THOUSAND OAKS Chiefs Cheap Jerseys , Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams are trying to get to where the Atlanta Falcons were last season — the Super Bowl.
That’s
a lofty goal for the NFL’s youngest team. But Los Angeles (11-5) can
take its first step in that direction when hosting the Falcons (10-6) in
an NFC wild-card game Saturday night.
In the Rams’ second
year in their return to L.A., they will host a playoff game at the
storied Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time since the 1978
season.
Atlanta returns to the playoffs after last
season’s painful loss in Super Bowl LI. The Falcons led the New England
Patriots by 25 points before succumbing, 34-28 in overtime.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn isn’t expecting that meltdown to haunt his squad.
“I
love the resiliency and the toughness of this team,” Quinn said. “When
you’ve been through some of the fire together, you come out the other
side stronger as a brotherhood.”
The Rams have done little
wrong under rookie head coach Sean McVay. At 31, McVay is the league’s
youngest coach and is directing its most prolific offense.
Behind
a unit averaging nearly 30 points per game, McVay helped flip a team
that went 4-12 last season to NFC West champions and back in the
playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Quarterback Jared
Goff has gone from bust to being accurate and efficient. Running back
Todd Gurley churned out a league-best 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19
touchdowns.
With wide receivers Sammy Watkins, Roberts
Woods and rookie Cooper Kupp, there’s no shortage of targets for Goff to
aim his passes.
But the Falcons have a core of players
and the motivation from that painful Super Bowl lesson tucked away. They
are older and maybe wiser, but the No. 3-seeded Rams, aren’t fretting
over their lack of postseason reps.
“I don’t think it is a
concern,” McVay said. “When I say that, I have a whole lot of respect
for experience and what that does and the value that it provides. But I
do think that we’ve got a confident group, a mature group for a young
football team.”
How Goff responds to the oversized setting
is among the red flags the team’s detractors mention. But after going
0-7 in his rookie year Patriots Cheap Jerseys ,
Goff has thrown for 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions this year in
leading a balanced attack. He seems at-ease with the task at hand.
“I
think more than anything it’s a big game,” Goff said. “I think that’s
what it boils down to and we do have experience with that stuff.
“We
played a big game in Seattle a couple weeks ago. We played a big game
two weeks ago against Tennessee. We played a big game against the Eagles
… we had a bunch of big games against top teams this year and so I
think that experience will translate mostly to this game.”
Quinn is familiar with Goff’s offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur. He held that same position with the Falcons last year.
“What
I have been most impressed by is you have to defend the entire field,”
Quinn said of LaFleur’s approach. “When you have a team that has the
run, has the play-action, the quarterback-boot and stuff, it makes it
real difficult and challenging to defend.”
The
sixth-seeded Falcons will lean on savvy quarterback Matt Ryan (20
touchdowns, 12 interceptions) and a deep running attack spearheaded by
Devonta Freeman (865 yards, seven touchdowns).
Although Julio Jones has had an inconsistent season, he remains dangerous with 1,444 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
While
McVay is the youthful vibe of offense, it’ll be the sage Wade Phillips,
the Rams’ 70-year-old defensive coordinator doing his best to stop the
Falcons.
All of this will be played out in the historic
L.A. Coliseum venue with an expected 70,000 on hand to toast the Rams
return to the playoffs in L.A. The Rams left Los Angeles and relocated
to St. Louis after the 1994 season, an absence that lasted until 2016.
“It’s definitely a cool thing 49ers Cheap Jerseys ,”
Goff said. “After football has been gone here for so long and we came
back year two and being able to bring a playoff game to the Coliseum is
very cool.”
Needing a good night’s sleep, Jose Urena left
the ballpark shortly after midnight Wednesday before the end of the
Miami Marlins‘ 16-inning loss to Tampa Bay, monitoring the game on his
phone as he drove home.
That made him perhaps the best-rested player when the teams returned to the field barely 12 hours later. And it showed.
