QB sneak shows Jared Goff’s desire to do what it takes to win for Rams
Los Angeles Rams Jared Goff says his eyes light up whenever head coach Sean McVay calls the play over the radio headset.
Quarterback sneak.
“Anytime I hear that coming in the headset from the one (yard line), I get a little extra adrenaline going,” Goff said. “I was excited about it. Me and (Center Austin) Blythe were down there at the bottom of the pile yelling about it, which was fun. And I gave him the ball to do the spike.”
Receiver Robert Woods thought it a good decision by Goff to let someone else do the spiking after Goff scored a touchdown, alluding to his whiff at a spike attempt earlier this season against the Washington Football Team.
“After his last one I think he lost his spiking privileges,” joked Woods.
A week after a disappointing loss the San Francisco 49ers, Goff and the rest of their teammates were all smiles after a big road win over the Arizona Cardinals, 38-28.
Twice, McVay’s voice crackled over the radio airwaves with the call Goff loves, and he converted both times -- once for a 1-yard touchdown and the other a first down conversion in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.
“I like them from the one, but I don’t know how I feel about them in the middle of the field, unless it’s to the end the game like that one,” Goff said. “Those ones are fun.”
For Goff, who bounced back from a poor performance last week against the San Francisco to throw for 351 yards and a score, the sneak allowed him to get down and dirty with his offensive linemen.
Goff completed passes to nine different receivers. The Rams finished 9 of 16 (60 percent) on third down conversions.
And Goff finished without a turnover for the first time in five games.
“When we're able to start fast and get into a rhythm, Jared gets into a rhythm,” said Woods, who finished with a game-high 10 receptions for 85 receiving yards. “It allows McVay to be in a rhythm and just everybody being in the flow.
“And you know the flow of the game and what to expect. We kind of know once we get going, we’re kind of anticipating what plays will be called.”
Goff said his approach to the week of practice leading up to the Arizona game did not change and his practice habits remained the same -- grinding through individual work and team drills so that he played well on Sunday.
“I responded exactly how I expected to,” Goff said about his big game. “I’ve been through a lot of bad games throughout my football career before, and I’ve consistently responded, and this was no different. I just had to put my head down and keep working.”
McVay echoed his quarterback’s comments.
“I was really pleased with Jared today,” McVay said. “He did exactly what we expected him to do. He took great care of the football, distributed and got a lot of guys involved. And we were efficient on third down.
“I really wasn’t worried about Jared. This guy has responded from different adversities, you go back and even just look at the trajectory of his career at Cal. The one thing I wasn’t worried about was him being overwhelmed by having a tough outing, and being able to respond. That was the least of my concerns.”
