In what might eventually be labelled the best NFL football game of the year and right now stands in the history books as the highest-scoring match in Monday night football, bookmakers’ favourits Los Angeles Rams edged tenacious Kansas City Chiefs 54-51.
The final match of Week 11 was played last night (Monday, Nov 19) at the Los Angeles Coliseum after it was decided to move it there from Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca because preparations at the Azteca were not considered to be up to scratch.
And what a match it was.
It was even better than its pre-match hype; an epic thriller as the battle between two of the NFL’s top-rated teams – both were at .9000 in the standings coming into the game – raged up and down all day with the lead changing hands six times.
And then to add to it all, there was a brilliant duel between two of this season’s leading MVP prospects, quarter-backs Jared Goff of the Rams and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs.
The increasingly amazing Mahomes hit a career-high 478 yards with six touch-down passes, but in the end the two late, back-to-back intercept passes he gave away when Chiefs were looking for a last-gasp win or tie cost his side dearly.
Instead it was Goff – along with Marcus Peters and LaMarcus Joyner, the men who grabbed the intercept touchdowns – who was to come up with the match-winning heroics.
Goff, who totaled 413 yards with four touchdown passes and a rushed TD of his own, finally sealed victory with one of those touchdown passes, this one a 40-yarder that saw Gerald Everett score with just 1:49 left on the clock.
The victory for the Rams ended a six-game losing streak to the Chiefs, all suffered when the LA team was playing out of St. Louis.
It also kept the Rams new head coach, Sean McVay’s undefeated 8-0 run against AFC teams intact and sent his team to the top of the NFL standings with a 10-1-0 record.
“It was a whirlwind,” a delighted McVay said afterwards. “I feel like I might need a couple of beverages to relax tonight, but it was great. This is what I love so much about the game.”
This close-fought victory over an impressive rival has solidified the odds on the Rams winning this year’s Super Bowl.
They remain the bookmaker’s favourites at round the +325 mark with the Saints in second place at +400, the Chiefs 3rd at +500.
With a 10-1-0 (win, loss, and tie) record and a PTC of .909 they also lead both the NFC West and the overall standings heading into Week 12.
Next best in the official NFL standings are the NFC South leaders, the St Louis Saints (9-1-0) with .900, the Chiefs, the AFC West front runners, (9-2-0) with .818, the AFC North’s Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2-0) with .750 followed by the AFC East’s New England Patriots, the AFC South’s Houston Texans and the NFC North’s Chicago Bears, all with a -7-2-0 record and a PTC of .700.