a play.”

.@JaredGoff16 finds Higbee for a 33-yard gain! #LARams

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From Goff’s perspective, “It just happened. That has happened two weeks in a row now. I was able to get to the last guy there in the middle. It’s not usually an advised throw, back across your body, but the way we run that, it’s OK at times. Last week we hit one pretty good and this week was no different, and Tyler just continues to step up. I’m so proud of him and the way he’s been playing.”

First-and-10, Rams’ 37-yard line

It’s usually tough to get yards against the Seahawks. But when they went to a 6-1 front and the Rams used two tight ends, they loved the matchup when it came to one of McVay’s pet plays.

The jet-sweep runs that McVay utilized in 2017 started to get slowed down last season when teams put six players across the line of scrimmage. Then, McVay ran plays almost exclusively out of 11 personnel, and while the Rams’ receivers generally block well, that’s still a tough circumstance for them to thrive.

With two tight ends, though, the Rams felt better about handing the ball to their receivers in motion. It’s not something they’ve done a lot in the past with Josh Reynolds, but Reynolds had a 12-yard gain in the first quarter and a 10-yard gain in the third quarter. It worked again fairly well here, as Reynolds picked up 7 yards. For the past two weeks, the Rams stressed first-down effectiveness, and Reynolds’ run put them in an advantageous spot near midfield.

“We liked it against that 6-1 defense that the Seahawks kept jumping in,” Reynolds said. “As you see, it kept working. As long as they kept hopping into that 6-1, we were going to attack that outside.

“We’ve got capable receivers who are able to block, and running backs, but when you can put a bigger body on them, it works. Those two-tight-end sets have made a difference.”

Second-and-3, Rams’ 44-yard line

This might have been the best of McVay’s play calls. With endless options in that situation, at that location on the field, the coach turned to a bread-and-butter play. Goff executed another play-action fake, even better than the earlier pass to Higbee, and found receiver Robert Woods for a 20-yard gain.

First-and-10, Seahawks’ 36-yard line

Woods barely had time to catch his breath before he got the ball again. He went in motion toward the left side of the line, took a handoff from Goff and ran around the corner for 16 yards.

“It was something they were giving us,” Whitworth said, “giving us an opportunity to get out on the edge and use our athletes. That’s the beauty of football. Once you see something, you’ve got to keep attacking it.”

First-and-10, Seahawks’ 20-yard line

So, the Rams kept attacking it. They lined up in the same formation, with the same personnel and ran the same play to the same side. The Seahawks still had no answer and Woods ran for 13 yards.

“We really were just seeing what they gave us,” Woods said. “They gave us the edge and we were able to read it the first time. Then they gave us the same look and we ran it again. I was asking for a third one.”

First-and-goal, Seahawks’ 7-yard line

Todd Gurley. Remember him? Throughout the game, the Rams did a good job of sprinkling in Gurley, even though he was not ripping off long runs. McVay stayed disciplined with his run-pass balance, which is something he rarely achieves in big games.

Gurley had gained a total of only 4 yards in his previous three carries (in the third quarter), but the Seahawks really, really had trouble setting the outside edge. On this play, Gurley took a handoff, bounced to his left and ran hard as he took a good angle to the goal line and the pylon.

The only player left to stop Gurley was Seattle cornerback Tre Flowers, who regretted it. Without slowing down, Gurley stiff-armed Flowers to the ground just before the goal line, then skipped into the end zone.

“It was just me one-on-one with the corner,” Gurley said. “I had to go Derrick Henry style with the stiff-arm. I thought he would try to punch out the ball.”

“He’s a bad man,” Goff said. “That’s what I told him. He’s a bad dude. It was vintage Todd, and that’s who he is.”

So in that way, it was perfect, because the same could be said of the Rams’ offense. It was a vintage performance.

Goff (22 of 31, 293 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) and the offensive line overcame some mid-game wobbles and got back on track with the help of a dominant defense that limited the playmaking of Russell Wilson and sacked him five times. Gurley finished with 113 yards from scrimmage and McVay showed great balance, as he called 33 run plays and 31 pass plays. It all came together in a 95-yard drive that eased some anxiety in the fourth quarter.

“It’s amazing, when you think of the group we’re playing with and how young they are,” Whitworth said. “Really, even Jared and the receivers. These are young guys, and a young group at tight end. This is a young offense against a great team that has had a good year. To go 95 yards when you had to, what a cool moment for those guys. It’s something they can build off of and remember and say, ‘Hey, this is who we can be going forward.’”