The Rams had a difficult first half against the Ravens in Week 17, and NFL fans could probably have seen it coming after the way the game started.
Los Angeles’ troubles began on their first defensive possession. The Rams were able to force the Ravens to punt after seven plays, but tempers flared between teammates Taylor Rapp and Jalen Ramsey on the field.
An incident between the two occurred in the opening minutes of the game when Ramsey and Rapp appeared to be gaping at each other; Then Ramsey came over to hit Rapp. He hit him on the mask with an open hand.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the feud between Ramsey, a star cornerback, and Rapp, one of the team’s best safeties. The Ravens completed two 15- and 13-yard passes before the fight, so perhaps there was an early miscommunication between the two on those plays.
This is the second time in as many weeks that we have seen teammates shoot themselves during a match. The Washington soccer team saw defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne take the bench during their loss to the Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football” when Allen threw a punch at Payne.
That said, the fight between Allen and Payne happened on the bench, while Ramsey and Rapp were fighting on the field. That’s certainly weird, and it will be interesting to see if any of them have anything to say about the incident after the game.
The Los Angeles defense buckled up despite early troubles in the secondary. The team allowed just 13 points in the first half, but trailed 13-7 at halftime as the offense struggled due to a pair of interceptions by Matthew Stafford.