There’s plenty to take away from this loss by the Rams<\/p>\n
There’s a lot to unpack. It’s rare for a team as good as the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> to blow a game the way they just did, giving away a 30-14 lead in the fourth quarter and losing in overtime to their division rivals, 38-37<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not only was it a heartbreaking loss, but it’s one that carried massive playoff implications<\/a>. The Rams are no longer leading the West, nor are they in control of the No. 1 seed. They now need help in order to win the division and a first-round bye, which may not come their way.<\/p>\n Here’s what we learned from Los Angeles’ gut-wrenching loss at Lumen Field.<\/p>\n Sean McVay was unusually aggressive<\/p>\n In the first quarter alone, McVay and the Rams went for it on fourth down four times, though one was nullified by a penalty. That would’ve been tied for the most in any game under McVay, and it was only the first quarter. He even went for it on fourth down from the Rams’ own 38-yard line on the opening drive before the Rams failed on another fourth-down attempt later in the drive.<\/p>\n It was good to see McVay keep his foot on the gas in such a big game, even if those calls didn’t always work in their favor.<\/p>\n Konata Mumpfield is the next man up at WR<\/p>\n Xavier Smith caught a 48-yard bomb and Jordan Whittington caught one pass for 19 yards but it was Mumpfield who stepped up in Davante Adams’ place. He played a bunch in one-receiver sets and caught three passes for 40 yards, nearly coming down with a deep pass along the sideline where the defender jarred it loose as he was going to the ground.<\/p>\n It’s unclear how long Adams will be out but Mumpfield looked good as his replacement, seeing eight passes thrown his way in the loss. One thing’s for sure: he’s ahead of Tutu Atwell, who hardly played and was not targeted.<\/p>\n Terrance Ferguson’s stock keeps rising<\/p>\n Ferguson nearly scored two touchdowns last week against the Lions and then in the first quarter on Thursday night, he had a touchdown taken away from him because of a bogus penalty on Justin Dedich<\/a>. Finally, he caught a break and got into the end zone, a 4-yard score in the second quarter to put the Rams up 13-7.<\/p>\n He was on the field a ton once again, doing a nice job getting open for his quarterback. He hasn’t made many big plays lately but his stock is on the rise as one of the Rams’ primary tight ends.<\/p>\n Rams contained Jaxon Smith-Njigba, until they didn’t<\/p>\n In the first half, Smith-Njigba didn’t have a single catch. In the third quarter, he caught two passes for 32 yards. The Rams had done a great job containing the league’s leading receiver but in the fourth quarter and overtime, he started to show why he’s No. 1 in yardage this season.<\/p>\n He caught six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the final quarter and overtime, including the game-winning touchdown with 3:13 left in OT. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. had a strong game against Smith-Njigba once again but the Rams let him get open a few too many times down the stretch.<\/p>\n Rams defense had Sam Darnold seeing ghosts again<\/p>\n