Written by Aiden Gonzalez at ESPN.com
Jared Goff never got a chance to play here last year. The Los Angeles Rams opened their 2016 season at Levi’s Stadium, and Goff, the No. 1 overall pick earlier that spring, was inactive, confined to street clothes with a plethora of family and friends watching from the stands. Goff was asked about that earlier this week and shook his head. He announced that he was “done” talking about last year.
“Last year was a whole different deal,” Goff said, “and this year is exciting.”
Is it ever.
Goff played the best game of his NFL career on Thursday, 11 days after playing the best game of his NFL career. He carved up the same San Francisco 49ers team he grew up rooting for, going 22-of-28 for 292 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers in a thrilling 41-39 win that went down as one of the most exciting Thursday night games ever. The Rams scored 40 points for the second time this season after managing only two 40-point games in their previous 10 seasons combined.
And they almost gave it up.
Their defense allowed a winless 49ers team that didn’t score a touchdown in its first two games to amass 421 yards. And their special teams fumbled three times — on a punt, on a kickoff and on an onside kick. It wasn’t until Aaron Donald wrapped up Brian Hoyer for his first sack of the season that the Rams cemented their second win in three games. But if defense and special teams are your biggest concern about this team at this point, it’s a very good sign.
The Rams’ offense — last in the NFL in yards each of the past two years and among the NFL’s worst for about a decade — continues to look very good.
“It feels good, man,” Rams running back Todd Gurley said with a big smile on his face. “It feels good. We haven’t been able to put up points like that since Marshall [Faulk] and them left.”
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