Rams, Chargers regular season wrap-up

RAMS: The (11-5) Rams became the only team in the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966, to go from the league’s lowest scoring team to the highest scoring team the next season. 

Sean McVay is likely going to receive Coach of the Year honors for the historic feat, but he knows better than anyone that it took a collective effort on the part of the coaching staff and the players to turn things around in LA.

"I thought our players did a nice job of being able to consistently play pretty well throughout the course of the year; coaches put guys in good positions," McVay said. 

McVay brought on Wade Phillips to run the defense, John Fassel as the Special Teams Coordinator, and Matt LaFleur as the Offensive Coordinator. These guys all know the game and have united forces to lead one of the best stories of the season.

The Rams averaged only 14 points a game last year under Jeff Fisher,  but improved to 29.9 per game under the youngest head coach in modern football history. This year, the Rams were held to less than 14 points only three times, including last week’s 34-13 loss to the 49ers. 

It was not much of a surprise that the division champion Rams lost to Jimmy Garoppolo's  revamped 49ers last Sunday in Los Angeles since McVay opted to give many of his starters the week off. The Niners finished the season on a five game winning streak with Garoppolo under center.

McVay and the Rams already punched their ticket into the playoffs and were not concerned with the worst team in their division. Rather the Rams rested up for their matchup against the reigning NFC champion Atlanta Falcons this Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. 

This will be the first NFL playoff game in the Coliseum in 24 years. Just to put it in perspective, Jared Goff wasn’t even born the last time there was a playoff game in LA. Coach McVay was only six or seven years old himself. 

The Rams have the least playoff experience than any other team heading into the postseason, but what they lack in experience, they compensate with exuberance. 

On the defensive side of the ball, they will need a big game from Aaron Donald in the middle. On offense, they need Goff to protect the ball and for Gurley to go off if they have any hope on moving into the next round. At this point the Rams are thinking Super Bowl or bust and are all in. I will be looking forward to see what these young guns can do come Saturday against the defending conference champs. Kickoff is at 5:15 p.m. and can be seen on NBC. 

CHARGERS: The Chargers had arguably their best performance of the year against the Oakland Raiders on New Year's Eve at the StubHub Center in Carson, but it was not enough to extend their season into the playoffs. 

The Bolts did their part, dismantling the Raiders, 30-10, in front of a crowd mostly draped in silver and black. But they needed the Titans to lose and the Ravens to win, and neither occurred.

As Chargers safety, Tre Boston, simply put it: “Close, but not close enough.”

The Chargers finished second in the AFC West with a record of 9-7, but were edged out of the Wildcard by the (9-7) Buffalo Bills, who the Bolts beat up, 54-24, earlier this year. 

The Bills allowed their opponents 57 more points than they scored this year. The Chargers scored 83 more points than they allowed which was the best point differential in the AFC West.

The Bills have not been in the playoffs since 1999. Bill Clinton was our still technically our president but in the impeachment process the last time they played a playoff game.

But enough about the Bills, the bottom line is they are in and the Bolts are going to be watching the playoffs from home. But the Chargers, have some things to be proud of this season despite the unfortunate finish. 

The Bolts won nine of their last 12 games of the season. Philip Rivers had one of his best seasons by protecting the football and minimizing his costly turnovers. Rivers was voted to his seventh Pro Bowl and eclipsed 4,000 yards passing for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

Joey Bosa had a breakout season and was voted to his first Pro Bowl. Bosa was creating chaos with Melvin Ingram in the backfield, disrupting offenses by getting to the quarterback. Each finished with double digits in sacks.

Chargers coach Anthony Lynn believes it was a strong finish and a great beginning to a bright future for the franchise after his first season in charge. Lynn showed his resiliency and ability to turn things around when everything seemed stacked against them after starting winless after the first four weeks.

Charger corner, Casey Hayward had a standout season as well. Hayward was invited to his second straight Pro Bowl after evolving into one of the premier shutdown corners in the league.