NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 20: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates a pass against the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter in the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)Jared Goff was not expected to play tonight. Two weeks ago, in the team’s second game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams starting quarterback suffered a nasty thumb injury, and he was only set to be used in emergency situations in today’s Wild Card round game against that same NFC West foe.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for another serious injury to knock out a Rams quarterback. John Wolford, who filled in last week in the win over the Arizona Cardinals, left in the first quarter with a scary neck injury that required him to head to the hospital. With no other quarterback active, in stepped Goff.
The former No. 1 pick certainly didn’t look 100-percent, completing fewer than half of his passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. With Cam Akers looking impressive on the ground, and the Rams defense putting in another stalwart effort, the team edged out a 30-20 win over their rival.
Goff didn’t make any bones about how important this win was. He brought up the Seahawks smoking victory cigars two weeks ago, after Seattle beat the Rams to claim the division. Revenge tonight has to feel pretty sweet.
"Two weeks ago you saw them smoking cigars and getting all excited about beating us and winning the division and we're able to come up here and beat them in their own place," Jared Goff said. "It feels good."
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 10, 2021
Wolford would return to the stadium, and got the chance to celebrate with his Los Angeles Rams teammates after the game. That is a good sign for his long term health, though one has to imagine that Jared Goff will get the nod next weekend after navigating tonight’s game.
Barring another huge upset, that will likely be at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers, the NFC’s No. 1 seed. If the Chicago Bears manage to knock off the New Orleans Saints tomorrow, however, the Rams would face the winner of tonight’s game between the Washington Football Team and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa currently leads Washington 18-7 on the road, with just over a minute left in the first half.
