INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Sean McVay first met Baker Mayfield four years ago on a flight for the NFL Scouting Combine from Los Angeles to Indianapolis.
Little did McVay know then that the two would combine for one of the most historic, unlikeliest come-from-behind wins in league history.
“Just like we drew it up,” McVay quipped at the start of Thursday’s postgame press conference.
A mere 48 hours after joining the Rams, Mayfield rallied his new team from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown drives — the latter of which spanned eight plays and 98 yards with less than two minutes remaining.
The night culminated in Mayfield finding Van Jefferson on a fade route for a 23-yard TD with nine seconds left to secure a jaw-dropping, 17-16 victory over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. That snapped a six-game losing streak for the defending Super Bowl champs, and reignited a previously unknown coach-quarterback connection.
Just three weeks ago, Mayfield had been benched in Carolina in favor of Sam Darnold. Just three days ago, the former No. 1 overall pick asked for his release. The Panthers obliged, leading to a fresh start in Los Angeles, as the Rams were the only team to place a waiver claim for the Oklahoma product.
Mayfield had been in L.A. for all of two days, and practiced once with the Rams prior to Thursday’s heroics. McVay started John Wolford, but just for one series. With Matthew Stafford out due to a spinal cord contusion and Wolford banged up with a neck injury of his own, McVay opted to go with Mayfield over Bryce Perkins.
That decision took just 60 minutes to pay off, as L.A.’s 98-yard march to win the game was the NFL’s longest go-ahead touchdown drive to begin in the final two minutes over the last 45 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Mayfield’s two days before debuting was also the shortest amount of time a player has spent with a new team before playing QB since at least 1995, per NFL Research. Mayfield manifested that opportunity by leading his eighth career game-winning drive.
“I was really impressed,” McVay said. “I don’t know if I would say surprised because I’ve always been a fan of the things he was capable of. But to say I expected this, it certainly exceeded our expectations. But it was a lot of fun watching him go to work.”
Mayfield completed 22 of 35 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. That includes going 15-of-20 for 141 yards in the fourth quarter. The Rams were aided by two defensive penalties on the go-ahead drive — a pass interference call on cornerback Amik Robertson in coverage against Jefferson, and an unsportsmanlike penalty on defensive lineman Jerry Tillery for knocking the ball out of Mayfield’s hands after the play was over.
The QB’s heroics were also made possible by his defense stuffing Josh Jacobs on third-and-1 from Vegas’ 34-yard line just prior to the two-minute warning, forcing a Raiders punt. Jacobs finished with 99 rushing yards but needed 27 carries to get them. The Raiders dropped to 5-8 with the loss, ending their three-game winning streak. This marked their fourth defeat of the season when leading by double digits at halftime.
“I don’t know if you could write it any better than that,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, we’d like it to be a little more stress-free, but it’s a pretty damn good story, to be honest with you. It’s special.”
Mayfield particularly impressed his new teammates with his ability to learn a new playbook in a short amount of time, playing with command and confidence in a high-leverage situation with the game on the line.
“Whatever happens from here on out, I’ve got nothing but respect for Baker Mayfield,” said receiver Ben Skowronek, who had a 32-yard catch on the winning drive. “To have a guy come in like that, work his tail off for 48 hours and learn the game plan — learn our names (laughs) — hats off to him. He played great tonight.
“I’m excited to go to war with him. I’ll go to war with him any day. He’s the type of competitor you want to play with. It was awesome.”
Running back Cam Akers said Mayfield exuded confidence and calmness in the huddle.
“It shocked me,” Akers said. “Not his ability, but just how he was able to pick up on the offense, come in and know everything. It was surreal to me, but he did it. Big ups to him.”
McVay said he witnessed that confidence first-hand on the four-hour flight from L.A. to Indianapolis four years ago. The Rams had just won the NFC West before falling to the Atlanta Falcons in the wild-card round. With 23-year-old Jared Goff coming off a Pro Bowl campaign, the second-year coach wasn’t looking for a quarterback.
“It was a Southwest flight, we got the early boarding, and we sat right next to each other,” McVay said. “It was the only LAX direct flight to Indy. And you could just see he’s a man’s man. He loves football. He’s a great competitor. We were just talking. We weren’t even in the mix to have a chance of getting him.”
Mayfield fondly remembers the conversation, as well.
“That guy loves football,” Mayfield said of McVay. “He’s all about ball. You can tell he’s a relationship guy, too. And we talked a lot about my coaches in the past, what made them special and just trying to point out what made certain players or coaches great.”
Over the final quarter Thursday night, Mayfield and McVay made each other look great. How they work together over the next month could determine whether this partnership continues in 2023.
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Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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