INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Baker Mayfield was waived by Carolina on Monday and claimed by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday. After a field flight, he had a short training with his new team on Wednesday.
And on Thursday night, Mayfield led the Rams to two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter and a stunning 17-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, capped off with a 23-yard scoring pass to Van Jefferson with 10 seconds remaining.
Mayfield could only wonder what Friday will bring this wild week of his life, but the former No. 1 overall pick knows it probably won’t be more fun than one of the most amazing moments of his bumpy NFL journey.
“I don’t know if you could write it any better,” Mayfield said. “Of course we want to be a little more stress-free, but it’s a damn good story, I’ll be honest.” with you.”
Just two days after the Rams (4-9) claimed him, Mayfield went 22-of-35 for 230 yards – eventually snapping the defending Super Bowl champions’ six-game losing streak in dramatic style.
“What a quick study,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “He only got here five minutes ago and has figured out a way to do special things tonight.”
The Rams went on a 75-yard TD drive just before the winning drive, the last of which ended when Mayfield found Jefferson behind rookie Sam Webb in the end zone. The 98-yard march was the longest TD drive in the last 2 minutes of a game in the past 45 NFL seasons.
Los Angeles trailed 16-3 on Daniel Carlson’s third field goal with 12:20 left to play, but Mayfield got the Rams moving and Cam Akers made a short TD run with 3:19 left, one game after he fought for a first at the Vegas 1 in a gritty fourth place.
The Rams defense stopped Derek Carr and the Raiders after the 2-minute warning, but AJ Cole dropped a 64-yard kick at the Rams 2.
Undeterred and with no timeouts, Mayfield led the Rams back down – with ample help from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Raiders’ Jerry Tillery for knocking the quarterback out of the hands after a play. The drive included a contested 32-yard reception by Ben Skowronek that finished with career highs of seven catches for 89 yards.
“Man, you forget what winning is like, and it sure is fun,” McVay said after the Rams’ first win since Oct. 16.
Josh Jacobs rushed for 99 yards and the only touchdown for the Raiders (5-8), whose three-game winning streak ended in humiliating fashion. Less than four weeks after Las Vegas lost in former ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday’s NFL coaching debut with Indianapolis, the Raiders lost to a quarterback who joined his new team less than 48 hours before the game and only had one short walkthrough drill. had.
“We’ve played against (Mayfield) before and know he’s a really good competitor,” said Raiders coach Josh McDaniels. and on a short week, so give them credit. He’s played enough.’
Carr passed for 137 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Davante Adams made two stunning catches in the first half, but had none in the second half, while Las Vegas’ offense was only 67 yards long.
“We missed some plays and points,” said Carr. to put the defense there or something like that. We just didn’t execute.’
John Wolford led the opening series for the Rams offense, but McVay then turned it over to Mayfield, a player he has long admired. Mayfield had a terrible season for the Panthers, but he was unlikely to inject a spark into the Rams with a handful of big plays and decent drives despite minimal knowledge of the playbook.
“There was this sort of abbreviated list of plays that I was really, really studying,” Mayfield said. “I will say we dipped out of that little list and got into some other stuff.”
With McVay apparently giving detailed instructions in his helmet for each group, Mayfield immediately got the Rams moving. Akers short-circuited Mayfield’s solid second drive with a fumble in the red zone, but Rams linebacker Ernest Jones intercepted an end-zone interception late in the first half.
Mayfield completed 15 of his 20 passes in the fourth quarter, flawlessly sending his new teammates downfield for two scores.
“I like to compete,” Mayfield said. “I like this game.”
INJURIES
Jacobs injured his hand early in the second half and briefly went to the dressing room, but continued to play. … Aaron Donald (high ankle sprain) missed his second game due to an injury in his nine-year NFL career. … Raiders RG Alex Bars injured his knee on the opening drive and did not return. … Rams WR Jacob Harris injured his shoulder playing special teams in the second half.
NEXT ONE
Raiders: Host New England on Sunday, December 18.
Rams: in Green Bay on Monday, December 19.
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