By David McDonnell
This was an unbelievable ending to a quite forgettable game.
Baker Mayfield landed in Los Angeles at 7.15pm on Tuesday and 48 hours later he was playing in the middle of Sofi stadium 16-3 down on the scoreboard with his new Rams teammates heading into the fourth quarter.
The Rams trailing by 13 midway through the second half was close to what I expected to happen but I didn’t expect what was to come later after.
The game had started impressively for the visiting Raiders. On the opening drive Carr opened with a great pass along the right touchline to Devontae Adams, who caught one handed around Jalen Ramsey for a 33-yard gain.
The Raiders gave the ball seven times to Josh Jacobs on the opening drive and it was no surprise when the running-back ran into the endzone from close range.
At the time it looked like it would be a high scoring game but alas it turned into a defensive slugfest. With less than four minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, it remained the only touchdown as the Las Vegas Raiders led 16-3.
The Rams had offered little on offence all night but when Cam Akers made a good catch on fourth down to extend a drive, he soon ran in from three yards out to leave six points separating the sides.
The Rams then stopped the next Raiders drive on third and one to get the ball back on their own two yard line with 1.41 remaining.
Baker then had to run a two-minute drill.
It looked at one stage that the drive would come to nothing when Maxx Crosby sacked him for a loss of nine yards on third down, but defensive-tackle Jerry Tillery was flagged for knocking the ball out of Mayfield’s hands, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and a fresh set of downs.
Baker made Tillery pay for that mistake and found Ben Skowronek, who made a big third down catch deep into Raider territory. Mayfield finished off the 98-yard drive when he found Van Jefferson for a 23-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left to tie the contest.
It left Matt Gay to kick the winning PAT.
The win snaps a six-game losing streak for the Rams and also ends the Raiders’ outside chance of making the playoffs. It was their fourth loss this season after leading by 13 or more points
Afterwards Baker was buzzing with excitement and started headbutting his teammates helmets with his head, which has become his signature move. It was a magic night for him and a chance to put some of his detractors, myself included, back in our box for a few days.
All this rutting about on the sideline, maybe Mayfield has found his herd at last.
Smashmouthing Football 