The Los Angeles Rams have been playing some of the best football of anyone the past month, but they faced an uphill battle in Week 14 as they went on the road to take on the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens owned the best record in the AFC and have been clicking on both sides of the field, but the Rams gave them a run for their money as they went toe-to-toe with them for the entire afternoon. Los Angeles held a lead late in the fourth quarter, but Baltimore responded and the two teams would go into overtime.
There was some momentum for the Rams as they held the Ravens to a three-and-out, but they stalled out on their ensuing drive and were forced to punt. However, disaster struck when Tylan Wallace returned the punt for a touchdown and left Los Angeles reeling.
Sean McVay admitted it was hard to see his team lose like that, but believes they’ll respond the right way.
“That’s a tough way to go down after the way the game went, but it was two teams going back and forth. Being able to go toe to toe in a championship-caliber game late in December. Let’s see how we respond. I think you’re going to be proud of the way that this group responds. This was a tough, hard-earned win for the Ravens today. We’re going to come back swinging.”
McVay added that while this loss stings, they’re not going to carry it into their Week 15 prep for the Washington Commanders.
“I mean, you look at it, and it’s one of the most complete teams in the league. They’re as good as anybody on both sides of the football. They’re excellent on special teams. They’re coming off the bye with a great home-crowd atmosphere. It’s OK to hurt right now. That was a gut-wrenching loss. Guys put a lot out there, but we’re not going to let the Ravens beat us twice. I can promise you that.”
Los Angeles has been a resilient group throughout the 2023 season, and it’s a credit to McVay and the players for rallying around each other. A home date against a reeling Commanders team seems like the perfect get-right spot for the playoff-hopeful Rams.
L.A. can’t afford to drop games like their Week 15 matchup against Washington, so it’ll be interesting to see if they do indeed shake off the loss and come out with authority on Sunday.
