Hill throws away Rams’ chance to win
BY JIM THOMAS
http://www.stltoday.com
SAN DIEGO, Calif. • Defeat came in a bitter dose for the Rams on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. With just over a minute to play, the Rams were on the doorstep of the end zone and a dramatic comeback victory over the San Diego Chargers.
But on second-and-goal from the San Diego 4, Shaun Hill’s crossing pass intended for WR Kenny Britt was picked off by Marcus Gilchrist right around the goal line. So much for momentum. So much for that dramatic comeback.
With only one timeout remaining, the Rams could stop the clock only once. So the result was a 27-24 victory for San Diego (7-4) on a day when the Rams had two TD passes called back because of penalty and had several chances to take control in the first half. At 4-7, the Rams must sweep their final five games to avoid their 11th straight non-winning season.
Things didn’t start well for Hill and the St. Louis offense. On the third play of the game for that unit, Hill threw a tad late to tight end Jared Cook to his right. Brandon Flowers swooped in for an interception and returned it nine yards to the St. Louis 34.
The Chargers got as far as the St. Louis 5 before settling for a Nick Novak field goal and an early 3-0 lead.
The Rams got some traction on their next possession, picking up four first downs on a long 8-minute drive. Overcoming two false starts and an offensive holding penalty (on Greg Robinson), the Rams reached the 4 before stalling.
Robinson’s penalty wiped out a 23-yard completion to Stedman Bailey. But the Rams got that yardage back _ and more _ on a 19-yard completion to Bailey coupled with a roughing the passer penalty by Dwight Freeney on the next play.
That gave the Rams a first down at the Chargers’ 11, but they could advance only to the 4 before running out of downs. Greg Zuerlein’s 22-yard field goal tied the game at 3-3 late in the first quarter.
The Rams tacked seven more points on the board not long after that kick. The Chargers marched quickly down the field and looked like they would come out of things with at least three points.
But on third-and-goal from the St. Louis 8, Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins stepped in front of a Philip Rivers pass intended for Keenan Allen. Jenkins intercepted the ball at the 1, and returned it 99 yards for a score.
It was the fifth “pick 6” and sixth defensive touchdown scored by Jenkins since he entered the league in 2012. The Rams had some chances to tack onto that lead, but came up short over the rest of the opening half.
On their next possession, a 46-yard field goal attempt by Zuerlein was blocked by San Diego’s Darrell Stuckey. After a three-and-out by the Chargers, Hill completed a 51-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt. But the play was called back because Robinson was flagged for grabbing the facemask of a San Diego pass rusher.
So the score remained 10-3 Rams until late in the second quarter, when San Diego mounted a successful 2-minute drive _ at least successful enough for a 48-yard Novak field goal with 2 seconds left in the half.
The Chargers picked away at the Rams’ defense with underneath routes the entire drive, leaking out backs and wide receivers against a soft-playing St. Louis secondary. So it was 10-6 Rams at the half.
The Chargers continued that tactic offensively in the third quarter. That approach worked well enough that San Diego steadily moved the ball downfield on its first possession of the second half. On first-and-10 from the St. Louis 32, Ryan Mathews gashed the Rams on a draw play _ the Chargers’ favorite running play in their playbook. Mathews went all the way to the end zone for a 32-yard TD and a 13-10 San Diego lead.
Things got worse before they got better for the Rams. On the Rams’ next possession, Robinson’s bad day continued. On second-and-10 from the 20, University of Illinois product Corey Liuget beat Robinson and knocked the ball loose from Hill for a fumble. Former University of Missouri linebacker Andrew Gachkar scooped up the loose ball and returned it 13 yards for a TD and a 20-10 Rams lead with 9:28 to play in the third quarter.
But the Rams caught a break when punt return man Allen muffed a Johnny Hekker punt and undrafted rookie Alex Bayer recovered for the Rams at the San Diego 21.
It took only three plays to get in the end zone, with the TD coming on a six-yard fly sweep by Tavon Austin for his first touchdown of the season. So it was 20-17 Chargers with 6:18 left to play in the third quarter, plenty of time for a Rams comeback.
The situation looked promising when San Diego got pinned back at its 9 after another Hekker punt. But San Diego marched methodically down the field for what looked like a back-breaking touchdown on a 29-yard bubble screen from Rivers to Allen that gave the home team a 27-17 lead.
But the Rams wouldn’t go quietly into the southern California sunset. Hill led a Rams drive that resulted in not one, but two TD catches by Bailey. The first _ a fade pattern to the left from the 4 _ was negated by a holding penalty, making it the second Rams TD catch to be negated by a penalty called by referee Carl Cheffers’ crew.
But two plays later Hill threw another fade pattern to Bailey for a score, this time to the right and from the 7-yard line. There were no flags this time, so the TD stood and San Diego clung to a 27-24 lead.
After forcing the Chargers to punt, it looked like Austin had given the Rams the lead with a 75-yard punt return that carried to about the San Diego 3. But once again their were flags, and the Rams took over at the Chargers 40 instead because of offsetting penalties.
Then on third-and-3 from the San Diego 33, Hill threw a deep corner route that was hauled in by Kenny Britt with a diving catch at the 6 with 1:09 to play.
But after a Benny Cunningham run to the 4, that’s where this day ended for the Rams.
