RAMS KICK BACK, EARN A TRIP TO SUPER BOWL
NEW ORLEANS – From the outside, it doesn’t look all that special. In an era of architectural flourishes and glass windows and roofs that require feats of engineering, this frayed-at-the-edges dome that has sat adjacent to the French Quarter since 1975 seems practically obsolete.
But the powers of the Superdome don’t come from its steel and concrete. It’s the noises and vibrations that happen inside, when 75,000 people bang on whatever hard surface is near them and stretch their vocal cords without
regard for the damage they might have inflicted on themselves. It’s designed to intimidate, to rattle, to force visiting teams to the boundaries of composure.
That’s where the Rams found themselves Sunday, in an old stadium that suddenly turned into a rocket launcher. It was so loud, so full of energy favoring the home team that they could have lost the game in the first eight minutes. They could have succumbed to the fact they couldn’t hear the plays being called, forcing quarterback Jared Goff to cover the earholes on his helmet. They could have got blown out early and had their hearts broken late.
Instead, the Rams are headed to Super Bowl LIII after a 26-23 overtime victory over the Saints in the NFC Championship Game that required composure, guile and — perhaps most of all — some significant luck at the end of the game.
“Our team displayed great mental toughness,” said Rams coach Sean McVay, who will turn 33 on Thursday.
Said Goff, “That place was loud. And they were loud early. ... After a while we settled down.”
There will be scrutiny on what happened with 1:45 remaining in a 20-20 game when Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman seemingly committed a blatant pass interference penalty trying to stop Tommylee Lewis from breaking free toward the sideline and picking up a first down that would have almost certainly allowed the Saints to run the clock to almost nothing before a gamewinning field goal.
Instead, no flag was thrown and the Saints had to kick the go-ahead field goal right then, allowing the Rams plenty of time to mount a final drive. Despite ear-splitting noise, Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein nailed a 48-yard field goal to send the game to OT, which turned on an interception thrown by Drew Brees, giving the Rams the ball near midfield.
Then out came Zuerlein again, having to face those triple-digit decibels caroming off the rooftop as he wound up for a 57-yard field goal to win the game. And that’s exactly what he did, drilling the kick as those screams turned to groans and eventually to silence.
But don’t let the controversial ending obscure what the Rams did here or the drastic measures required to survive the onslaught of Saints energy generated inside their one-of-a-kind atmosphere.
At times in the first quarter Sunday, the Rams felt as if they were a play or two away from getting blown out. They needed a desperate fake punt in the second quarter just to move the chains for the first time and settle down. They didn’t at all resemble the high-flying team that averaged just shy of 33 points per game during the regular season.
But perhaps that will be what makes this win so memorable.
Everything about Sunday was set up to crack the Rams into pieces, and for a while, they complied. Star running back Todd Gurley dropped passes, missed blocking assignments and even went to the bench. Aside from one quick-trigger drive at the end of the first half, the Rams’ offensive rhythm they relied on all season never showed up.
They had to push aside the problems that show up when 11 people who are supposed to do their jobs in unison are unable to communicate.
To get to a Super Bowl, the Rams didn’t just need to beat a terrific team, they needed to overcome the toughest visiting venue in sports.
To get to Atlanta, the Rams made all the noise go away.