2C z WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 z USA TODAY E3 SPORTS
PITTSBURGH – It’s open season on
Jared Goff, and not just because the
Rams gave their franchise quarterback a
massive contract extension before the
start of the season.
The Steelers teed off on Goff on Sun-
day, when they dismantled Sean
McVay’s creative offense the old-fash-
ioned way: They dominated up front to
constantly batter or otherwise harass
the quarterback, then played physical
on the back end to challenge, disrupt
and often separate passes from intend-
ed targets.
It was the type of game that begged
for a star quarterback to will his team to
victory. We’ve seen it from Tom Brady,
Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and,
lately, Lamar Jackson.
But Goff, despite the four-year,
$134 million extension that includes a
record $110 million in guaranteed mon-
ey, is hardly that guy. When the script
goes haywire, he too often follows suit.
No, it’s not all on Goff, who was
sacked four times by Pittsburgh in the
17-12 defeat and indeed showed grit by
repeatedly hanging in to take poundings
he knew were coming as he released the
football. His offensive line is an injury-
battered mess, with two starters going
down Sunday to cause more of the shuf-
fling that contrasts the stability of the
unit during the Rams’ rise to promi-
nence over the previous two years.
It makes me wonder whether the
Rams could have done more to keep
Rodger Saffold from defecting to the Ti-
tans as a free agent, seeing that Los An-
geles has already used a half-dozen
players at Saffold’s old left guard posi-
tion. The musical chairs situation just
goes to show that when the line is shaky,
the whole thing can go kaput.
Yet that’s exactly why the Rams need
Goff to show that he’s more than a “sys-
tem quarterback.”
Unless he’s not.
As it stands now, the Rams’ heavy in-
vestment in Goff is backfiring – espe-
cially when considering there was no
urgent need to lock up the quarterback
who on his original contract wasn’t eli-
gible to be a free agent until 2021, even if
the Rams didn’t use a franchise tag on
him. For the short term, the salary cap
dollars might have been used in other
areas.
Fair or not, fans have had a field day
bashing Goff for the big contract, as he
carries mediocre numbers, including a
TD-to-interception ratio of 11-to-9 and a
passer rating of 82.7.
McVay was quick to defend his quar-
terback after the latest exhibit, which he
is supposed to do, coinciding with the
broader-than-him evidence.
The Rams were 1 of 14 on third-down
conversions and, in failing to reach the
end zone, extended their dubious streak
of possessions without a touchdown
to 18. With big-play receiver BrandinCooks out with an injury, the Steelers
shut out Cooper Kupp (four targets, zero
catches).
“It was a collaboration of everybody
can be better,” McVay said.
True.
But quarterbacks have the most abil-
ity to make the supporting cast better.
And many times they are the face of
dysfunction. You know the deal: Too
much credit, too much blame.
The shaky optics with Goff, who had
a season-low 51.2 passer rating Sunday,
included him being pulled for a 3rd-
and-2 call in the third quarter – briefly
benched for Blake Bortles, who was
then stuffed for a minimal gain as he
tried to run around right end.
What big-time quarterback gets
pulled in that situation?
Not many.
McVay said it was in the game plan tospring Bortles in for a run in the right sit-
uation.
When I asked Goff how that sits with
him as the starting quarterback, he said,
“It’s good. I’m not happy that it didn’t
work. But if it worked, it’s totally good.
I’ve been in situations before where
we’ve done that and it worked, and it’s
good.”
Since it didn’t work on a day when
the Steelers’ defense was clicking, it
looked to be a bit too cute. And with the
way Todd Gurley was running (73 yards,
6.1 per carry), you might wonder how it
sits with him, too, for the backup quar-
terback to get the call for a key run.
In any event, the heat on Goff will
probably only intensify from here. After
a 3-0 start, the Rams (5-4) have lost four
of the past six games. The slide started
weirdly enough, as Goff passed for over
500 yards against the Buccaneers but
still lost after the Rams gave up 55
points, while the two victories came
against a pair of last-place teams, the
Falcons and the Bengals. Next up: home
dates against the Bears, who still have
one of the league’s most potent de-
fenses, and the surging Ravens. The
49ers, Cowboys, Seahawks and two
games against the improving Cardinals
round out the schedule.
