Holy S***!!!
The NFL at its very best is when two of the best teams show up to the game and leave it all on the field, and that’s what millions at home were witness in a marathon for the ages.
If you blinked you may have missed a touchdown or a huge play made by not just the two high-scoring offenses on display Monday night, but the defenses as well.
The Los Angeles Rams were expecting a hellacious battle on Monday night in Los Angeles with the Kansas City Chiefs and the team in red wouldn’t disappoint them or anyone watching.
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 on Monday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a battle of 9-1 football teams.
Jared Goff hit Gerald Everett on a game-winning 40-yard touchdown after the two minute warning and the Rams defense sealed the game with two interceptions over the final 1:49 as the Rams moved to 10-1 in dramatic fashion.
Goff finished the game with 413 passing yards and four touchdowns as he out-dueled Patrick Mahomes, who finished with a career-high 478 passing to go with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Each quarterback lost a pair of fumbles.
The Rams defense was gashed by one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses in recent memory, but that didn’t stop Aaron Donald, Marcus Peters and others from making plays for the team to win this game.
Donald knifed in for two sacks on the night, both strip sacks, with one being recovered for a touchdown by Samson Ebukam, who became a star on the night.
The 23-year-old linebacker scored on a fumble recovery and a interception return on the night while sacking Mahomes in a breakout performance.
In a moment of truth for the Rams struggling defense, the defense created just enough pressure to force Patrick Mahomes into under throwing a poorly thrown ball right into the hands of Marcus Peters for a late interception and then another by Lamarcus Joyner to end the game.
A highly anticipated showdown which had an over/under set at 64 points and was expected to be the game of the year, broke a number of records on a historic night.
It’s the the highest scoring Monday Night Football game in NFL history and the third highest scoring game in NFL history at 105 combined points.
The game featured six lead changes and two ties. A total of three lead changes occurred in the fourth quarter alone.
The Kansas City Chiefs — who trailed early on 13-0 in the first quarter — battled back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to take a 44-40 lead early in the fourth after a 73-yard touchdown from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill and a fumble recovery touchdown by defensive end Allen Bailey in less than one minute.
Tyreek Hill finished with 215 receiving yards and two touchdowns on the night for Kansas City as he continued to light up the NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams exploited the Kansas City Chiefs pass defense throughout, but the most surprising aspect of the game offensively was the Chiefs ability to slow star running back Todd Gurley, who finished with just 55 rushing yards in the game.
The Chiefs ability to contain Todd Gurley — who finished without a touchdown — allowed the front four to come after Jared Goff as they sacked him five times and forced him into two fumbles that led to touchdowns for Kansas City.
Mahomes’ three interceptions on Monday night are a new career-high and after not throwing an interception after the first four games, he has thrown 10 over Kansas City’s last seven games.
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) blew an opportunity to end the game on a dropped an interception on a 2nd and 9 pass play as Orlando Scandrick was unable to come up with a ball intended for Josh Reynolds on Los Angeles’ eventual game-winning drive.
Their inability to make “the play” on defense and the Rams’ ability to make far more of them was the difference in a wild and wacky game, but rest assured, this game only proves the Kansas City Chiefs are as good as most coming in have been led to believe.
While neither team turned in a pretty game, Kansas City hung in there with the game in their hands despite several turnovers and a penalty plagued first half. That’s frustrating for Andy Reid, but also gives Kansas City more self-confidence when playing in these big games vs elite competition.
For the Los Angeles Rams (10-1), its a win that keeps them on pace for a first-round bye at worst with the New Orleans Saints owning the tiebreaker over them after a 45-35 win over Los Angeles back in Week 9.
With a trip to play the Chicago Bears at cold Soldier Field in Week 13 coming up following their bye, a loss here could’ve changed the trajectory of their season as the Bears going into that game may have had an opportunity to take control of the number two seed.
There’s plenty to clean up, but Sean McVay and the Rams will enjoy this win as they head into their bye week.
What was your takeaway from the Monday night thriller in L.A.? Leave your comments below!