Rookie mistakes haven’t plagued Rams safety Taylor Rapp this season, but he certainly made one on Saturday night against the San Francisco 49ers. On third-and-16 with about a minute to play, Rapp and Jalen Ramsey had a miscommunication in the secondary that led to a 46-yard gain by Emmanuel Sanders.
It set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal, which he made and eliminated the Rams from playoff contention.
After the loss, Jalen Ramsey made it clear that Rapp wasn’t in the right spot, expecting the rookie safety to help over the top against Sanders. Rapp was nowhere to be found, drifting toward the sideline as Sanders went to the deep middle.
“It wasn’t me and Eric. E-Dub was on the other side. It was me and Rapp,” Ramsey said. “We as in a form of two-man. We had an adjustment check to it because they was condensed splits. I played my technique, trusting that he was going to be over the top. And he wasn’t. That’s just what happened.”
Rapp accepted the blame for blowing the coverage and allowing Sanders to get open, admitting his mistake of not playing over the top to defend the deep pass.
“It’s tough when I could have done a better job of getting over the top,” said Rapp, via the Whittier Daily News. “I was supposed to get over the top a little bit.
“No communication.”
The Rams had almost no chance to make the playoffs entering Week 16, needing to win out and have the Vikings lose their last two. However, a win would’ve at least kept them alive in the playoff hunt, but now they’re heading home with an 8-7 record and a lot of reflecting to do.
