HOUSE RULES THE STORY OF THE LOS ANGELES RAMS’ 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
2 • INTRODUCTION SUPER BOWL MOND AY FEBR UA RY 14 20 2 2L AT IME S.COM/ SPOR TS D House of reig n Rams rally and defense delivers to secure L.A. title AARON DONALD exult after pressuring Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow into an incompletion, ending the Bengals’ final possession and sealing the Rams’ victory Allen J. Schabe Los Angeles Times Copyright © 2022 by the Los Angeles Times All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-63846-014-5 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher. Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. • www.pediment.com Printed in Canada. This book is an unofficial account of the Los Angeles Rams’ 2021–22 football season and is not endorsed by the National Football League or the Los Angeles Rams. FRONT COVER: You can’t say the Rams made things look easy. They scrapped for everything in the playoffs. But, in the end, it came down to a one-yard touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp. Their embrace after the winning touchdown tells it all and makes everyone realize that the Rams have been playing House Rules. WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES Credits Los Angeles Times EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kevin Merida MANAGING EDITORS Shani O. Hilton, Scott Kraft EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR Christian Stone DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Iliana Limón Romero ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Athan Atsales EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Calvin Hom PHOTO EDITOR Kelvin Kuo HOUSE RULES EDITOR John Cherwa ECOMMERCE MANAGER Samantha Smith
INTRODUCTION • 3 IntroductionContents.......................................................................................................... 4 The Trade, Part I ................................................................................................... 7 Fast Start ............................................................................................................... 19 The Trade, Part II .............................................................................................. 49 The Bump ............................................................................................................. 53 The Acquisition .................................................................................................. 63 The Finish ........................................................................................................... 67 Wild Card ............................................................................................................. 91 Divisional Playoff ............................................................................................... 97 NFC Championship ..........................................................................................107 Super Bowl ..........................................................................................................119 Taking It to the Streets ..................................................................................... 155
Jared Goff was once the centerpiece of the Rams’ franchise.
BY GARY KLEIN • JAN. 30, 2021
Stafford has passed for 45,109 yards and 282 touchdowns with 144 interceptions. This season, he passed for 4,084 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 Staffordinterceptions.hastwoyears remaining on his con tract and had salary-cap numbers of $33 million in 2021 and $26 million in 2022, according to overthecap.com.
Stafford and Lions ownership reportedly had agreed to pursue trading him.
After Wolford suffered a first-quarter neck injury, Goff came off the bench and helped lead the Rams to victory. Goff started the divisional-round game against the Green Bay Packers and passed for a touchdown in the 32-18 season-ending defeat. After the game, McVay said Goff was the Rams’ quarterback “right now,” putting Goff’s future with the team in doubt. Just over a week later, Snead said Goff was the Rams’ quarter back “in this moment,” indicating the team was ready to move on.
THE TRADE: PART I • 7
PAUL SANCYA / AP
During Goff’s first news conference in 2016, former coach Jeff Fisher introduced the former California star Goff as “our franchise quarter back,” and general manager Les Snead said Goff gave the Rams “long-term stability.” Long-term turned out to be five seasons. Goff was 0-7 as a starter his rookie season under Fisher’s staff, but he developed into a two-time Pro Bowl selection under coach Sean McVay, leading the Rams to three playoff appearances in four seasons and a Super Bowl LIII berth. It appeared as if Goff and McVay would be tied together for years to come.
The quarterback was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft, and the team made bold, flashy moves to surround him with stars and build a Super Bowl team in 2018. But the Goff era ended Saturday. Five years after they traded up a record 14 spots to draft him, the Rams traded Goff to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford, a person with knowledge of the sit uation said. As part of the deal, the Rams also sent the Lions a third-round pick this year and two future first-round picks, said the person who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal. Stafford, who turns 33 next Sunday, was the first pick in the 2009 draft. He was voted to the Pro Bowl once in 12 seasons and is 0-3 in playoff games. Other than receiver Calvin Johnson, however, Stafford, has never played with a surplus of talent.
Rams trade Jared Goff to Lions for Matthew Stafford in swap of QBs
Goff, 26, finished his Rams career with a 42-27 record as a starter. He passed for 18,171 yards and 107 touchdowns with 55 intercep tions. He was 3-3 in playoff games.
“As long as I’m fortunate enough to be in this role, hopefully this guy is stuck with me for a long time,” McVay said a few months before the Rams awarded Goff with a $134-million exten sion that included $110 million in guarantees. Since then, Goff’s production has fallen. He passed for a career-low 20 touchdowns this season with 13 interceptions. Goff struggled in a Nov. 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, losing two fumbles and having two passes intercepted. Three games later, he had two passes intercepted and lost a fumble in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, McVay broke from his usual practice of blaming himself for players’ mistakes and called out Goff publicly for the first“Ourtime.quarterback’s got to take better care of the football,” McVay said. Goff started the next four games but suf fered a broken right thumb against the Seattle Seahawks in the second-to-last game of the season. He underwent thumb surgery the next day and sat out the finale against the Arizona Cardinals. But the following week, despite Goff saying he was capable of playing, McVay again started backup John Wolford in an NFC wildcard game against the Seahawks.
