Unsung hero: A’Shawn Robinson, defensive lineman
Deemed contenders after the Matthew Stafford trade, the Rams weathered setbacks before stars aligned in the playoffs
Hollywood, as well as Inglewood, loves an underdog story. This wasn’t that.
Starting on the Saturday night a year ago when they agreed to acquire quarterback Matthew Stafford by trading quarterback Jared Goff and three draft picks to the Detroit Lions, the Rams were expected to make a serious run at Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
Rams coach Sean McVay and team executives tried to avoid encouraging the notion they were taking an “all-in” gamble or that it was “Super Bowl or bust” in the season when they’d have the advantage of playing the game on home turf.
“I don’t know if they’re closing the stadium (if the Rams don’t win),” Rams general manager Les Snead said in September, making fun of the “Super Bowl or bust” cliché.
But after Snead pushed the rest of his chips into the center of the table in November by trading two more draft picks for Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller and signing former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., it was impossible to deny.
“We’re all in,” the Rams’ Twitter account proclaimed after the Miller trade, attaching a photo of John Malkovich splashing the pot in “Rounders.”
The Rams promptly lost three games in a row.
Suffice it to say they recovered. They’re favorites now to beat the Cincinnati Bengals today and bring Los Angeles Rams fans their first Super Bowl title. Here’s a look at their road to this
point.
How they got here
Stafford took less than five minutes on opening night against the Chicago Bears to show what he’d brought to L.A., starting the scoring by heaving a ball 55 yards in the air to Van Jefferson for a 67yard touchdown, longer than any pass play involving Goff in the previous two seasons.
An attention-getting victory over the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 was followed by a humbling loss to the fast-starting Arizona Cardinals, and then the Rams reeled off another string of victories and were 7-1 at the end of October before a spate of Stafford turnovers led to the three-game losing streak.
A revived running game, defense and long-awaited specialteams spark sent the Rams on a five-game winning streak, and then clinched the NFC West even as they lost their regular-season finale to the San Francisco 49ers because the Cardinals lost too.
Things have broken the Rams’ way in the playoffs as they caught the Cardinals in a late-season slide, got to face a familiar foil in the Buccaneers instead of going to Green Bay to face the Packers, and took advantage of Niners mistakes in the NFC championship game.
Turning point
A loss on the road to the Cardinals on a Monday night in mid-December would have all but secured the division title for Arizona, and it looked likely after the Rams lost five key players to the COVID-19 reserve list.
But the Rams got touchdown passes from Stafford to wide receivers Jefferson, Cooper Kupp and Beckham and determined defense from Aaron Donald and a depleted secondary, and won 30-23. The victory put the Rams a game behind the Cards with four to play. Two weeks later, they were in first place.
Robinson was McVay’s nominee when the coach was asked who has contributed the most without fanfare or awards. Robinson slimmed down in the offseason after missing much of his first Rams season with a what he called a respiratory issue, but was hampered at the start of this season by a knee problem. He has come on strong and been a factor in the Rams holding playoff opponents to 3.1 yards a carry.
X-factor player: Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver
When everyone asks how you aim to fit in with your new teammates, it means they suspect you won’t. That was Beckham when the Rams picked him up after his falling out with the Browns. It could have gone either way, but with plenty to play for, that didn’t require piling up big personal production, Beckham has been a good teammate and a key to the receiving corps surviving Robert Woods’ season-ending injury.
Top newcomer: Matthew Stafford, quarterback
Stafford is the seventh quarterback to make it to the Super Bowl in his first year with a team, keeping company with Tom Brady, who did it with the Bucs last season. He added passing dimensions that were beyond Goff, though he also tied for the league lead in interceptions. If the Rams lose the Super Bowl, they’ll be reminded that the “upgrade” took them no farther than Goff did in the 2018 season.
Offensive player of the year: Cooper Kupp, wide receiver
Kupp is the first to remind everybody that he couldn’t have done this without Stafford and the rest of the offensive lineup and brain trust. This doesn’t diminish his sensational season, which saw him set Rams singleseason records for receptions, 145, and receiving yards, 1,947 (although his yards per game trail Elroy Hirsch and Jim Benton) and lead the league in those categories and receiving touchdowns.
Defensive player of the year: Jalen Ramsey, cornerback
It could be Aaron Donald any year, but Ramsey is the biggest difference on defense between the Rams of Super Bowl LIII and this team, and a unique talent. His versatility shows in the fact he led NFL defensive backs in tackles for loss with nine.
Shrewd coaching move
Needing a reset for the offense after the interception-plagued three-game losing streak, and with running back Darrell Henderson newly sidelined, McVay began sending in an extra blocker on some running plays. On plays where Joe Noteboom, Bobby Evans and Coleman Shelton were reporting as eligible receivers — but there to block — Sony Michel averaged 8.2 yards against the Jaguars, Cardinals and Seahawks.
Dusting off that old ploy helped the Rams get past the only time all season they could have been considered underdogs.