Rams Get Even by Beating Jets, 18-10 : Pro football: They celebrate a 2-2 record after rallying from a 10-0 deficit by taking advantage of mistakes.
With the season’s toughest stretch in front of them, with 26 losses in 35 games behind them, the Rams found something to swagger about Sunday at Anaheim Stadium.
In an anxious, error-filled game, the Rams improved to 2-2 by outdueling the New York Jets, 18-10, before 42,005.
After spotting New York a 10-0 lead during another shaky first half, the Rams capitalized on New York mistakes on five consecutive possessions and shut out the Jets and mistake-prone quarterback Browning Nagle over the final 33:56.
The Rams, so used to empty explanations and losers’ laments, decided they didn’t have to apologize any more. Not about their past, not about their still-rickety offense and especially not about being listed by Las Vegas oddsmakers as underdogs against the struggling Jets.
“I’m tired of listening to those dang oddsmakers,” quarterback Jim Everett said. “I’m tired of listening to that. . . . We’ve got a pretty good football team. We’ve got a lot of young guys. We’ve got a lot of things we still don’t do right.
“But there’s one thing we do--we come out and fight hard.”
Although it wasn’t exactly Joe Namath at Super Bowl III, Everett had at least one hard prediction to make about his team in its first year under Coach Chuck Knox.
And compared to the meek and mild stance so many Rams have taken for so long, it was practically a call to arms.
“We hope we don’t put ourselves in position to kill ourselves right now, but you’re going to get a good, hard, honest effort out of the Los Angeles Rams every week,” Everett said.
“I guarantee it.”
Guaranteed, the Rams will take their .500 record after this season-opening four-game stretch against AFC East teams and be happy. Over the next five games, the Rams travel to San Francisco, New Orleans, Atlanta and Dallas and play host to the New York Giants.
With that ahead, the Rams will take a bit of respect wherever they can get it.
“We know they’ve been talking some smack about us. We’ve gotten through the AFC East and haven’t fared as well as we would’ve liked, as an NFC West team should,” Everett said. “But we’ll take 2-2 at this point and continue on and get better.”
The Rams on Sunday had familiar trouble spots: In the first half, their defense was off-balance and gave up 99 yards on the ground; the offense struggled on key plays, converting 18.2% of third down plays.
But the Rams found an opponent who had more problems. Nagle, returning after an injury sidelined him one game, appeared baffled by the Rams’ plan of dropping seven or eight men back in a thick zone, and threw several passes to Ram defenders.
In the second half, with instructions not to overpursue the ballcarrier, the Rams held the Jets’ to 49 yards rushing.
The Ram comeback began late in the second quarter with an efficient, Everett-led 43-yard drive that set up a 49-yard Tony Zendejas field goal. That cut to Jet lead to 10-3.
An offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Jets back to their 10-yard line on the next series, setting up a strange play that resulted in a Ram safety. Kevin Greene grabbed Nagle in the end zone and threw him to the ground, with the ball coming loose. It bounded backward and was picked up by running back Freeman McNeil, who ran it out to the 12-yard line.
But because fumbles can’t be advanced by any offensive player other than the fumbler in the final two minutes of a half or on fourth down, the play was ruled a safety and it was 10-5.
The Rams pulled ahead, 12-10, on the first drive of second half with running back Cleveland Gary (who finished with 74 yards in 19 carries) rushing for 35 yards and Everett finishing it off with a 31-yard touchdown lob to Flipper Anderson.
The next Jet mistake was a fumble by McNeil, forced by a crushing hit by free safety Pat Terrell. The next one was a Nagle fumble on a Gerald Robinson sack, which set up a 22-yard field goal by Zendejas.
The next mistake was a Nagle pass thrown to middle linebacker Larry Kelm, who returned it to the Jet nine and set up a 20-yard Zendejas field goal and the 18-10 final score.
“Nagle’s a young quarterback, and zones and disguises, they throw a quarterback off,” said cornerback Darryl Henley, who dropped one potential interception and got one later.
“He threw that ball that I dropped on that in route. He probably should’ve never thrown that ball. The great ones would’ve seen me break, and they’ll come off. But he’s young.”
There were more Jet mistakes to come. They finished with 12 penalties, almost all of them seeming to come on crucial third-down plays or at the beginning of drives.
But for the Rams, it was an endurance test won. Two weeks ago, when they beat the New England Patriots at home for their first victory in 12 games, the Rams were giddy.
This time, they seemed a little more comfortable with victory. A little more sure of themselves.
“It was a tough, hard football game, and our players hung in there, they found a way,” Knox said. “We fell behind, and we were able to find a way to win it. It’s that simple.
“I think we’re getting better. It’s just nice to win a tough football game.”
“I’d like to be 4-0,” Gary said with a smile that said he knew that was impossible. “I’ll settle for 2-2.”
Ram Notes
The Rams have contributed to perfection in the AFC East, having beaten winless New England and New York at home and having lost to unbeaten Miami and Buffalo on the road. . . . Kevin Greene’s safety in the second quarter was the third of his career, leaving him tied with 11 others one short of the NFL record of four. . . . The on-field temperature during the game was 105 degrees. . . . Jet receiver Al Toon had nine catches on the day, giving him 500 for his career. . . . Jim Everett finished 13 of 25 for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