THE TRADE: PART I
OPPOSITE: If it were a soccer match, maybe they could have exchanged jerseys right there on the spot. But, instead it is Jared Goff, left, and Matthew Stafford meeting at midfield after a Rams-Lions game. It appears as if Stafford is ready to leave.
New Lions general manager Brad Holmes knows Goff well. Holmes, hired a few weeks ago, was the Rams’ director of college scouting for the last eight seasons.
Rams acquire Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller in trade from Broncos
“You look at what it takes to be successful defensively, and it’s about affecting and influ encing the quarterback,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “And this guy does it as well as anybody.”
THE TRADE: PART II • 49
OPPOSITE: No one expected to see Von Miller come to the Rams, but there he was greeting fans before the game against the Tennessee Titans. Miller was excited to come to the Rams in part because of the quality of their defense, which he made better.
The Rams sent a second- and third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft to the Denver Broncos, who will pay $9 million of the remaining $9.7 million owed to Miller this season, a person with knowledge of the situation said. Miller, 32, joins a Rams defense that includes star lineman Aaron Donald, star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and edge rusher Leonard Floyd. They have helped lead the Rams to a 7-1 record going into Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans at SoFi Stadium.
Donald tweeted “Mood” with a GIF of himself nodding and smiling broadly on the sideline.“It’sgoing to be wild,” cornerback Dont’e Deayon said during a videoconference with reporters.Ramsgeneral manager Les Snead has a his tory of making headline-grabbing deals near the trade deadline, which is Tuesday at 1 p.m. PDT. In 2018, the Rams traded for outside line backer Dante Fowler. In 2019, they acquired Ramsey.“Ilove the fearlessness,” McVay said. “I love theHeaggressiveness.”alsolikesthe fact that owner Stan Kroenke willingly opens his checkbook to ac quire talent. Kroenke spent $5 billion to build SoFi Stadium. He wants to be in the owner’s suite as the NFC representative when the Super Bowl is played on Feb. 13. So, there is pressure on McVay and team executives to make sure that happens. The Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford before the season. The trade for Miller is a short-term bookend. McVay noted that “things change” rapidly in the NFL, where potential deals are constantly discussed. A few weeks ago, he said, Miller was not on his radar.
WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES THE TRADE: PART II
“Great team,” Miller said of the Rams to Denver reporters. “Been a huge fan of Aaron Donald for a long time. They’ve got a great defense. Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, all these guys. I’m excited.” So are Rams players. Several took to social media to express their excitement about Miller’s impending arrival, including Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year who is routinely double- and triple-teamed by opponents.
The Rams, never cautious about going all in when a Super Bowl run is possible, did it again Monday by trading for eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller.
Sean McVay tossed it out as a rejoinder — and a reminder.Afewweeks ago, McVay was asked if the Rams were primed to make what has become an almost annual splashy move at the NFL trade“Neverdeadline.saynever,” he said.
Miller has played his entire career with the Broncos, who selected him with the second pick in the 2011 draft. On Monday in Denver, he was emotional about leaving. But he is looking forward to joining a team regarded as a contend er to play in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
“If you had told me … if I thought there was a chance of acquiring Von Miller, I would have said, ‘Are you kidding me? Hell no,’” he said. “And then, when it becomes a reality, you say, ‘Well, let’s look into it.’”
Miller, the most valuable player of Super Bowl L following the 2015 season, has 4 1/2 sacks this season, 110 1/2 in his career.
BY GARY KLEIN • NOV. 1, 2021
The groundwork for the Miller deal began last Monday when the Rams traded starting linebacker Kenny Young to the Broncos to clear the remainder of his $2.2 million salary. McVay said the Young deal was not done “exclusively” with the Miller trade in mind. It was “the last couple of days that this thing started to unfold,” heMillersaid. suffered an ankle injury during an Oct. 21 game against the Cleveland Browns, and he did not play in Sunday’s victory over the Washington Football Team.
128 • SUPER BOWL LVI RIGHT: Mike Helton was helpless to try and stop this seven-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. for the game’s first score. ROBERT GAUTHIER / LOS ANGELES TIMES OPPOSITE: Rams running back Darrell Henderson tries to elude defensive end Khalid Kareem on one of his four carries. Henderson did, in fact, catch three passes for 43 yards. WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Eli Apple had been playing me well the entire game,” Kupp said. “Really came up and challenged me … I tried to weave to his leverage, make him move in a little bit. Jab him one time and give Matthew some room to put the ball where he wanted to. He made a great back-shoulder throw and I was able to come down with it.”
