There were a number of factors that attributed to the loss to the Seattle Seahawks by the Los Angeles Rams during their first meeting in Week 5.
The Rams made several miscues that led to blown opportunities that could have either added points to the board or prevented them from being put up by the Seahawks. Regardless, they still found themselves in a position to potentially win the game until kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.
Rather than securing a pivotal NFC West matchup early in the year, it set the stage for their fall from the top of the division after Los Angeles was dominated by the San Francisco 49ers the following week. While Zuerlein may not have been able to come through the first time around, quarterback Jared Goff still has plenty of confidence in his teammate.
Goff feels Zuerlein will find a way to come up clutch if the Rams find themselves in a similar situation in Week 14 when they host the Seahawks, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official website:
“Anything can happen,” Goff said. “We felt like we were able to move the ball there, but left a little bit more meat on that than we wanted to. I think we could’ve gotten a few more yards there for Greg and I know he was kicking himself about that. We know Greg and know the way he responds. I know he’s confident at this point and feels good. I’m very confident if we get into a situation like that, he’ll knock it down. That’s the type of guy he is.”
It is undoubtedly encouraging to see that the belief in Zuerlein has not been shaken by a couple of missed kicks. There is no question that the reassurance from Goff is indicative of how the team feels as a whole.
The onus will now ultimately fall on Zuerlein to ensure that the Rams have good reason to be confident. He managed to hit a couple of chip shots from 27 and 33 yards out before missing wide left during a 41-yard attempt in the 34-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Zuerlein appears to have no problem hitting from up close or deep. However, he continues to struggle from the 40-yard range after going 4-of-9 on the season so far. His six missed field goals are the most he has missed since the 2015 NFL season.
The Rams are hoping this means that all of his misses are now behind him as they will need to win in Week 14 and essentially every other week if they want to remain in the postseason picture.
