The Los Angeles Rams were riding high heading into Week 15 after a dramatic comeback win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football. However, they were unable to keep that momentum going when they made their way to Lambeau Field to play against the Green Bay Packers.
Baker Mayfield, who lead the Rams to victory in the closing minutes against the Raiders, made his first start with the team and had a lot more trouble operating in the pocket. The Green Bay pass rush was in his face all night as he was sacked five times for a loss of 27 total yards.
On the evening, Mayfield managed to complete a measly 12 of 21 attempts for 111 yards and one touchdown. He also had one interception. The lone touchdown was to Tyler Higbee at the end of the third quarter, surprisingly marking the tight end’s first touchdown reception of the 2022 season.
Even with more time to digest the playbook and scheme, Mayfield struggled to connect with his receivers downfield. This was partly due to the Packer secondary, but also the quarterback had several passes that were off target and could’ve easily resulted in more interceptions.
The first half was actually a tightly contested half as the Rams defense did a good job of moving the pocket and getting to Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers fared better than Mayfield, though his final line of 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception was far from impressive.
Rodgers wound up taking three sacks, with two of them coming from Leonard Floyd who looked spry coming off the edge. This was arguably Floyd’s best game of the year as he was constantly getting pressure on Rodgers, adding three quarterback hits to his sack total.
While the Los Angeles offense had nothing to write home about, it was a solid individual performance from Cam Akers who looks to be taking over the backfield. Akers toted the football 12 times for 65 yards, including a 19-yard scamper that was his longest of the season. He also led the team in receiving yards with 35 on three receptions.
Jalen Ramsey remained as fiery as ever, even with the Rams clearly heading toward another loss. He managed to force a fumble on Aaron Jones, coming up with the football and giving L.A. another possession late in the game.
However, the defeat officially eliminated the Rams from the playoffs which means the games from here on out will be about seeing what young players should get bigger roles next season.
Next up for the Rams
Fans haven’t had much to cheer about this year, but perhaps they’ll get a gift on Christmas Day when they take on the Denver Broncos back home at SoFi Stadium.
