NFL.com: What We Learned from Rams' win over Raiders on Thurs night
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2022 NFL season, Week 14: What We Learned from Rams' win over Raiders on Thursday night
Published: Dec 08, 2022 at 11:19 PM
Eric Edholm, Lead Draft Writer
1. Imagine running a two-minute drill for a team you’ve been on for two days. That was the scenario that unfolded when Baker Mayfield and the Rams got the ball back with 1:45 left in the game, down six points and fresh out of timeouts. Oh, and the ball was on the 2-yard line. But Mayfield looked more comfortable than he ever did in Carolina, which just ditched him out of the blue, and as cool as he had at certain promising points in Cleveland. But did anyone actually expect what we just witnessed? After an incompletion, Mayfield ripped a dime from his own end zone to Tutu Atwell to get the Rams some breathing room. After a sack, Mayfield uncorked a beauty to Ben Skowronek for 32 yards, and suddenly anything was possible. Two quick completions and a spike gave them 14 seconds to pull off a miracle -- from cut to claimed to hero, all in a four-day span. Then Mayfield did it, hitting Van Jefferson with a teardrop fade for the game-tying touchdown (with the extra point providing the winning margin). This was either the flukiest game we’ve seen this season or it’s the start of the Baker comeback tour. The Rams, through this miserable post-Super Bowl hangover, have something to smile about again.
2. Mayfield didn’t start (weird) but he he sure did finish. Whatever expectations there were in Thursday night’s game for Mayfield, he probably surpassed them well in advance of the final drive. For a guy who has had Sean McVay’s playbook for less time than most people rent cars, Mayfield didn’t embarrass himself a bit early on. He didn’t start (John Wolford did) but played every snap after the Rams’ first-series three-and-out. It was as if McVay said, the heck with this, and put his boy in. There were a few early slip-ups -- expected for someone who arrived less than 48 hours ago -- but a few eye-opening throws, too, such as the third-and-13 dime Mayfield delivered to Skowronek. It was as good a throw as I’d seen Mayfield make since Cleveland (until the fourth quarter, that is) and well worth the timeout the Rams used before that play to get everything straight. Mayfield’s first three completions were all 21 yards or longer. He’d finish the game with 230 yards -- only five fewer than his season high in Carolina, in the opener against his former Browns team. How strangely coincidental. That game was supposed to be Baker’s reckoning after his summertime trade. But it took Mayfield being waived, claimed and thrust into the lineup in a week’s time for him to have his 2022 moment.
[www.nfl.com]
Published: Dec 08, 2022 at 11:19 PM
Eric Edholm, Lead Draft Writer
1. Imagine running a two-minute drill for a team you’ve been on for two days. That was the scenario that unfolded when Baker Mayfield and the Rams got the ball back with 1:45 left in the game, down six points and fresh out of timeouts. Oh, and the ball was on the 2-yard line. But Mayfield looked more comfortable than he ever did in Carolina, which just ditched him out of the blue, and as cool as he had at certain promising points in Cleveland. But did anyone actually expect what we just witnessed? After an incompletion, Mayfield ripped a dime from his own end zone to Tutu Atwell to get the Rams some breathing room. After a sack, Mayfield uncorked a beauty to Ben Skowronek for 32 yards, and suddenly anything was possible. Two quick completions and a spike gave them 14 seconds to pull off a miracle -- from cut to claimed to hero, all in a four-day span. Then Mayfield did it, hitting Van Jefferson with a teardrop fade for the game-tying touchdown (with the extra point providing the winning margin). This was either the flukiest game we’ve seen this season or it’s the start of the Baker comeback tour. The Rams, through this miserable post-Super Bowl hangover, have something to smile about again.
2. Mayfield didn’t start (weird) but he he sure did finish. Whatever expectations there were in Thursday night’s game for Mayfield, he probably surpassed them well in advance of the final drive. For a guy who has had Sean McVay’s playbook for less time than most people rent cars, Mayfield didn’t embarrass himself a bit early on. He didn’t start (John Wolford did) but played every snap after the Rams’ first-series three-and-out. It was as if McVay said, the heck with this, and put his boy in. There were a few early slip-ups -- expected for someone who arrived less than 48 hours ago -- but a few eye-opening throws, too, such as the third-and-13 dime Mayfield delivered to Skowronek. It was as good a throw as I’d seen Mayfield make since Cleveland (until the fourth quarter, that is) and well worth the timeout the Rams used before that play to get everything straight. Mayfield’s first three completions were all 21 yards or longer. He’d finish the game with 230 yards -- only five fewer than his season high in Carolina, in the opener against his former Browns team. How strangely coincidental. That game was supposed to be Baker’s reckoning after his summertime trade. But it took Mayfield being waived, claimed and thrust into the lineup in a week’s time for him to have his 2022 moment.
[www.nfl.com]
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
 | MamaRAMa | 111 | December 08, 2022 07:27PM |
