Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Sean McVay: Jared Goff had surgery on his thumb today, decision was made late last night. We are optimistic we will get him back for the playoffs. John Wolford will start on Sunday.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Rams’ QB Jared Goff underwent surgery today on his broken right thumb in LA and is unlikely to play Sunday vs. Arizona, sources tell ESPN. If he can’t play Sunday, Goff could return for the playoffs if Rams advance there.

John Wolford is Goff’s backup and now in line to start.

Wolford would be first QB to make his first start for a team in Week 17 with a playoff berth on the line since Kyle Orton for the 2013 Cowboys

The surgery that Rams QB Jared Goff had earlier today in Los Angeles gives him the best chance of an optimum result without a delay in return. The hope is he can be back for the postseason.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
I can confirm the multiple reports that Jared Goff will have surgery on his right thumb. It’s likely – though not totally certain – that he’s out on Sunday, source said. And the hope is, should John Wolford start and help get Rams to the playoffs, that he can return for a push.

Reminder, the Rams also are hoping to have LT Andrew Whitworth back in the case that they enter the postseason. That alignment, plus organization’s faith in Wolford’s prep, may have made decision for immediate surgery an easier one.

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
Trust me. You’re going to like John Wolford.

Jets suddenly on 2-game winning streak after 0-13 start https://t.co/mAsfOsu7zr

— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) December 28, 2020

Matt Bowen@MattBowen41
#Rams-#Seahawks

SEA played single-high coverages…

Cover 3 — 54.9%
Cover 1 — 25.5%

Limited explosive plays & boot concepts. Disciplined in zone coverage (depth, eyes).

Didn’t allow Goff to throw on rhythm consistently + he struggled with ball location/accuracy.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Rams’ QB Jared Goff is meeting today with Dr. Steven Shin, who treated Drew Brees last year for his thumb injury, per source. Goff will need thumb surgery at some point; the question is when to get it. His status for Sunday remains uncertain.

Rams fighting for their playoff lives heading into Week 17
L.A. misses postseason with loss to Cardinals, Bears win over Packers

ERIC D. WILLIAMS

https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/news/la-rams-fighting-for-playoff-lives-heading-into-week-17

It didn’t have to come to this.

If the Los Angeles Rams had taken care of business two weeks ago against the previously winless New York Jets, they would already be in the postseason and looking at this Sunday’s contest as more of a seeding game.

However, after losing a second straight contest against the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams at 9-6 can finally punch their ticket to the postseason with a win over the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.

The Cardinals fell to the San Francisco 49ers 20-12 over the weekend, so they remain a game back of the Rams in the standings. It’s a must-win game for the Cardinals to reach the playoffs.

The Seahawks clinched their first NFC West division title since 2016 with a win over the Rams last weekend.

If the playoffs ended today, the Rams would be the No. 6 seed, traveling again to Seattle to face the No. 3 seed in the Seahawks.

NFC West division standings
Seahawks 11-4
Rams 9-6
Cardinals 8-7
Niners 6-9

The No. 1 overall seed remains up for grabs in the NFC, which helps the Rams.

L.A. also could get into the playoffs if the Chicago Bears (8-7) lose or tie at home to the Green Bay Packers, who have yet to lock-up the No. 1 overall seed and a bye in the first week of the postseason.

The Packers take the No. 1 seed with a win over the Bears or a loss by Seattle on the road against San Francisco.

So, the Packers have something to play for and that game will take place at the same time as the Rams host the Cardinals.

New Orleans clinches the No. 1 seed with a win over Carolina, along with a Green Bay loss and a Seattle win.

Seattle needs to defeat the Niners, along with losses by the Packers and Saints to gain the No. 1 seed.

Overall, it’s a surprising turn of events for a team like the Rams, that looked like a Super Bowl contender after throttling the New England Patriots in a nationally televised Thursday night contest in Week 14.

If the Rams lose to the Cardinals and the Bears defeat the Packers, the Rams will miss the postseason after having a 96.2% chance to make the playoffs in Week 16, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.

NFC playoff seeding
1. Packers 12-3
2. Saints 11-4
3. Seahawks 11-4
4. Washington 6-9
5. Buccaneers 10-5
6. Rams 9-6
7. Bears 8-7

On the bubble
8. Cardinals 8-7
9. Cowboys 6-9

RamsMaineiac wrote:

How many times was Wilson pressured yesterday?