The way it’s trending, the Rams look
like they could be the next example of
the Super Bowl loser that comes back
the next season and doesn’t even make
the playoffs.
Goff doesn’t sound worried, but may-
be that’s the no-panic response mecha-
nism at work. Regardless, this is a crisis.
“We’d like to be 9-0,” Goff countered.
“Unfortunately, we’re not. We’ve got
some things to battle through.”
Goff said he’s confident because
they’ve rebounded before.
“We have the guys,” he said. “We’ve
done it before. We’ve got the coaches.
We’ve got the right guy calling the plays.
It’s all there. We just need to execute and
be who we know we are.”
They were NFC champions last year,
when Goff and the system often ran like
a well-oiled machine.
But that was then. And this is now.
The machine needs to be fixed before it’s
too late.Rams quarterback Jared Goff hasn’t been as sharp or effective as last season’s
run to the Super Bowl. CHARLES LECLAIRE/USA TODAY SPORTSJarrett Bell
Columnist
USA TODAYRams’ $134 million QB investment a bust
hawks’ approach to the game: the run-
first offense. The physicality on defense.
The guys who fly around on special
teams. The ability to bounce back from
setbacks that would cripple other
teams.
“We’re definitely battle-tested,”
Brown explained, “but I think it also just
comes from leadership. It starts at the
top with Pete (Carroll) – just the demea-
nor and attitude, filters throughout the
organization. Guys like Rus, guys like
Bobby. We always believe. Never get
pessimistic, never get down. No matter
what happens, we feel like we’ve got a
shot.”
Many NFL teams make similar claims
about their mind-set. But it’s more than
lip service for the Seahawks. Each week
they seem to validate their words with
actions. Each week they seem to make it
harder to leave them out of the conver-
sation about the league’s premier con-
tenders.
Monday night’s game earned the
Seahawks greater credibility because
until that night, despite their record,
critics knocked them for not having
wins against quality opponents. They
had beaten Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Ari-
zona, the Rams, Browns, Falcons and
Bucs (needing overtime to win that
game at home), and they had losses to
the Teddy Bridgeawater-led Saints and
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. But
Monday’s win over San Francisco spoke
volumes because it meant amassing 336
yards and a 47% success rate on third
downs while winning the time of pos-
session battle by a nose against the best
defense in the NFC.
It also meant their defense limited
one of the best rushing offenses to only
87 yards and holding Jimmy Garoppolo
to season lows in completion percent-
age (52.2) and yards per attempt (5.4)
despite forcing him to throw the ball a
season-high 46 times. It also meant that
unit, which previously ranked among
the middle of the pack, had recorded
three takeaways and a defensive touch-
down.
It’s true, the 49ers were without tal-
ented tight end George Kittle, and they
lost wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to
a rib injury during the game. But Seattle
had its own injuries to overcome (in-
cluding wideout Tyler Lockett, who was
lost midgame to a leg injury).
And both sides of the ball saw
younger players emerge and provide
meaningful contributions.
The resiliency spoke volumes be-
cause the Seahawks have a lot of
young players both on a defense that
has undergone an overhaul in recent
years and at offensive skill positions.
Kicker Jason Myers delivered a per-
fect night (2-for-2 on field goals, in-
cluding the game winner, and 3-for-
on extra points) the week after missing
two field goal attempts and an extra
point try against Tampa Bay.
At various points Monday night,
you could have envisioned the Sea-
hawks collapsing, particularly after
one of the four turnovers. But they did
not, which is a reflection of the mental
toughness required for a deep playoff
run.
The Seahawks had grown tired of
hearing just how great San Francisco’s
defense was, and they took that as a
challenge to show they deserve recog-
nition as well.
“For sure, it’s a competition,” pass
rusher Jadeveon Clowney said. “If
you’re not competing, you need to re-
tire. Point blank. Period. ... That’s my
whole thing for this team is to keep
competing. It doesn’t matter what
happens or what the scoreboard looks
like. That’s what we did today.”
Now, the Seahawks aren’t at all per-
fect. Ball security was an issue.
