Fumble leaves Packers feeling empty
LOS ANGELES - The plan, as conceived, was to stay in the end zone. No need to risk something fluky with 116 seconds left. Not with you-know-who about to enter the field at quarterback.
The Los Angeles Rams had done what by now should be unforgivable. Down one point late in the fourth quarter against Aaron Rodgers, they committed the deadly sin of playing for a field goal.
On third-and-16 at the 19-yard line, the Rams’ high-powered offense that was frustrated all day against a resurgent Packers defense eschewed taking a shot at the end zone, instead handing off for a 3-yard run.
Now, all Rodgers needed was to lead the Packers into field-goal position. The Packers had more than enough time. It would be a monumental upset, the kind that can change the course of a season.
If only they could get their MVP quarterback the football.
The plan, coach Mike McCarthy said, was for kickoff returner Ty Montgomery to stay in the end zone for a touchback. Give Rodgers the football at the 25 with one timeout left. The Packers couldn’t have asked for a better situation. Until, that is, Montgomery left the end zone.
Montgomery swung the football loosely in his left hand, waving it practically uncovered until linebacker Ramik Wilson met him at the 19. Wilson recovered the fumble, simply ripping the football from Montgomery’s left arm, effectively ending the game at Rams 29, Packers 27.
“That play didn’t lose the game,” Rodgers said, “but it definitely took way an opportunity for us to go down and win it.”
Montgomery declined to comment on his fumble after the game. When a reporter approached him exiting the visiting locker room at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where interviews were conducted, Montgomery pressed his cell phone to his ear and kept walking to the bus.
The fumble isn’t going away, no matter how many questions Montgomery dodges. With a win, the Packers would have not only upset the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team inside its home stadium but pulled even with the Chicago Bears in the NFC North, a half game behind the Minnesota Vikings (who played Sunday night). Now at 33-1, the Packers are third place in their division nearing their season’s midway point.
“That’s what those games come down to,” McCarthy said. “There’s decisions, and Ty’s in that decision situation, and I’m sure Ty was trying to make a play. So, I don’t know exactly how deep he was if it was close. But I think we all realize with the management of the clock and where we wanted to be there, we wanted to be north of two minutes with the one timeout.
“We wanted to put the ball in Aaron’s hands.”
If Sunday’s game came down to a fumble, it didn’t have to. With their offense rolling and defense bottling Rams coach Sean McVay’s explosive offense, the Packers jumped out to a 10-0 lead. A big reason why: They finally seemed to figure out their running back rotation.
Aaron Jones got his second straight start Sunday. It looked like the Packers were finally content to ride their best running back. Jones got seven carries in the first three possessions, good for 46 yards.
He only got five carries the rest of the game.
With Jones on an almost 200-yard pace early in the second quarter, the Packers stuck with their concept of rotating running backs. With the Packers up 10-0 and having a chance to seriously separate from the Rams, Montgomery entered for the fourth possession. The Packers had their first three-and-out of the game, with Montgomery catching a 2-yard pass on first down followed with a 1-yard run on second.
“My responsibility is to play quarterback,” Rodgers said. “I’m not handling substitution, personnel. When he’s in there, he can be dynamic. The other two guys have had moments, as well. I’m not thinking about who’s in there at running back. I’m just making sure that guy knows what he’s doing.”
Jones also stuck to his company line. He hasn’t demanded carries once this season, content to let his play do the talking. Late Sunday, he showed why the Packers would be wise to feed him more carries.
After the Rams took a 10-point lead, thanks to a 23-3 run when Jones mostly stayed on the sideline, the second-year tailback pulled the Packers within striking distance with a 33-yard touchdown run down the middle of the defense. He finished with 86 yards on 12 carries, which was striking against Jamaal Williams’ 9 yards on four carries and Montgomery’s 6 yards on two carries.
With the game on the line, the Packers finally stayed with Jones for consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. Perhaps they arrived at a breaking point Sunday, finally realizing it’s time to feature Jones in their offense.
Their last kickoff return probably helped persuade, too.