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Plays that shaped the Rams' season: No. 6
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15668/plays-that-shaped-the-rams-season-no-6-2
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- After a 7-9 finish in 2013, the St. Louis Rams entered the 2014 season with postseason visions in their heads. To get there, the Rams figured to have to navigate one of the toughest schedules in the league, which meant getting a win in the season opener at home against the Minnesota Vikings would be pretty much mandatory.
It didn't happen.
After a slow first half in which the Rams went into the locker room trailing 13-0, St. Louis managed a field goal to make it 13-3. Although there were no signs of the offense getting into a rhythm after the loss of quarterback Shaun Hill to a quad injury, the Rams had managed to contain running back Adrian Peterson and were still in the game. Then Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson struck.
With 2:08 left in the third quarter and a first-and-10 at their 33, the Vikings lined up with Patterson in the backfield and called a simple crack toss to the right side of the offensive line. Patterson took the toss, bounced off a couple of defenders, and weaved his way through the Rams defense for a 67-yard touchdown.
It was an ominous sign for a run defense that would be gashed so badly and with such regularity in the first five weeks that it ranked near the bottom of the league. Because teams were having such success on the ground, the Rams saw the fewest passes against of any team in the league in that span, part of the reason they set a league record for futility by only posting one sack in the first five games.
The run gave Minnesota a 20-3 lead which ultimately resulted in a 34-6 win that dropped the Rams to 0-1 and left many wondering just how bad the 2014 season would become. The Rams helped offset a loss in a game many thought they should win with upsets against the likes of Denver and Seattle, but the slow start would be too much to overcome.
Making matters worse, the Rams lost defensive end Chris Long for most of the season to an ankle/foot injury against Minnesota, and Hill's injury led to a game of musical quarterbacks in which Austin Davis took the reins for the next eight starts only to hand them back to Hill for the season's final seven games.
It was a brutal beginning for what turned into the latest in a long line of disappointing seasons in St. Louis.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15668/plays-that-shaped-the-rams-season-no-6-2
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- After a 7-9 finish in 2013, the St. Louis Rams entered the 2014 season with postseason visions in their heads. To get there, the Rams figured to have to navigate one of the toughest schedules in the league, which meant getting a win in the season opener at home against the Minnesota Vikings would be pretty much mandatory.
It didn't happen.
After a slow first half in which the Rams went into the locker room trailing 13-0, St. Louis managed a field goal to make it 13-3. Although there were no signs of the offense getting into a rhythm after the loss of quarterback Shaun Hill to a quad injury, the Rams had managed to contain running back Adrian Peterson and were still in the game. Then Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson struck.
With 2:08 left in the third quarter and a first-and-10 at their 33, the Vikings lined up with Patterson in the backfield and called a simple crack toss to the right side of the offensive line. Patterson took the toss, bounced off a couple of defenders, and weaved his way through the Rams defense for a 67-yard touchdown.
It was an ominous sign for a run defense that would be gashed so badly and with such regularity in the first five weeks that it ranked near the bottom of the league. Because teams were having such success on the ground, the Rams saw the fewest passes against of any team in the league in that span, part of the reason they set a league record for futility by only posting one sack in the first five games.
The run gave Minnesota a 20-3 lead which ultimately resulted in a 34-6 win that dropped the Rams to 0-1 and left many wondering just how bad the 2014 season would become. The Rams helped offset a loss in a game many thought they should win with upsets against the likes of Denver and Seattle, but the slow start would be too much to overcome.
Making matters worse, the Rams lost defensive end Chris Long for most of the season to an ankle/foot injury against Minnesota, and Hill's injury led to a game of musical quarterbacks in which Austin Davis took the reins for the next eight starts only to hand them back to Hill for the season's final seven games.
It was a brutal beginning for what turned into the latest in a long line of disappointing seasons in St. Louis.