SUPER BOWL LVI • 141
BY SAM FARMER • FEB. 13, 2022 Cooper Kupp saw the future. He envisioned being most valuable player of the Super Bowl. The vision didn’t come in a usual way. This wasn’t the case of the prescient Rams receiver reading what a defender is going to do. No, the crystal-ball moment for Kupp came in Atlanta three years ago, when a knee injury had reduced him to a spectator in the Super Bowl against New England. “I wasn’t able to be a part of that thing,” Kupp said after his two-touchdown performance in Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. “I don’t know what it was, but there was this vision from God that we were going to come back, we were going to be a part of a Super Bowl, we were going to win it, and somehow I was going to walk off the field as the MVP of the Nevergame.”betagainst Kupp. That came to be on his home field in Super Bowl LVI, as he reeled in a one-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute 25 seconds to play to put the Rams ahead for good. Kupp had kept that winning 15-play drive going with a jet-sweep run for seven yards on fourth and one, and later put the Rams within point-blank range when cornerback Eli Apple — draped all over him — was flagged for pass interference in the end zone. It was the kind of performance Kupp had turned in all season, when he won the receiving triple crown — most catches, yards and touch downs — and offensive player of the year. Super Bowl MVP was his third piece of hardware.
“I was talking to Matthew’s mom in the suite near the end of the game,” Craig Kupp said, referring to quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“We just thought, put the ball in Matthew and Coop’s hands and let them win this thing. I’m biased. That’s the thinking of a dad and a mom. But that’s what we were saying.”
The Rams wideout sat at a carnival-booth-style podium for postgame interviews, with his infant son, Cypress, on his knee and comically grab bing at the microphone.
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp earns MVP trophy on the biggest stage
Two booths over was fellow receiver Robert Woods, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the year and drew inspiration from Kupp. Now, both have missed Super Bowls
With 1:44 left, Stafford hit Kupp for an ap parent touchdown in the back corner, and the receiver held on despite a crushing — and illegal — blow to the head from safety Vonn Bell. A holding call on Rams tackle Rob Havenstein wiped out that play. After a quarterback sneak for no gain con sumed more clock, Stafford found Kupp for the touchdown. The Rams defense closed out the game for the win.
ROBERT GAUTHIER / LOS ANGELES TIMES SUPER BOWL LVI
The only other player to win all three of those was Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, and those were collected over the course of his career. Kupp achieved it in one season. His father, Craig Kupp, who had a brief NFL career as a backup quarterback, watched in dis belief and admiration as his son played huge in the biggest moments, even as the Bengals gave him extra attention with Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr. out of the game with a knee injury.
Sure enough, that’s what the Rams did. There were others who made key plays, of course. Stafford also connected with tight end Brycen Hopkins and running back Cam Akers on that nickel-and-diming drive. As the clock wound down and the Rams neared the goal line, how ever, it became a two-man game of catch.
OPPOSITE: Cooper Kupp was the most valuable player for a reason — he caught eight passes, including the game winner. Here, he eludes safety Jessie Bates for a gain.
As a result, Stafford was able to rewrite his legacy. No playoff wins after 12 seasons in Detroit. After one year in Los Angeles? A ring. Kupp is just the second receiver to be named Super Bowl MVP in the last 13 years, joining New England’s Julian Edelman.
On the winning touchdown pass, the Rams were in position to run but would throw if they got the defensive look they wanted.
148 • SUPER BOWL LVI
At 40, Andrew Whitworth is the oldest active player in the NFL. But he must have felt like a teenager as quarterback Matthew Stafford handed him the Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl.
WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES
The celebration continued and the smiles wouldn’t go away. Von Miller had a grip on the Lombardi Trophy while Robert Woods joined his teammates despite missing the game after he tore a ligament in his knee in November.
WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES
SUPER BOWL LVI • 149
LEFT: Pull back the camera and capture the overall view and you learn about the crowd who attended the street rally for the Rams. Here they are at the corner of Jefferson and Figueroa. ALLEN J. SCHABEN / LOS ANGELES TIMES BELOW LEFT: The Rams players certainly prefer to be shirtless rather than ringless as their caravan rolls into Los Angeles. CHRISTINA HOUSE / LOS ANGELES TIMES
BELOW: The celebration never seemed to end after the Rams won the Super Bowl on their home turf. This was only the second time a team has won the Super Bowl at their home field, the first being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. LUIS SINCO / LOS ANGELES TIMES
160 • SUPER BOWL LVI There is nothing left to say about the Rams or this book as the double-decker buses roll down Figueroa Street in celebration of a phenomenal season and one in which the House Rules. GINA FERAZZI / LOS ANGELES TIMES
