The L.A. Rams haven’t received since Miller’s arrival.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After Von Miller left his Russian sable hat and the tears behind in Denver following his commerce from the Broncos to the Los Angeles Rams, he cracked, “I went to mattress 4-4 and wakened 7-1.”
Discuss a Hollywood ending for the Tremendous Bowl 50 MVP.
He figured he had Tremendous Bowl 56 in his sights similar to he did Cam Newton all afternoon all these years in the past when he saved separating the soccer and the Lombardi Trophy from the Carolina quarterback’s grasp.
An encore, nonetheless, appears to be slipping away from Miller’s clutches, similar to so many quarterbacks of late.
L.A. has been extra dystopia than utopia for Miller, even with Odell Beckham Jr. working his means out of cloudy Cleveland and teaming up with him in sunny Southern California.
The Rams have not received since Miller’s arrival.
The drought started with a 28-16 loss to Tennessee at dwelling when Miller sat out with a bum ankle that additionally pressured him to overlook his remaining sport for the Broncos. He made his nondescript Rams debut in a 31-10 loss at San Francisco every week later, and eventually made his mark in L.A.’s 36-28 loss at Inexperienced Bay on Sunday.
Sadly, it wasn’t for a sack — he hasn’t had a type of since sharing a takedown of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson with McTelvin Agim means again on Oct. 3 — however for his late helmet-to-jaw hit on Aaron Rodgers that drew a 15-yard penalty.
Miller has simply half a sack since September, when he had 4 sacks and received the AFC’s Defensive Participant of the Month award in his return from an ankle harm that value him all of 2020.
He has misplaced the final six video games he has performed in, and his former teammates in Denver are driving excessive after profitable three of 4 with out him, together with a victory over Washington that he sat out, a signature victory at Dallas and a thumping of the Chargers on Sunday that tightened up the AFC West.
Whereas the Rams (7-4) are nonetheless sitting fairly within the NFC playoff image regardless of being two video games behind the Cardinals of their division, the Broncos (6-5) can surge into the AFC West lead with a win Sunday night time at Kansas Metropolis (7-4).
George Paton’s commerce of the franchise’s profession sacks chief for a pair of 2022 draft picks jolted the Broncos out of their doldrums.
“I actually suppose it was like a kick within the butt as a result of Von, he did so many nice issues: Tremendous Bowl MVP, 10 sacks, 20 sacks, simply doing that consistently,” stated Miller’s previous pass-rushing associate, Bradley Chubb. “And we would have had some guys round right here that acquired a little bit comfy or whatnot, and if you see a man like Von Miller get traded, you are like, ‘Whoa! so we may actually commerce anybody round right here.'”
Instantly, Chubb stated, everyone was squirming.
“That is the most effective gamers to come back via Denver and if you traded him, it gave everyone that sense of urgency,” Chubb stated. “No one’s job is protected and we have all acquired to kick it up a notch.”
The Rams are nonetheless looking for success with their 32-year-old celebrity linebacker.
They blew a golden likelihood to leapfrog the Packers (9-3) within the race for homefield benefit within the NFC playoffs.
Matthew Stafford threw a pick-6 for the third consecutive sport and he additionally fumbled away the soccer at his personal 6, organising Rodgers’ 1-yard TD run that acquired the scoring began.
Rams coach Sean McVay mentioned the significance of stopping their “self-inflicted wounds” as they try to recapture their early-season kind.
Two of these got here instantly from McVay himself at frigid Lambeau Subject.
He went for it on fourth-and-1 from his personal 29 within the first quarter and operating again Darrell Henderson was stopped by security Adrian Amos for no acquire.
That led to a Mason Crosby discipline aim that put the Rams in a 10-0 gap, the form of early double-digit deficit that so usually negated Miller’s move dashing prowess his previous couple of seasons in Denver.
“It felt prefer it was a brief conversion,” defined McVay, who made an excellent larger blunder within the fourth quarter when the Rams outscored the Packers 11-0, solely to come back up brief when Amos recovered an onside kick with 17 seconds left.
Trailing 36-25 with about 90 seconds remaining, the Rams reached the Inexperienced Bay 35-yard line and have been dealing with second-and-15 — and lengthy odds. They wanted a discipline aim and a TD with a 2-point conversion sandwiched round a profitable onside kick.
Stafford hit Cooper Kupp for 14 yards, citing third-and-1 from the 21 with 1:11 and no timeouts left.
As an alternative of throwing the ball into the tip zone on third down, the Rams ran it, and nostril deal with Kenny Clark stopped Henderson for no acquire.
By the point Matt Homosexual’s 39-yarder sailed via the uprights to make it a one-score sport, solely 18 seconds remained.
Troy Aikman, FOX NFL’s lead sport analyst, let McVay have it for losing 53 seconds in that state of affairs.
“I imply, even when they choose up the primary down and get a brand new set of downs, the clock remains to be operating,” Aikman stated. “However they’re battling the clock now and it being a two-score sport, you throw it, attempt to get it into the tip zone. Then, for those who do not make it, it stops the clock, kick the sphere aim after which see if you may get the onside kick.
“So, loads of time taken off there. That is one which McVay wish to have again.”
Whereas Miller awoke the subsequent morning 7-4, the actual fact is he hasn’t performed in a sport his group received since Sept. 26, he hasn’t had a sack since Oct. 3 and that return journey to the Tremendous Bowl appears as far off as ever.
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