They’re still waiting for pass catchers
to find the consistency required to ele-
vate their offense. They still must cut
down on the amount of points they
surrender (their 254 allowed are the
most of any team with a winning rec-
ord).
But this team is trending in the right
direction and the experience gained
from pulling off all of these close victo-
ries is extremely important.
“It’s a confidence booster,” Clowney
said. “It lets us know we can win these
kinds of games because we’ve done it
before.”
Said Wilson, “The great thing about
this game for our football team was
just the resilience. We’ve had it all
year. We’ve been, I think, the toughest
team just in terms of resilience all year.
Just how we stay encouraged, how we
stay focused, how we keep having faith
and believe something great is going to
happen.”
The Seahawks believe greatness
lies ahead, and after gutsy perform-
ances like Monday night’s, it’s hard to
argue with them.Jones
Continued from Page 1C
Through Week 9, the NFL said its
games are averaging 16.1 million TV
and digital viewers, a 5% increase over
last season.
NBC said its ratings for “Sunday
Night Football”are up 5% from last
year, when it was TV’s most-watched
show for the eighth year in a row. And
since the season began, nine of the top
10 shows have been NFL games.
It’s not only games. The NFL draft
can be as exciting as watching paint
dry, yet its audience for the first day
dwarfed the NBA and NHL playoffs. Its
combined average of 6.1 million view-
ers is comparable to ratings hits like
“Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Conners.”
The draft also drew more than
600,000 fans in Nashville, Tennessee.
Yes, you read that right. More than
600,000 braved the rain to watch Rog-
er Goodell read off names. Every 10
minutes.
It probably helps that President
Donald Trump is no longer targeting
the NFL to rile up his base, his itchy
Twitter finger trained instead on the
Democrats and impeachment pro-
ceedings. The player protests have
largely ended, too, with many athletes
focusing their efforts on grass-roots
programs to address racism andother
social injustices plaguing our country.
Mostly, though, the NFL has re-
bounded because it’s entertaining. Of-
ten wildly so.
Gone are those routine blowouts
and Thursday night games that were
barely watchable. This season, 103 of
the 144 games have been within a score
in the fourth quarter, and 77 have been
decided by a touchdown or less.
On Thursday night, we’ve had the
Rams at Seahawks, which was one of
the best games of the year, and rau-
cous games between the 49ers and
Cardinals and Chargers and Raiders.
Even the awful teams can make a
game of it. Atlanta, which was left for
dead sometime last month, stunned
the Saints on Sunday. Miami, which is
supposed to be tanking, has a two-
game winning streak.
True, Washington and the still-win-
less Bengals are awful. But you can at
least hate-watch Dan Snyder’s latest
spectacle of ineptitude and dysfunc-
tion.
Fans are getting to see the league’sfuture unfold in front of them. The Rav-
ens have become can’t-miss viewing
because of Lamar Jackson, who is like
the “Madden” game come to life. (Did
you see his spin move Sunday?)
Same for the Chiefs and reigning
MVP Patrick Mahomes, who makes at
least one play a game that leaves you
shaking your head and wondering how
he could possibly have done that. Add in
Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Baker
Mayfield and maybe Kyle Allen and Ma-
son Rudolph, and these are the players
who are going to be carrying the NFL far
into the next decade.
Yes, declining participation at the
youth level remains a concern for the
NFL, as parents struggle with when – or
even whether – to let their kids play a
game that can lead to neurodegenera-
tive diseases like chronic traumatic en-
cephalopathy. The sudden retirement of
Andrew Luck was a harsh reminder of
the toll the game can take.
And, yet, we continue to watch.
The NFL will no doubt look different
in a decade or two. Players come and go,
coaches innovate and rules change.
But to think that the league will no
longer exist, or be a shell of its current
self, now seems as outlandish as the
idea of Jerry Jones handing over the
keys to the Cowboys to Johnny Manziel.
Then again, we’d have watched that,
too.Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson
runs for a TD against the Bengals on
Sunday.DAVID KOHL/USA TODAY SPORTSArmourContinued from Page 1CA Sportsline item misstated the Jets’
record versus NFC East teams in some
editions Tuesday. They are 2-1 against
that division this season.Corrections & ClarificationsUSA TODAY is committed to accuracy.
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