The Rams had a 16-0 halftime lead and still walked off the field in Denver with another special-teams mess attached to the loss.
That side of the ball keeps showing up at the wrong moments, and against the Broncos it helped turn a comfortable night into a game that slipped away. The first problem came when Xavier Smith chose to return a punt from his own goal line.
Instead of setting up the offense in a safer spot, the decision left Los Angeles backed up and unable to move the chains after a three-and-out. Denver then cashed in with its first touchdown and a two-point conversion.
The next blow came on a punt that should have pinned the Broncos deep. Ethan Evans sent one to Denver’s nine-yard line, but Emmanuel Forbes wiped out the advantage with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for going out of bounds and re-entering the field of play. The second punt left the Broncos at their own 48, and they turned that into another touchdown and two-point conversion.
Week after week, the Rams’ special teams are creating bad field position and giving away leverage.
The numbers show how uneven this unit has been. Los Angeles is dead last in kickoff returns, 19th in punt returns, 24th in gross punting yards, and 25th in net punting. The Rams are also 24th in field goals made, while sitting 13th in extra points.
Not every category is a disaster on its own. The trouble starts when the mistakes stack up inside the same game.
Harrison Mevis was the bright spot. He handled the scoring load for the Rams’ special teams, knocking through four field goals and two extra points for 14 points.
Evans, meanwhile, had a rougher outing. He punted four times for 179 yards, but his net average was only 35.5 yards.
Coverage also hurt Los Angeles. The punt unit allowed a 28-yard return, and the kickoff team gave up a 31-yard return. In a game decided by four points and already clouded by bad officiating, those extra yards mattered.
It wasn’t one huge blunder. It was the kind of slow leak that keeps draining a team. And for the Rams, special teams are still leaking.
In Other News...
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Rams Non-Call Revived A Debate Fans Know All Too Well
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