GREEN BAY, Wis.— Baker Mayfield’s short-lived magic touch expired.
So did the Rams’ near impossible playoff hopes.
Both were put in the freezer on Monday night after a 24-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
On a night when it was 15 degrees at kickoff — with a windchill factor of seven — the defending Super Bowl champion Rams dropped to 4-10 and inevitable finally became official: The Rams will not pull off a miracle and play in the postseason.
That had been apparent for weeks as a seemingly endless stream of offensive lineman continued to fall and star players such as star quarterback Matthew Stafford, star receiver Cooper Kupp and star defensive lineman Aaron Donald suffered injuries.
Mayfield gave the Rams a glimmer of hope with a heroic performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. But that faded into the darkness and chill of perhaps the NFL’s most iconic stadium.
It was fitting that Rams were eliminated with a defeat in frigid conditions.
The cold reality is that the winners of Super Bowl LVI are on their way to one of the most historic post-championship nosedives in NFL history.
It is only the second time since the then 30-year-old Sean McVay was hired in 2017 that the Rams missed the playoffs.
The first time was 2019, not coincidentally after the Rams played in Super Bowl LIII and lost to the New England Patriots.
But compared to this season, that qualified as a mild Super Bowl hangover.
The Rams got routed by the Buffalo Bills in the season opener and never recovered.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the reigning league most valuable players, completed 22 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, with an interception, as the Packers improved to 6-8 and kept McVay winless against Packers coach Matt LaFleur, his close friend and former Rams assistant.
After losing a divisional-round playoff game in the 2020 season with Jared Goff at quarterback, and a 2021 last season with Matthew Stafford under center, McVay lost again, this time with Mayfield.
Mayfield completed 12 of 21 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, with an interception. He was sacked five times.
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