They’re the best team in football. Until they’re not.
The latter is why it’s entirely plausible they are eliminated Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs by the overrated Bears.Extreme quarter-to-quarter volatility has become a trademark of the Rams, and that inconsistency explains why they’re on the road against an inferior opponent at this stage of the postseason.
The Rams were once on track to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they lost three of their last six regular-season games, including a critical Week 16 defeat to the Seahawks in which they blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead. A narrow escape against the sub-.500 Panthers in the wild-card round unfolded like some other recent games. The Rams jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, only to let the Panthers back in the game. The victory came courtesy of a touchdown pass in the final minute of the game, a precisely delivered pass by Stafford down the right sideline to a covered Colby Parkinson. coach Sean McVay “What do you think the difference was the other day?” McVay countered, referring to the 34-31 victory. “Found a way, right?” In their regular-season finale, they were ahead of the overmatched Cardinals by 10 points at halftime. Late in the third quarter, they were down by four. The Rams went on to win that game, but what were the Cardinals doing within striking distance to begin with? McVay didn’t make a connection between the Panthers and Cardinals games, instead using the Seahawks loss as a point of comparison. “Here’s the thing I would say: The enemy has a say,” McVay said. “And that has been where we think our scars can be our strengths. After the Seattle game, we had the lead, they did a great job being able to finish. We didn’t do some of those things. I want us to play consistent for 60 minutes, but you do have to have respect and appreciation for what the other team is trying to do.” “What I love about what happened the other day was, hey, no doubt about it, we started fast, you get up, 14-0 lead and then they made their plays, there was a little bit of a lull,” McVay said. “We go down four, and in some of those other games, that’s where we didn’t find a way to be able to finish.” But the Rams’ weekly lapses have also come early. In Week 17, they were down by three touchdowns at halftime to the Falcons. They mounted a furious comeback but still lost. Against the Bearscould slow down their passing game, which could make their next bout of incompetence the kind that could end the season.
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