Rams flip the script by finishing Week 3 with a winning record
The Rams have been 1-1 every year under Coach Jeff Fisher.
In each of the last four years, they lost in Week 3 to drop to 1-2.
With a win at Tampa Bay on Sunday, they flipped the script.
Maybe that won’t mean much at the end of the year. Maybe this team is fatally flawed, destined to finish at or below .500 yet another time.
But there’s also a chance that winning the way they did Sunday — a game that in years past they surely would have found a way to lose — gives them a fresh start on their season.
“This team has always been the team that’s playing catch-up,” guard Rodger Saffold said after a 37-32 victory over the Buccaneers, a game interrupted for 70 minutes because of lightning. “We’ve always been win one, lose two. Lose one, win one, lose one. We can’t get complacent for a second. We’ve got to come to work tomorrow.”
When they do, their world will look markedly different. They’re tied with Seattle atop the NFC West, but they already have a win against the Seahawks. What’s more, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is now dealing with a knee injury. And mighty Arizona, where the Rams play next Sunday, is coming off a surprising 15-point loss at Buffalo.
There’s no guarantee the Rams have turned any kind of corner, and the season is only three weeks old, but Sunday is the type of game they have lost time after time after time.
Instead, they traveled across the country, overcame their own missteps and bumbling in the first half, and wound up beating a respectable (if erratic) Tampa Bay team that’s sure to be knocking around in the wild-card race.
The Rams still have many of the problems they had as they entered Week 3. They still have the No. 1 overall pick, Jared Goff, holding a clipboard and with no clear timeline for when he’ll get on the field. This as rookie quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott continue to tear it up in Philadelphia and Dallas, respectively.
There are still the silly, forehead-slapping penalties. Punter Johnny Hekker is still getting overworked — the team had six three-and-outs, and converted six of 13 third downs — and the offense lurched and sputtered in the first half as if someone accidentally filled the tank with diesel.
“We were just doing stupid stuff in the first half,” running back Todd Gurley said.
But when it counted most, the Rams found their rhythm. Repeatedly stonewalled before halftime, Gurley started to get traction late in the third quarter. With his team trailing by three and coming off consecutive three-and-outs, he opened a drive with a nine-yard run, and gained nine more three plays later.
The Buccaneers brought extra defenders up to the line in an attempt to stop Gurley, and that opened up the passing lanes. Case Keenum hit Kenny Britt for 19 yards, and Bradley Marquez for 12. Suddenly, L.A. looked like a legitimate NFL offense.
On first down from the Buccaneers’ 17, Gurley broke his longest run of the season, a 16-yard gain that started up the middle, veered to the right, and ended just short of the end zone. Two plays later, he hammered his way across the goal line for his second one-yard touchdown of the day.
Gurley had three consecutive four-yard gains on the Rams’ next drive, and while that doesn’t sound overly impressive, those grind-it-out runs helped the visitors consume the clock and take control of the pace of play.
Gurley finished with 85 yards in 27 carries, the 10th time in 11 games the 2015 offensive rookie of the year has failed to run for 100 yards. This game won’t make his career highlight package. Yet, just as he did against Seattle, he played an instrumental role down the stretch, gaining those vital yards when his team needed them most. Not that he was pleased Sunday by the uneven production on offense.
The Rams defeated the Buccaneers, 37-32, Sunday in Tampa. Sam Farmer, Gary Klein, Mike DiGiovanna and Lindsey Thiry break down the victory.
“Offense just needs to do a better job, man,” Gurley said. “We can’t put our defense in that predicament every week.”
Even though the Rams scored four offensive touchdowns, it was their defense that once again clinched the victory. Those are the players who deserved the business-class seats on the flight home.
For the moment, though, at least the Rams have found a semi-comfortable cruising altitude.
sam.farmer@latimes.com
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