Alexander: Rams enjoy efficient ending to a turbulent week

INGLEWOOD — This could person been a trap crippled for the Rams, an duty against a Seattle Seahawks squad destined to miss the playoffs overlaid with the complications of a COVID-19 outbreak that forced the crippled to beryllium delayed 2 days.

But Tuesday’s 20-10 Rams triumph mightiness person travel down to a mates of sequences that illustrated wherefore these teams are wherever they are.

The archetypal came with the people tied, 10-10, aboriginal successful the 4th quarter. After Sony Michel turned a surface walk into a 24-yard gain, Rams runners moved the heap connected 3 consecutive plays, turning tiny gains into bigger ones. Darrell Henderson Jr. turned a 1-yard summation into a 5-yard summation and a archetypal down. Van Jefferson took an end-around handoff and bulled his mode for other yards and a archetypal down, and past Cooper Kupp turned a walk into the level into different archetypal down, warring for each inch.

Those instances of grit and determination acceptable up Kupp’s go-ahead 29-yard touchdown catch. But they besides mightiness person represented the Rams players’ effect to a tremendously challenging week, successful which astatine 1 constituent determination was immoderate question whether they’d beryllium capable to tract a afloat team, overmuch little win.

“I thought it’s been particularly applicable these past 3 weeks,” Coach Sean McVay said Monday night. “When you look astatine it, our guys tightened up erstwhile they had to beryllium astatine their best. … Guys didn’t flinch. They didn’t blink. They conscionable stayed the course. We stayed connected arsenic a team.”

You tin archer erstwhile a squad cares. And you tin besides archer erstwhile possibly a squad cares excessively overmuch and allows the infinitesimal to get distant from them.

Consider the 5-9 Seahawks’ last drive, with a accidental to necktie the score. On a third-and-1 from the Rams’ 45-yard line, with a small much than 4 minutes near and the Seahawks going for the tying touchdown, moving backmost Rashad Penny was flagged for a mendacious start. Then Von Miller dropped Penny for a 1-yard loss. And connected fourth-and-7 Rams linebacker Ernest Jones broke up a Russell Wilson walk intended for DeeJay Dallas … and Dallas kicked the shot distant and received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike behaviour penalty, straight starring to a tract extremity to marque it 20-10. Two bonehead plays – really, however other tin you picture them astatine that constituent successful a adjacent game? – that fundamentally enactment the crippled retired of reach.

It secured the Seahawks’ archetypal losing play since 2011, Coach Pete Carroll’s 2nd play successful Seattle. Maybe they’re conscionable not utilized to being retired of the playoff race.

But the Rams’ effect says thing astir their fortitude. There person been truthful galore instances of weird losses successful this archetypal 17-game NFL season, of favorites stumbling and underdogs rising, wherever you wonderment if that other crippled has thrown everything askew. (A premier example: Detroit 30, Arizona 12 connected Sunday.)

This would person perfectly followed that pattern, but the Rams didn’t fto it happen. And portion it’s excessively soon to proclaim that they again tally the NFC West, since the Cardinals inactive person the tiebreaker vantage adjacent though some teams are 10-4, possibly the hard times of a midseason three-game losing streak followed by the hurdles of the past 8 days person forged an further furniture of toughness.

Trap game?

“I don’t cognize astir (that),” Kupp said. “… Certainly coming disconnected of a precise large crippled with the Cardinals, past having each the worldly spell on, I don’t cognize trap crippled arsenic overmuch arsenic it is conscionable being capable to navigate the changes and conscionable beryllium capable to inactive enactment a crippled program unneurotic and execute it, erstwhile you don’t truly cognize time by time who’s going to beryllium disposable to play.”

The players are the ones who person to bash it connected the field, but quarterback Matthew Stafford felt McVay acceptable the cleanable code for an antithetic week.

“He’s ultra-resilient,” Stafford said. “He’s truly astute and assured successful himself, and helium should be. You know, he’s got a large caput and a large quality to link with people.

“I mean, this full week was led by him, and immoderate of that is vulnerability too, right? Like, ‘Hey, guys, I don’t cognize what the reply is. I don’t cognize what the reply is going to beryllium time due to the fact that we conscionable don’t know.’ There were a batch of unknowns this week. And you know, that resonates with america successful the locker room, right? Somebody who’s real, idiosyncratic who won’t beryllium determination and accidental ‘I’ve got each the answers’ connected Wednesday erstwhile nevertheless galore guys deed the COVID list, right? We don’t know. We’re conscionable going to play this happening time by day. Here’s what we tin control. We spell from there.

“And you know, that’s thing that arsenic a player, you emotion from a coach. You conscionable beryllium determination and go, ‘Perfect. That’s what we’re each thinking, I’m gladsome you’re reasoning the aforesaid happening (as) us.’”

Sometimes enactment means not pretending you person each the answers. Sometimes simply creating an situation of stableness is the champion antidote to a turbulent environment.

jalexander@scng.com

@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter