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Rallying Rams can't overcome big deficit
• BY JIM THOMAS
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6542bc08-0562-59e0-aa40-ee2aa44caf68.html
PHILADELPHIA • It would be hard to imagine a worse start for the Rams. Even so, the Rams almost pulled off the impossible, only to lose 34-28 when Austin Davis' fourth-down pass with 42 seconds to play fell harmlessly incomplete.
After spotting Philly a 34-7 lead, the Rams stormed back with a touchdown run by Benny Cunningham, and TD catches by Kenny Britt and Brian Quick. But a couple of dropped passes late, and a horrendous start for the visitors, spelled defeat Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Rams fell to 1-3 on the season, with NFC West powerhouses San Francisco and Seattle up next — both at the Edward Jones Dome. The Eagles, after getting beaten and beaten up last week in San Francisco, improved to 4-1.
For starters, Philly blocked a Johnny Hekker punt and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown off the Rams' first possession.
James Casey blocked the punt with Chris Maragos, a safety by trade, scooping up the loose ball, and rambling to the end zone.
Before the first quarter was out, there were two false start penalties against tight end Lance Kendricks, and a needless shove by Ray Ray Armstrong on punt coverage that resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness following a 23-yard return by Darren Sproles.
And let's not forget a 17-yard pass interference penalty against T.J. McDonald on a wounded duck of a pass by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Had McDonald merely turned to look for the ball, it could've easily been an interception.
On offense, Davis was high on some of his throws in the early going, missing open receivers. The Rams' pass protection was spotty, and Zac Stacy started slowly, running into congestion rather than heading toward open spaces on a couple of carries.
So it was 13-0 Eagles after the opening quarter, and could've been worse except that the Rams' defense held twice inside its 10 to force Cody Parkey field goals.
Once the Rams settled down a bit, they started moving the ball against the Eagles' 28th-ranked defense. The Rams reached the Philadelphia 35 to start the second quarter, before stalling and punting.
With just 1 minute gone in the second quarter, Alec Ogletree forced a fumble on a strange, rambling run by LeSean McCoy in the Eagles' backfield on a screen pass. Cornerback E.J. Gaines recovered and the Rams had a great chance to get on the scoreboard, taking over at the Philadelphia 19.
But on third-and-goal from the 5, Davis was sacked from the blindside and fumbled, with Philadelphia recovering. The Rams got the ball back just a few plays later when Gaines got the best of a Mizzou-on-Mizzou matchup to intercept a deep pass intended for Jeremy Maclin.
The Rams took over on their 16 and proceeded to march 84 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 32-yard back shoulder catch and run by Kenny Britt that carried to the Eagles 10.
Davis converted a pair of third-down throws on the drive, including an 8-yard TD pass to Quick on a third-and-goal play. Suddenly it was a 13-7 game with 3:23 to play in the half and the Rams seemingly had momentum on their side.
It didn't last. Philly marched 80 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a 9-yard TD pass from Foles to Riley Cooper with 30 seconds left in the half. Cooper outmuscled cornerback Janoris Jenkins for the ball in tight coverage. So it was 20-7 at the half, with the Eagles getting the ball to start the second half.
The Rams forced a punt on Philly's opening possession of the third quarter, but couldn't stand the "prosperity." Taking over at their 11, the Rams not only gave the ball back on their first offensive play of the second half, but it resulted in an Eagles touchdown.
Rams left tackle Jake Long was beaten on the inside by Eagles linebacker Trent Cole. Cole hit Davis and forced a fumble. Long fell on the fumble near the goal line, but couldn't corral the football. Cedric Thornton fell on it instead for a TD and a 27-7 lead less than 3 minutes into the second half.
Late in the third quarter the Eagles' lead ballooned to 34-7 on a Stacy fumble that was returned 40 yards to the Rams' 24 by Thornton. After an incomplete pass, Foles threw to a wide-open Maclin for a 24-yard TD that left Lamarcus Joyner gesturing at teammate Rodney McLeod on what had to be a busted coverage.
Davis, an undrafted free agent who was the Rams' fourth-string QB early this summer, completed 29 of 49 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns with no INTs. He completed passes to 10 different receivers. Davis also was sacked four times for 34 yards in losses.
Rams running backs Bennie Cunningham, Zac Stacy and Tre Watts combined for 95 yards on 20 carries, and Davis added 30 rushing yards on four scrambles.
Here are updates posted during the game by Post-Dispatch football writer Joe Lyons:
Another frustrating loss for the Rams, who saw a late rally fall short in a 34-28 decision against the Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday.
The Rams (1-3) trailed 34-7 with seconds to play in the third quarter before coming up with three consecutive touchdown drives to make a game of it.
A 42-yard bomb from Austin Davis to Brian Quick moved the Rams to midfield on their final drive. But in the next four plays, they managed to gain just two more yards and, after a delay-of-game call, Davis' fourth-down pass was overthrown and fell incomplete with 37 seconds to play.
The Eagles, who posted three comeback wins to open the season, improved to 4-1.
The Rams return to action on Monday, Oct. 13, when they'll host the San Francisco 49ers in a 7:30 p.m. game at the Edward Jones Dome.
The Rams, who scored with just seconds left in the third quarter, caught a break early in the fourth when Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles fumbled after scrambling for a first down and Kendall Langford recovered at the Rams' 38. Ten plays later, after escaping pressure with a rollout to his right, Austin Daivs fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt, who beat ex-Ram Bradley Fletcher on the play.
The touchdown, with 9:02 to play, helped cut the Philadelphia lead to 34-21.
With his seventh consecutive completion _ a 5-yard strike to Brian Quick with 4:41 to play _ Austin Davis helped the Rams, who were down 34-7 late in the fourth quarter, get back within a touchdown, cutting the Eagles' lead to 34-28.
The Rams came up with the stop they needed, forcing a punt just after the two-minute warming. The punt was downed at the Rams' 8, but Davis, throwing from near his own goal line, hooked up with Quick on a 42-yarder. But the Rams moved just two yards in the next four plays and, after a delay-of-game call, saw their chances end when a fourth-down pass from Davis was overthrown and fell incomplete with 37 seconds to play.
EAGLES IN CONTROL UP 34-14 WITH A QUARTER TO PLAY
The Rams' second half starts similarly to the first as the Eagles score on another fumble return. After linebacker Trent Cole knocked the ball loose during a sack of Austin Davis and Rams' tackle Jake Long was unable to recover the loose ball, Philadelphia defensive end Cedric Thornton came up with the recovery in the end zone to stretch the lead to 27-7 with 12:17 to play in the third quarter.
The Rams were driving late in the third quarter when Brandon Graham stripped Zac Stacy of the football. Thornton came up with the loose ball and returned it to the Rams' 24. Two plays later, Nick Foles took advantage of a blown coverage by the Rams, hooking up with wide-open native St. Louisan Jeremy Maclin on a 24-yard touchdown pass that stretched the Philadelphia lead to 34-7 with 2:15 to play in the third quarter.
The Rams responded with an impressive five-play, 79-yard drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown run from Benny Cunningham with three seconds to play in the third quarter. The drive featured Austin Davis' passes to Brian Quick (25 yards), Austin Pettis (16), Jared Cook (12) and a 12-yard scramble by Davis.
EAGLES TAKE 20-7 LEAD TO HALFTIME
Down 13-0, the Rams caught their first break of the day early in the second quarter when the Eagles' LeSean McCoy fumbled while trying to do a little too much after hauling in a screen pass. Linebacker Alec Ogletree stripped the ball and rookie cornerback E.J. Gaines came up with the recovery at the Philadelphia 19.
But after a clutch third-down pass from Austin Davis to Jared Cook _ the Rams' first third-down conversion in five tries _ to the Eagles' 5, the drive was halted when Philadelphia's Vinny Curry came unblocked off the left end on a third-and-goal from the 5 and blasted Davis to force a fumble. Fletcher Cox recovered, allowing the Eagles to regain possession at their own 30.
Gaines, the sixth-round draft pick from Mizzou, came up with another big play later in the second quarter when he picked off a Nick Foles' bomb intended for former Kirkwood High and Mizzou standout Jeremy Maclin. It's the first professional interception for Gaines.
Rams took over at their own 16 and responded with a 11-play, 84-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Austin Davis to Brian Quick. That made it 13-7 with 3:23 to play in the first half.
On the play, the second Davis-to-Quick scoring pass of the season, Davis did a nice job of scrambling to keep the play alive before delivering a strike to Quick.
But the Eagles came right back, scoring with 30 seconds to play before halftime on a 9-yard scoring pass from Nick Foles to Riley Cooper, who went over Janoris Jenkins for the jump-ball catch. The 11-play, 80-yard drive allowed the Eagles to go to the half with a 20-7 lead.
Some halftime numbers of note:
• Austin Davis has completed 10 of 19 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. He's also lost a fumble during a sack.
• Zac Stacy has rushed seven times for 30 yards. Jared Cook (27 yards), Brian Quick (14 yards) and Stacy (13 yards) have two pass receptions apiece.
• Penalties are again killing the Rams. They've been flagged seven times for 62 yards, compared to just two for 10 for the Eagles.
• For Philadelphia, Nick Foles has completed 19 of 26 passes for 144 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Kirkwood/Mizzou product Jeremy Maclin has three catches for 47 yards. LeSean McCoy, the NFL's leading rusher a year ago, has 32 yards on seven carries.
EAGLES STRIKE QUICKLY
After three incomplete passes from the Rams to start the game, the Eagles' James Casey blocked a punt and teammate Chris Maragos scooped it up and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game.
It was the first blocked punt of Johnny Hekker's career and the seventh return touchdown of the season for the Eagles, who scored on a blocked punt, an interception return and a punt return last week against San Francisco.
Rookie Cody Parkey added field goals from 26 and 27 yards later in the first quarter to stretch the lead to 13-0 heading into the second quarter.
WR GIVENS AMONG RAMS' INACTIVES
The answer to this week's Rams wide receiver puzzle? Chris Givens.
With the return of Stedman Bailey against Dallas from NFL suspension, and the return today of Tavon Austin from knee injury, it seemed unlikely that the Rams would dress six wide receivers against the Philadelphia Eagles.
And they didn't. The odd man out proved to be Givens, the speedy third-year pro from Wake Forest. With the addition of Kenny Britt in the offseason and the emergence of Brian Quick, Givens' playing time has dwindled this season. He has four catches for 50 yards in the Rams' first three games.
Factor in the clutch play of Austin Pettis so far this season, and there was no place for Givens on the Rams' game day roster at Lincoln Financial Field.
Givens was among the Rams' pregame inactives Sunday, along with: QB Case Keenun, RB Tre Mason, S Maurice Alexander, CB Trumaine Johnson (knee), CB Brandon McGee (foot), and C/G Barrett Jones (back).
Givens led the Rams in reception yards as a rookie in 2012 with 698; he was second in reception yards last season (569).
Inactives for Philadelphia: QB Matt Barkley, DB Jaylen Watkins, C Jason Kelce (sports hernia), G/T Dennis Kelly, WR Jeff Maehl, LB Mychal Kendricks (calf) and DE Taylor Hart.