Rams clinch NFC West crown
Postseason in doubt for Tennessee after third consecutive defeat
Jared Goff threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with 11:51 left, and the Los Angeles Rams held off the Tennessee Titans 27-23 on Sunday to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003.
The Rams (11-4) came in needing a win or a loss by Seattle to secure the division. They took care of business themselves, with Todd Gurley II and Goff leading the way again.
“When you find a way to come on the road and finish up your road record 7-1 and win a division title, there’s only one thing you can say. Woooo! One more: Woooo!” coach Sean McVay said before giving the Rams off until Wednesday.
Gurley bolstered his argument for NFL MVP with 118 yards rushing and 158 yards receiving with two TDs. Goff threw four touchdown passes and rolled up 301 yards.
The Titans (8-7) lost their third straight game, damaging their chances of ending their own playoff drought stretching to 2008.
The Titans had the ball and a chance to win late in the game. On fourth-and-4 at the Rams 44, Marcus Mariota rolled right and chucked the ball incomplete under pressure from Connor Barwin.
The Rams ran out the final 1:35 for their second straight victory and fourth in five games.
The Titans scored only one offensive TD on DeMarco Murray’s 6-yard run. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard scored Tennessee’s first defensive TD of the season on a 4-yard fumble return. Ryan Succop kicked three field goals and missed a 45-yarder wide right.
Greg Zuerlein was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, and the Rams really missed their Pro Bowl kicker. Instead of letting Sam Ficken kick with Los Angeles at the Titans 32 on their opening drive, the Rams picked up a delay of game penalty the Titans declined. Then punter Johnny Hekker’s pass intended for Michael Thomas was batted down. Ficken also missed his first point-after attempt.
When the Rams turned firstand-goal at the Titans 7 into fourth-and-18, McVay sent Ficken out for a 36-yard field-goal try. The kick bounced off the right upright no good.
The Rams forced a turnover on the opening drive for the eighth time this season. Linebacker Cory Littleton, starting with Mark Barron scratched, intercepted Mariota on the Titans’ second play from scrimmage.
The Titans had their chances in the fourth quarter but only managed a field goal. They punted on their next two possessions, gaining only 18 yards on the first and 19 on the second, and their last series went eight plays but ended on downs.
Playoff droughts were nothing new to the Rams. They made it to the playoffs in 1989 and then not again until the 1999 season, when they had moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis.
The ’99 team won the Super Bowl and the 2001 team lost the Super Bowl.
The Rams made the playoffs in 2003 and 2004, but not again until Sunday, and they were not expected to this season after going 4-12 in 2016 and hiring a first-time head coach in McVay.