The Los Angeles Rams faced an elimination game against the Green Bay Packers, with a loss officially taking them out of playoff contention. They were big underdogs to begin with, and they looked like it on the field.
The Packers dominated the Rams the entire night, completely overpowering them on the ground. Aaron Rodgers was sharp except for one errant throw, too, which didn’t make life any easier for Los Angeles.
The Rams lost 24-12, gaining just 156 yards of total offense compared to the Packers’ 345. Green Bay rushed for 138 yards, controlling the line of scrimmage for all four quarters.
Here’s a quick recap of how the game went.
Final score: Packers 24, Rams 12
Game notes
- Mayfield was under constant pressure in this game, getting sacked three times in the first half alone. Sean McVay tried to move the pocket and get him moving on rollouts, but the Packers found ways to defend Los Angeles’ passing attack.
- Tackling A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones was not easy on this frigid night, and it’s no surprise the Packers ran it as much as they did. They really tested the Rams’ run defense, which has been good all season.
- Penalties killed the Rams in this one. Whether it was Jalen Ramsey’s illegal contact in the end zone when the Rams got a third-down stop or Cobie Durant’s holding penalty to negate a sack, Los Angeles had far too many costly errors in a game when things needed to go perfectly in order to win.
- The pass rush was borderline non-existent against Aaron Rodgers. Sure, they got home for a few sacks, primarily thanks to Leonard Floyd, but the Rams didn’t pressure Rodgers nearly consistently enough to impact Green Bay’s passing game.
- Part of the reason the Rams’ offensive line struggled so badly was that Brian Allen injured his calf on the second play of the game, which threw everything off. Rob Havenstein had a terrible night at right tackle, too.
It was over when...
… the Rams punted with 8:51 left in the game with the Packers leading by 12 points. They had to punt because it was fourth-and-16, but that gave Green Bay the ball back and all Rodgers did was put the game away with a long, exhausting drive to seal the win. The Packers didn’t score on the drive, but they drained the entire clock and held on to win.
3 stars of the game
No. 3 star: Leonard Floyd
No. 2 star: Cam Akers
No. 1 star: Jalen Ramsey
Play of the game
Jalen Ramsey made a fantastic play to force a turnover, something the Rams haven’t done much of this season. He ripped the ball out of Aaron Jones’ hands in the fourth quarter after a run up the middle, giving the Rams an extra possession late in the game.
OUR BALL!
5️⃣ @jalenramsey | 📺 @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/9z54eGH1DY
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 20, 2022
What's next?
After being afforded a long week between games, the Rams will have a shorter week this time around. They’ll face the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, one of three Christmas Day games in the NFL. Russell Wilson is returning from a concussion to start for Denver, and though this game doesn’t have the same allure as it did before the season began, the Rams are a more interesting team with Mayfield at QB now.