Comparatively:
Wilson 32 drop backs, sacked 5 times, hit 8 times = 2TDs and QBR of 93.9.
Goff 43 drop backs, sacked 3 times, hit 9 times = no TDs and a QBR of 61.6.

First, your pressure numbers are off. PFR puts up pressure numbers on Wednesdays–the sacks and hits numbers are incomplete till then. Second, ESPN measures Goff’s pressures at 24. I have a tweet to that effect in this thread from the Rams ESPN writer.

Also, Wilson doesn’t matter. He is one of the rare exceptions to the line “all qbs are affected by heavy pressure.” Throughout the years when I bring up the OL and pressure issue I list Wilson and Brady as the 2 exceptions to the “heavy pressure prevails” rule (and have challenged people to name others and I never get any names).

And even Wilson and Brady have succumbed to pressure at times–Rams have done it to Wilson a couple of games, we’ve seen it.

ESPN’s 24 pressures number is the most for any McVay Rams team going back to the start. That means the OL is out of whack and unless the OL is fixed the qb will be compromised. Whoever it is.

Rams could face Cardinals Sunday without QB Jared Goff and playoff spot on the line. Read story from @MasonKernMedia: https://t.co/xFTTcTBz8s

— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) December 28, 2020

Not surprised but if it was really about the “culture” it would’ve happened last week.

Haskins was never this staff’s choice as a QB1. He wasn’t a great fit from a playing standpoint or from a cultural fit. He made the decision easy for them w/his performance and immaturity https://t.co/iNYWE8j2EA

— Bucky Brooks (@BuckyBrooks) December 28, 2020

Zooey wrote:

And…I agree Goff’s performance is affected by pressure. All QBs are affected by pressure.

But that interception was Terrible. He was not under duress when he threw that.

Two things.

1. One of the common mistakes I see when people talk about pressure is this idea that if there is no visible pressure on a particular play, then pressure wasn’t the issue. That is not how it works though. Constant pressure erodes timing, play design, general effectiveness, and confidence. It has an effect on playcalling.It means you’re in more disadvantageous situations more often (like 3rd and long). It usually also means you’re playing from behind, which just increases the pressure issue. In the Rams case it means this–teams like Seattle know they can sit on all those short routes without fear of punishment because the qb will never have time to find a receiver who gets deeper.

With Goff, what pressure does is get him to press–he tries to make plays when they’re not there, and usually his mechanics are off too. No qb gets the time to go “am I pressured this play or not, let’s see….” They go yikes I am running, the play’s not there, but I need to do something (which is pressing). That was the INT.

The pressing can be cured. Run out of bounds, don’t make a blind bad throw just to make a play. Used to be this season it led to strip sacks where instead of taking the sack while pressure closed in he would hang in to make a play. Notice that stopped. Now he’s taking sacks, or when he can, bailing for those short runs (which is what led to the INT).

2. I don’t care about one INT. Warner threw 3 INTs in the 99 championship game against Tampa. It’s not negligible and it’s obviously not desirable, but you can throw one INT–no matter how embarrassing it looks to frustrated fans–and still win.

What you CANNOT do is win with an OL that gives up 24 pressures at a 55.8% rate, which is massive and has never happened before to the McVay Rams. And it does not matter who the qb is if you give up a pressure rate like that and it makes no difference if they did not throw an INT that game.

The pressure issue FAR outweighs any other issue on offense. If the OL is not fixed the offense will not be right until it is fixed.

….

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
Rams lead @NFL in total defense for first time since 1978, allowing 285.6 total YPG in 2020. No other team allows fewer than 300.

The Rams defense has been dominant in 2020 and Leonard Floyd has played himself into position to earn a sizable contract this offseason. Floyd has a career-high 9.5 sacks. https://t.co/yqtztoPNfq

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) December 28, 2020

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
AFC is guaranteed to have a 10+ win team miss the @NFL Playoffs.

NFC could have a 6-win team AND an 8-win team make the playoffs.

Jared Goff could put off surgery on thumb, adamant about playing vs. Cardinals https://t.co/61pFPzghN8

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) December 28, 2020