The Los Angeles Rams have been able to rely on their offense for points as the second-highest scoring team in the 2017 NFL season. However, they knew it would be difficult to score points coming into this matchup with one of the best defenses in the league.
Fortunately, the Rams got a huge contribution from their special teams in their 27-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Head coach Sean McVay talked about how profound their impact was on the win during the Rams press conference:
“It’s huge. It ended up winning the game for us today,” head coach Sean McVay said of the two special teams touchdowns. “I can’t say enough about their effort, and that was the difference in winning this football game today.”
Los Angeles got the day started with an electrifying 103-yard touchdown return from Pharaoh Cooper on the opening kickoff. Then with time winding down just before the half, linebacker Cory Littleton blocked a punt which was recovered by running back Malcolm Brown in the end zone.
Their stellar performance is a credit to special teams coordinator John Fassel, who managed to finally right the ship for this group after a disappointing outing in the loss versus the Seattle Seahawks. However, Los Angeles took a huge step forward getting this team to start clicking on all cylinders.