Sean McVay had Matthew Stafford and a chance to finish the Bills off in overtime. Instead, he put the game in the hands of a Rams special teams unit that has been a problem far too often, and the result was exactly the kind of ending that has haunted this team before.
On third-and-5 at the Bills’ 30-yard line in overtime of Buffalo’s 37-34 win, McVay chose to run the ball and settle for a 48-yard field goal try. The kick was blocked, the Bills scored on the next possession, and the Rams walked away 2-3 after another brutal loss.
The call was hard to defend on its own. Stafford was rolling, and the numbers only sharpen the argument.
He finished the second half plus overtime 24-for-31 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison Mevis, meanwhile, had already missed a 50-yarder earlier in the game, was 3-for-7 in his career from 43 yards and beyond, and had been perfect from 42 yards or closer.
Against that backdrop, McVay essentially chose the leg over the arm.
Afterward, McVay owned it.
"I wish I would've had a better play call and gone for it, gotten it a lot tighter," McVay said. "I'm sick right now with myself. ... I'll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth or whatever it was, and that's on me."
He didn’t stop there.
"It's got to get better,'' McVay added. "We're gonna be able to figure out how to be able to fix this, but it can't continue like this with regards to our kicking operation ... Ultimately, it's my responsibility."
That’s because this was not just one bad night. It was another reminder that the Rams keep running into the same wall on special teams.
Last season, Los Angeles finished 31st in special teams expected points added. A Week 16 loss to the Seahawks featured a punt return touchdown allowed and a Mevis missed field goal.
The Rams lost by one. Then in the NFC Championship game, also against Seattle, Xavier Smith muffed a punt, and the Seahawks turned that into a touchdown one play later in a four-point Rams loss.
This season has started even worse. The Rams are dead last in special teams EPA. Against the Bills, they piled on more self-inflicted damage with the blocked field goal, the earlier Mevis miss, and a 70-yard return on the opening kickoff.
The problems are spread across the unit. The Rams are 5-for-9 on field goals this year, the worst rate in the NFL. They rank 29th in yards per kickoff return and 26th in yards per kickoff return allowed, and they are 30th in net yards per punt and 26th in opponent net yards per punt.
The organization already showed last year it was willing to make changes, firing the special teams coordinator and replacing the kicker midseason. Smith has already been released this year, and more moves appear likely.
McVay can scheme stars into place. He has Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
But special teams keeps dragging the Rams back into the same mess. Until that changes, the weakest link will keep deciding their biggest games.
In Other News...
Peyton Manning Just Spotted A Simple Fix For The Rams Offense
For much of Sunday at SoFi Stadium, the Rams were getting a quarterback showcase the league circles back to anytime Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen share a field. The Bills brought the physical challenge, the Rams answered with a slim lead into the third quarter, and Stafford kept the offense moving with a steady mix of completions and enough balance to stay ahead in a tight game.
Peyton Manning, working the Manningcast with Eli, saw the Rams through the lens of a veteran passer and pointed to a simple fix: keep the passing game cleaner and less complicated. It was the kind of observation that lands because Los Angeles has enough talent to threaten defenses, but also enough moving parts that a little trimming can go a long way, especially in a game where every drive feels like it matters. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Over Rams Ended With An Ugly Scene Fans Wont Ignore
The postgame handshakes turned tense fast after Monday Night Football in Buffalo, when Rams tackle Alaric Jackson threw a punch at Bills defender Bradley Chubb during on-field interactions after the final whistle. Teammates from both sides rushed in to separate the players, turning a routine finish to the game into the kind of scene that lingers long after the broadcast ends.
For the Rams, it adds an unwelcome layer to a night already defined by a loss, because Jacksons role in the incident will now sit alongside his past legal troubles and prior NFL discipline. Whatever came before, the image of a player lashing out after the game is the sort of thing that tends to draw attention well beyond one evening in Orchard Park. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Just Made A Kicker Move They Couldnt Put Off
The Rams moved quickly after their overtime loss, turning to special teams with a personnel change they could not really wait on. Los Angeles released kicker Harrison Mevis and brought in Blake Grupe from the New York Jets practice squad, a swap that reflects just how much the kicking game has been hanging over this team in a tight season.
Mevis had struggled with field goal accuracy this year, and his blocked kick in the loss only sharpened the scrutiny. Grupe arrives with previous NFL experience, and the Rams are hoping the change can stabilize a part of the roster that has become too costly to ignore. [Read more 🡒]