Los Angeles Rams at Tennessee Titans: What we learned from the crown-earning Week 16 win

LA Rams deliver an early Christmas/Festivus gift

A division title. Imagine that.

This time last year, the team was limping through the end of the season. Now, they are celebrating winning their division and clinching a spot in the playoffs. I’ve never seen this team so happy, nor have I ever seen this fanbase so happy.

The last time this franchise was remotely happy (outside of Jeff Fisher’s firing), was when the team won seven games after failing to win seven combined wins in the last three years. Now, the team is celebrating something of worthy of celebration.

No more excuses. Just results.

Merry Christmas, Rams fans.

McVay is changing not just the team, but the culture of Rams football

Look back to the summer of 2017 and remember the quotes given by nearly everyone in the Rams’ headquarters. Every person that was asked about Sean McVay, they couldn’t help but genuinely boast about him.

"I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I do know this, about eight minutes into the first interview you knew the guy was special," Rams general manager Les Snead said.

We all could sense just by his presence that he was going to change things with this franchise because he spoke like a man of high character. DT Aaron Donald said McVay changed the atmosphere of the team through his installment of accountability, something the Rams were replacing with excuses and hypotheticals that started off with “If we just had one or two plays back...”

This season is just the beginning. This season is a great turnaround, but it’s also a continuation of the culture change. Every accomplishment and every win is the bar being set another notch higher. McVay has every intention of raising that mark every year.

The Rams are playing great football late in the season

December is the month that separates the legitimate teams from the rest of the pack. The Tennessee Titans, for example, deteriorated. After their Dec. 3 win against Houston, the Titans stood at 8-4 and looked like they were going to catch up to Jacksonville or at the very least take the final Wild Card spot.

But then they went on a three-game losing skid. Make no mistake, Tennessee is a solid team. The Titans lost each game by an average margin of 3.6 points. But they showed they couldn’t get the job done when the opportunity presented itself.

The Rams, however, have shown everyone they are not only playoff worthy, but Super Bowl worthy.

The defense is playing great bend-don’t-break defense, and the offense is just straight balling out.

The fake-punt was the right call

It didn’t work. I know. But it was still a good idea.

The Rams, specifically special teams coordinator John Fassel, knows how to use the fake-special teams plays perfectly. The Rams were a ways off before testing new kicker K Sam Ficken, who would later go on to miss an extra-point kick.

The Titans were onto the Rams, so it’s no surprise that P Johnny Hekker’s pass was nearly picked off. But at the same time, that throw went deep.