Plays that shaped Rams' season: No. 3

Plays that shaped Rams’ season: No. 3

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15712/plays-that-shaped-rams-season-no-3

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Upset victories against the Denver Broncos and at the San Francisco 49ers in two of the previous three weeks renewed hopes that perhaps the St. Louis Rams could surge to the finish line and, at least, finish with their first winning season since 2003.

So the Rams headed west to play the San Diego Chargers with a chance to get their record to 5-6 with winnable games against the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins in the following two weeks.

Unlike previous games in which the Rams would jump out to an early lead only to watch it go by the wayside later on, the Rams actually flashed the ability to battle back from a deficit against the Chargers. The Rams fell behind 20-10 in the third quarter and 27-17 with 8:09 to go in the fourth. But they found a way to battle back.

After quarterback Shaun Hill hit receiver Stedman Bailey for a 7-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 27-24 with 2:04 to play, the Rams’ defense did its job by getting a quick three-and-out. The Rams took over at San Diego’s 40-yard line with the help of a 38-yard punt return from Tavon Austin. Armed with a timeout and 1:27 to go, Hill promptly led the Rams deep into San Diego territory.

After getting a first down at San Diego’s 6, the Rams got a 2-yard run from back Benny Cunningham to San Diego’s 4. Concerned they would need time to score, the Chargers called a timeout after the run.

As it turned out, they wouldn’t need it.

On second-and-goal at the 4, Hill dropped back to pass with receivers Chris Givens and Kenny Britt bunched to the left, where they were joined by Cunningham after he went in motion. At the snap, Givens ran a deep in to the back of the end zone, with Britt running a jerk route underneath just inside the goal line. Cunningham ran a route similar to Britt on a follow concept where he’d trail behind Britt by a few yards.

Hill looked off Givens on the first read and then locked onto Britt. He never unlocked from Britt and eventually forced a pass to him from a sturdy pocket. San Diego safety Marcus Gilchrist never left Britt, in part because Rams tight end Lance Kendricks stayed in to block, and jumped in front of Britt for the interception that would save the game for the Chargers and hand the Rams perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season.

Replays showed Hill had enough time in the pocket to wait another beat, and if he had, Cunningham was coming wide open for an easy touchdown that probably would’ve secured the win. Even an incompletion there or on the next play and the Rams could have at least tied the game and sent it to overtime.

Instead, the Rams lost 27-24 and we received further confirmation that they aren’t consistently good enough offensively with their current personnel.