The Los Angeles Rams blew a 16-point first half lead to the Denver Broncos and lost 30-26 on Sunday Night Football to drop their record to 1-2. The story could have been a fair game fought between two quality teams, but instead the attention should be on a phantom pass interference penalty against the Rams that ultimately cost them the win. And I thought all the actors were in L.A., but apparently some of them are in Denver too.
Broncos receiver Pat Bryant II pulled off an incredible acting performance
to draw a critical pass interference penalty against Josh Wallace that wiped off Wallace’s incredible interception that would have probably iced the gamelate in the fourth quarter. The penalty also gave Denver a first down when they were down 26-23 with barely over a minute left on the clock.
A few plays later, on third down, Quentin Lake was called for a soft “hands to the fact” penalty against Evan Engram that gave the Broncos yet another first down with a minute left. Nix appeared to punch it in two players later to give Denver a 30-26 lead, but on review the call was overturned and setup third-and-Goal with :48 seconds left.
Still, Nix punched it on the next play to give the Broncos the 30-26 lead.
The Rams made a valiant effort to win, driving the field to set up a single last shot into the end zone, but Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Matthew Stafford for the second time of the night.
The game doesn’t go in the Rams’ favor, but will be one of the highlights of the NFL season as a whole.
The Rams took a 16-0 lead into halftime, holding the Broncos to 67 total yards and five first downs in the first half. Conversely, L.A. had 17 first downs and 253 yards in the first half.
But the tide turned in the third quarter, as the Rams’ first two drives of the second half went for a combined -6 yards and resulted in punts, both times resulting in bad special teams plays by L.A. that gave Denver the ball at midfield. The Broncos scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter — two touchdowns, two two-point conversions — including a pair of touchdown passes by Bo Nix.
Nix also converted both two-point conversions with his arm.
In the fourth quarter, Kobie Turner hit Nix as he was attempting a pass and the ball fluttered into the arms of Josh Wallace for an interception. The Rams were unable to capitalize with a touchdown drive, but Harrison Mevis connected on a 48-yard field goal to give L.A. a 19-16 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
But then the wheels came off minutes later, as Hufanga picked off Stafford and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown, giving the Broncos a 23-19 lead with 4:49 to go.
Stafford struggled on deep passes for most of the night, clearly missing his favorite target Puka Nacua, and obviously not on the same page with anybody except for Davante Adams. The Rams carry 12 WRs or TEs but seemingly only know how to use two of them. It’s concerning for Sean McVay and Stafford to have this many players who can’t pick the team up when Puka goes down.
