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5 Most Frustrating Losses From Jeff Fisher's Final Season With Los Angeles Rams
Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher talks to officials in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
In honor of Jeff Fisher’s recent firing, here’s a look at the five most frustrating losses from the former head coach’s final season with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Los Angeles Rams shocked the NFL world this week when they made the decision to fire Jeff Fisher, which is ironic since the team recently announced their decision to reward their former head coach with an extension. Most head coaches in Fisher’s situation would have been fired a long time ago as the former head coach failed to record a winning record in five seasons, but at least the Rams were smart enough to part ways now to get a jump start on their search for his replacement.
As bad as it sounds, the decision to fire Fisher seemed long overdue when considering he recently tied the record for most losses by a head coach following Sunday’s brutal 42-14 loss against the Atlanta Falcons. While the argument can be made that Fisher deserved a little slack for the hand he was dealt this season on offense, it still doesn’t take away from his losing records and disappointments in the previous four years.
Luckily, this disastrous season is almost over for the Rams, but not without looking back at some of Fisher’s disappointments. To honor Los Angeles finally getting rid of Fisher, here’s a look at the team’s five most frustrating losses from his final season as head coach, beginning with Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Mike Davis (22) is tackled by Los Angeles Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines (33) in the fourth quarter at Levi
5. San Francisco 49ers, Week 1
Football fans were excited to see if the Rams would live up to the hype in 2016 after watching the team go through training camp on HBO’s Hard Knocks, but that hype quickly disappeared after opening night when Fisher’s squad was embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers. Even though division battles always seem to bring out the best in teams, it’s sad to think a team like Los Angeles gave a team like San Francisco their lone win of the 2016 season.
The offensive struggles picked up right where they left off in 2015 as Case Keenum completed just 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards to go along with two interceptions. To top it off, Todd Gurley struggled to get anything going in the ground game as the running back finished with a disappointing 47 rushing yards on 17 carries.
And if those numbers weren’t embarrassing enough, it certainly didn’t make the Rams feel good about failing to score a single point all game. It’s easy to understand how some teams get jitters during the first game of a new season, but this was one of the most painful performances to watch as a Los Angeles fan as there was absolutely no excitement from both sides of the football.
Plus, nobody enjoyed watching Aaron Donald‘s frustrations getting the best of him before an ejection towards the end of the game.
Oct 9, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Mike Gillislee (35) runs 5 yards into the end zone for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
4. Buffalo Bills, Week 5
When the Rams took on the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, there was actual hype surrounding this team after winning three in a row following that embarrassing loss on opening weekend to the 49ers. In fact, many believed Los Angeles seemed capable of competing in the NFC, only to be fooled by how much this team would struggle for the remainder of the regular season.
Sadly, this loss against the Bills was the start of the downfall for Fisher and the Rams as the coach’s questionable play calling ended up backfiring in the fourth quarter. With Los Angeles trailing 23-19 late in the fourth quarter, Fisher decided to go for a fake punt on a 4th and 5 deep in his own territory, only to gain just two yards on the play.
A few plays later, Buffalo would end up scoring the final touchdown of the game to seal the 30-19 win. This could have easily resulted in a win for Los Angeles, as the defense played well for the most part, but once again it was the offense that failed to do their part.
Four of the five scoring drives by the Rams in this game resulted in field goals, which could have made a big difference in this one.
Oct 23, 2016; London, ENG; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) passes to tight end Lance Kendricks (88) during the first quarter against the New York Giants at Twickenham Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports
3. New York Giants, Week 7
At first, it seemed like the Rams were ready to give their fans in London quite the show after jumping out to an early 10-0 lead against the New York Giants in Week 7. Once again, the joke was on the fans as these points were the only ones scored by Los Angeles in the game as they went on to lose to New York 17-10 thanks to another poorly coached game by Fisher.
The NFL must have been embarrassed to have send a team with a poor offense like the Rams to represent the league in London as the Giants’ defense had a field day against Keenum. It’s one thing to have a turnover or two in a contest, but when seeing Keenum ended up throwing four interceptions, it’s easy to see why Los Angeles ended up on the losing end.
Nothing against the defense of the Giants, but the Rams had plenty of opportunities to escape with a win in London, only to ruin them each time. Even at the end of the game Los Angeles was on the verge of tying things up on the New York 15 before Keenum ended up throwing his fourth and final interception of the afternoon.
On a final note, let’s not forget this was the game in which Landon Collins embarrassed the Rams by somehow returning an interception 44 yards for a touchdown.
Oct 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) runs toward Los Angeles Rams cornerback Lamarcus Joyner (20) during the fourth quarter at Ford Field. Lions won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
2. Detroit Lions, Week 6
Who would have thought Los Angeles would end up losing a game this year in which Keenum recorded four total touchdowns? For a quarterback with only one career 300-yard game prior to this Week 6 contest against the Detroit Lions, frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe how it felt to see the Rams find a way to lose this critical NFC showdown.
Not only was Keenum phenomenal by completing 27 of 32 passes for 321 yards to go along with his four touchdowns (one rushing touchdown), but Kenny Britt displayed his best game of the season as well after catching seven passes for 136 yards with two touchdowns. For an offense that has ranked at the bottom of the league all season by averaging less than 15 points per game, this was quite the accomplishment for Los Angeles to have as much success as they did against Detroit’s defense.
Of course, the outcome of this game could have been much different with a few different play calls. When considering the Rams only lost by three points, Fisher should have gone for the field goal before halftime instead of having Gurley fail to run it in from the one-yard line as time expired just to play it safe.
Nov 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (16) is tackled by Miami Dolphins middle linebacker Kiko Alonso (47) and Miami Dolphins defensive back Bacarri Rambo (30) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
1. Miami Dolphins, Week 11
It took longer than it should have, but there was plenty of hype surrounding Jared Goff making his first career NFL start in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins. Even if Goff and the offense only put up 10 points in this game, it was beyond frustrating to see them fall apart in the final minutes as they went on to lose 14-10.
In what turned out to be a common theme of the 2016 season, a strong performance by the defense ended up going to waste as the Rams seemed to be on their way to a shutout before allowing the Dolphins to score two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game. A win in his NFL debut would have been the perfect confidence boost for a rookie like Goff, and with only three games remaining in the regular season, it’s tough not to wonder if the No. 1 pick will have to wait until next year before that first win comes.
Los Angeles has seen plenty of frustrating losses during Fisher’s final season as head coach, but there’s no question this one takes the cake. Not many teams can find a way to allow an opponent to score two touchdowns in a matter of minutes after failing to score a single point the entire game, unless that team is the Rams of course.
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