Whew.
The best nearly went bust.
The heavy favorites nearly collapsed under their own weight.
The Rams were nearly toppled by the runts, barely surviving what should have been a blowout, profusely sweating through a wild-card playoff game that should have been a breeze, and now you wonder.
If their first step toward the Super Bowl is going to be this ungainly, how much longer can they stay upright?
At first sight, the final score is all that mattered, this 34-31 wild-card playoff victory over the Carolina Panthers at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Saturday proving to be a soul-testing triumph that will provide powerful preparation for the challenges ahead.
Upon further inspection, it was just a freaking mess.
The Rams skipped across the country as a historic 10½-point favorite — biggest postseason spread in modern history — yet trudged home requiring a last-second touchdown pass from the unsinkable Matthew Stafford to a leaping Colby Parkinson.
It was all so dramatic. It was all so unnecessary.
In the end, Rams coach Sean McVay screamed and pumped his fists while begging the question, was it rejoicing or was it relief? Hard to tell, but here’s guessing it was both.
”We are going to need to be able to play better if we expect to be able advance past this first round,” McVay acknowledged afterward. “But never take it for granted … grateful to have another week with this team that I love.”
It is a team that seemingly everybody loves, or, at least, loved.
The Rams had scored the game’s first two touchdowns and were apparently headed for the expected rout when the 12-win powerhouse favored in this space to win the Super Bowl suddenly looked like that uncertain bunch that had lost two of its last three.
The least penalized team in the last five years committed 83 yards worth of penalties. The sure-handed Puka Nacua dropped a sure touchdown pass. The beyond-accurate Stafford banged his hand on a helmet and missed on seven straight pass attempts at one point, his longest slump as a Ram.
Oh, yeah, and the team that fired its special teams coordinator at midseason blew it again on special teams, a late punt being blocked and leading to the Panthers scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 2:39 remaining.
“There were lots of instances where we have to be more poised, and that’s a reflection on me,” said McVay. “In spite of all that, we found a way to give our best in the most important moments.”
The last of those moments was again owned by Stafford, who went six of seven for 71 yards on the final two-minute drive that featured catches by four different receivers including little-used Konata Mumpfield. Yeah, Konata Mumpfield, and don’t you dare say Stafford shouldn’t win his first MVP award.
Drake Maye? Are you kidding me? Even East Coast bias can’t taint the greatness of the Rams’ quarterback, whose no-look dazzling was on full display late in the game even though, in the fourth quarter, he needed Nacua to knock the ball out of Nick Scott’s hands to prevent his second interception and perhaps save the game.
Imagine that. During a game in which he caught 10 passes for 111 yards and scored two touchdowns, Nacua’s most important play was an incompletion.
“That pass breakup was unbelievable,” said McVay. “That’s what great players do.”
The greatest Saturday was once again Stafford, who threw for 304 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while once again proving the much-ignored reality that he is the most important athlete on the Los Angeles sports landscape. Could the Dodgers win without Shohei Ohtani? Maybe. Could the Rams win without Stafford? Not a chance.
“He was just in total command, total control,” said McVay. “It was MVP kind of stuff that he did.”
The Panthers had one last chance, but the maligned Rams defense held them without a single yard on four final plays, ending hopes of what would have been one of the biggest upsets in NFL postseason history.
“Proud of the way we finished, excited to be able to clean up a lot of things,” said McVay.
The first thing that must be cleaned up is Stafford’s right hand, as he acknowledged a finger was painfully bent backward during a backfield collision with D.J. Wonnum.
“It wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t great, we’ll see what it is,” said Stafford. “I was obviously able to finish the game and throw it decent.”
Before the finger injury, Stafford was 10 of 15. After the injury, he was 14 of 27. You do the math.
Stafford is one of the toughest quarterbacks ever — one can watch old Detroit Lions videos as proof — and here’s guessing he won’t even mention the hand this week. But he was shaking the hand during the game, so you know it’s a factor.
“He got it banged up, you could see him shaking, but he delivered a pretty damn good throw on the next play,” said McVay, later adding, “We had a lot of moments where we talk about our scars being our strength.”
Our scars are our strength. McVay says that a lot, which is a good thing, because the Rams might leave this weekend as the most scarred team still in the playoffs.
Will that make them the strongest?
Can’t wait. Can’t watch.
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