Rams pip Chiefs in shoot-out
Goff, Mahomes create high-scoring classic
LOS ANGELES: Jared Goff threw for four touchdowns as the Los Angeles Rams won a high-scoring NFL classic against the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 on Monday.
A much-anticipated collision between the league’s two highest-scoring offences lived up to its billing, with both teams producing a thrilling toe-to-toe battle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The 105 total points scored made it the third highest-scoring game in NFL history. It was also the first time ever two teams had both scored more than 50 points in a game.
“It was a whirlwind,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said afterwards. “I might need a couple of beverages tonight.
“Until the final few seconds you weren’t really able to breathe.”
The Rams improved to 10-1 with the victory while the Chiefs, rallied brilliantly by young quarterback Patrick Mahomes, fell to 9-2.
Rams quarterback Goff finished with 413 passing yards after completing 31 of 49 attempts for his four touchdowns.
Goff, who also crossed for a rushing touchdown of his own in the third quarter, said the game had hung in the balance to the final play.
“It was a crazy game,” Goff said. “We’re just happy to get away with a win.
“It just felt like whoever got the ball in their hands last was going to win.
“There were times when we felt we had all the momentum and had the chance to put the knife in them. And then there were times when it was the other way round. It was a lot of fun.”
Goff’s final touchdown proved to be the winning score, connecting with tight end Gerald Everett, who tiptoed down the sideline to put the Rams ahead 54-51 with 1:56 remaining.
But Goff was so nearly outshone by a spellbinding performance from Mahomes, who finished with monstrous figures of six touchdowns for 478 yards yet somehow
ended up on the losing side.
Mahomes had two chances to overhaul the Rams inside the final two minutes, but was unable to manoeuvre the Chiefs into position for a game-tying field goal, twice throwing interceptions under fierce pressure.
While the game turned into a duel of two of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks, defences on both sides came up with big plays on a night when the lead changed hands no fewer than six times.
Rams defensive lineman Samson
Ebukam delivered a rare two-touchdown performance, galloping over from 11 yards in the second quarter after recovering a Mahomes fumble for his first touchdown.
Ebukam grabbed another touchdown in the third quarter, snaffling a loose pass from Mahomes which bounced off Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz and storming over from 25 yards to make it 40-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
That score looked to have given the Rams a decisive lead, but the Chiefs hit back when Mahomes uncorked a stunning
73-yard touchdown for Tyreek Hill to make it 40-37.
The Chiefs then rocked the Rams after Goff fumbled near his own goal line to allow Allen Bailey to cross from two yards for a touchdown that made it 44-40 for the Chiefs.
The Rams responded with a swift sixplay, 75-yard drive to score through Everett from Goff’s seven-yard pass to make it 47-44. Mahomes, though, was not done, drilling his sixth touchdown of the night to find Conley for a 10-yard score.