Urena and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Marlins bounced back from their marathon loss to beat Tampa Bay 3-0.
J.T. Riddle singled, tripled and homered.
”There
is a little bit of a hangover. I’m not going to lie,” Riddle said. ”You
play 16 innings like that, and you come in eight hours later and have
to play again, the body doesn’t feel the greatest. But it’s part of your
job.”
While both teams were dragging, Urena looked fresh
in his first outing since June 20, when he was sidelined by right
shoulder impingement. He pitched five scoreless innings and struck out
six before departing for a pinch hitter after throwing 78 pitches.
”Everything was good,” Urena said. ”I felt I could go longer, but I haven’t thrown that much the past 12 or 13 days.”
Drew
Rucinski (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings for his second win in the
series. Brad Ziegler pitched around a walk in the ninth to earn his 10th
save.
The Marlins took the series and went 5-5 on their
longest homestand of the year. The Rays lost for only the third time in
the past 12 games.
Riddle’s RBI triple in the sixth put
the Marlins ahead. The ball appeared catchable, but sailed over the head
of center fielder Kevin Kiermaier near the wall.
Riddle added his fifth homer in the eighth.
Three
Rays – Kiermaier, Daniel Robertson and Jake Bauers – started after
playing all 16 innings Tuesday. They went a combined 0 for 11.
”Urena
pitched well,” manager Kevin Cash said. ”He kind of changed his
approach a little bit, started throwing fastballs in to the lefties and
away to the righties. That has generally not been his M.O.”
TANTRUM
When the Rays’ Carlos Gomez returned to the dugout after striking out in the second inning Seahawks Cheap Jerseys , he took three swings at a cooler, and the resulting thuds could be heard throughout the ballpark.
”He squared it up pretty good, it sounded like,” Riddle said.
Gomez then punched another cooler, which sent cups flying over the dugout railing.
Despite all that solid contact, Gomez is batting only .195.
”When I’m angry, I’m not thinking really well,” he said. ”If they fine for me this, I’ve got enough money to pay.”
Gomez
said he was upset because he was hit by a pitch during the at-bat, and
the umpire blew the call. He was jeered in subsequent at-bats by the
crowd of 7,572.
UP AND DOWN
After using nine
pitchers Tuesday, the Rays called up right-hander Ryan Weber from
Triple-A Durham as reinforcement. Weber (0-1) allowed two runs in five
innings and was optioned after the game back to Durham.
”I
knew I was coming up to get the team innings, and that’s what I did,”
Weber said. ”I kept the pitch count low so they could keep running me
back out there. That’s all I could have asked for.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays:
RHP Chris Archer (left abdominal strain) felt fine after a rehab start
and could rejoin the rotation as early as Monday against the Tigers. …
LHP Vidal Nuno (right hamstring strain), who earned the victory Tuesday
and contributed two hits before he was hurt Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Womens , went on the 10-day disabled list. … RH Wilmer Font (right lat strain) was transferred to the 60-day DL.
Marlins:
OF Lewis Brinson (left hip inflammation), batting only .186, was placed
on the 10-day disabled list. … 3B Martin Prado (left hamstring) and
1B-OF Garrett Cooper (bruised right wrist) are expected to be activated
for the upcoming series at Washington. … Miami recalled LHP Dillon
Peters from Triple-A New Orleans.
UP NEXT
Rays: Following a day off, the Rays play a three-game series at the Mets, with RHP Ryne Stanek (1-2, 1.98) expected to start.
Marlins:
RHP Pablo Lopez (1-0, 3.00), who beat the Mets in his major league
debut Saturday, is scheduled to start Thursday when Miami opens a
four-game series at the Nationals.
Miami is 6-16 against Washington since the start of 2017.
”We’ve had our trouble with those guys,” manager Don Mattingly said. ”They’ve beat us up pretty good the last couple of years.”
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