For Jared Goff, as for a lot of athletes, winning feels even better if critics are proven wrong in the process.
“Personally, I like to be the underdog,” the Rams quarterback said recently when asked if he prefers the underdog or favorite role, “just because I think it’s a little bit more fun to shut people up.”
Goff and the Rams (9-5) can silence a lot of preseason doubters if they beat the Seattle Seahawks (10-4) on Sunday at Lumen Field to clinch at least a wild-card berth in the playoffs.
Totally shutting up their critics might take a little more work, with a Rams win at Seattle giving them a chance to wrap up the NFC West title when they host the Arizona Cardinals in the season finale.
A lot will depend on how Goff responds to the latest round of criticism of his performance.
The first time, four weeks ago, Rams coach Sean McVay called out the fifth-year quarterback for not protecting the ball after Goff’s three turnovers led to a 23-20 loss to the 49ers. Goff replied the next Sunday with one of his sharpest games of the season in a 38-28 win at Arizona.
This time, the comments are more subtle, but it was clear McVay and offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell wanted better decision-making from Goff before two deep passes fell incomplete to end the Rams’ last chance to prevent last Sunday’s embarrassing 23-20 loss to the New York Jets.
Goff threw deep twice, aiming for running back Cam Akers up the left sideline on third down and 4 and tight end Gerald Everett on the right on fourth and 4. The Rams were at the Jets’ 37-yard line, and four minutes remained. There was time to extend the drive by settling for shorter pass targets.
O’Connell sounded more bothered by the third-down play, saying he understood Goff’s confidence in Akers against one-on-one coverage but that they had discussed the need to “progress through the play” or create an unscripted play in that situation.
“(That) would have helped us have a better chance to win the football game,” O’Connell said Thursday. “We just didn’t get it done.”
The coaches expressed confidence in Goff on big downs in big games.
“It’s easy sometimes to sit back on the sideline, or with the clicker in your hand the next day, but we trust Jared to continue to make the right decisions, to continue to progress through downs,” O’Connell said. “He’s done it really well at times and some big moments for us this year.”
But now come potentially season-defining moments against the Seahawks and, on the final Sunday, Arizona at SoFi Stadium.
“Jared’s going to have to have some snaps where he’s aggressive with his arm. He’s going to have to have other snaps where he’s got to progress through the down and be smart with the football,” said O’Connell, the former NFL backup who was hired in part to coach the Rams’ quarterbacks.
The Jets game was the Rams’ first chance to clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth this season. Even after losing to previously winless New York, they’re virtual locks to make the postseason. It will happen barring losses to Seattle and Arizona and several unlikely results in games involving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-5) and Chicago Bears (7-7).
They could have clinched a playoff spot Saturday without playing, but the San Francisco 49ers’ 20-12 win over the Cardinals kept the Rams waiting at least another day.
They can clinch if Chicago loses or ties at Jacksonville on Sunday in a game that kicks off 3 hours 25 minutes before their own. If Chicago wins, it’s up to the Rams to do it themselves against Seattle. If none of that happens, nothing is guaranteed until Jan. 3.
Just getting to the playoffs as a wild card would be an accomplishment for the Rams, who missed the postseason in 2019, lost some key veterans in the offseason, and went to training camp rated by bettors as the eighth-best team in a race for seven playoff spots.
But they want more.
Currently, the Rams are the NFC’s No. 5 seed. If they win the division, they’d probably be No. 3. The difference is opening the playoffs on the road or at home.
Goff has quarterbacked the Rams to three playoffs in his four full seasons as the starter, so he has been on this doorstep before.
“I don’t try to make it any more than it is,” Goff said of his approach. “It’s another game. I enjoy playing in meaningful games in December.
“Some of our young guys haven’t experienced games like this coming up, and even games last week, where you have a big letdown like that. It’s important to have guys that can stay the course and be the same at all times.”
The Rams have won five of their past six meetings with Seattle, including a 23-16 victory at SoFi Stadium in Week 10. Since then, the Rams have lost leading rusher Cam Akers to an ankle sprain, and the Seahawks have welcomed running backs Chris Carter and Carlos Hyde back from injuries.
One advantage the Seahawks won’t have is their usual boisterous “12th Man” crowd, since fans haven’t been allowed inside Lumen Field this season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m really hoarse after the games from trying to make up for the crowd by yelling myself,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told L.A. writers Wednesday.
The Rams would be happy to silence him too.
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December 27, 2020 at 08:10AM
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Rams, Jared Goff try to rebound and leap into playoffs - OCRegister
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