Rams’ 24-23 NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Detroit Lions by the numbers

Breaking down the notable numbers behind the Rams’ 24-23 road NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday:

1992

The year the Detroit Lions won their previous playoff game before defeating the Rams. Detroit beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-8 on Jan. 12, 1992. Since then, the Lions had lost nine playoff games in a row before Sunday and are now 2-12 since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

1

Detroit’s Jared Goff becomes the first quarterback to beat a former team in the playoffs after starting for that opponent previously in the postseason. (Matthew Stafford could have been the first also.)

106

Yards receiving for the Rams’ Puka Nacua in the first half against the Lions. He had five catches on as many targets, including a 50-yard touchdown reception.

181

Yards receiving for Nacua in the NFC wild-card playoff game, an NFL playoff rookie record. He caught nine passes on 10 targets. Seattle’s DK Metcalf had held the record of 160, set on Jan. 5, 2020, during a 17-9 victory over Philadelphia.

121.8

Quarterback rating in the game for Lions quarterback Goff, who completed 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. That was barely better than Stafford, who completed 25 of 36 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns and finished with a rating of 120.9.

26-28

The Rams’ record in the postseason, including Super Bowl wins two years ago and in January 2000 when the team was in St. Louis.

Rams

Jared Goff gets revenge, barely, as Lions eliminate Rams with one-point victory

The Lions’ Jared Goff and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, both facing their former teams, duked it out before Detroit emerged with a 24-23 NFC wild-card win.

Jan. 14, 2024

Summary

RAMS 3 14 3 3 — 23
Detroit 14 7 3 0 — 24

Detroit— Montgomery 1 run (Badgley kick), 9:30. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:30. Key plays: Montgomery 10 run, Goff 24 pass to J.Reynolds.

RAMS — Field goal Maher 24, 4:26. Drive: 12 plays, 69 yards, 5:04. Key play: Stafford 21 pass to Nacua.

Detroit — Gibbs 10 run (Badgley kick), 1:31. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:55. Key plays: Goff 10 pass to J.Reynolds, Goff 14 pass to Gibbs, Goff 33 pass to J.Reynolds.

RAMS — Nacua 50 pass from Stafford (Maher kick), 13:24. Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 3:07. Key plays: Trammell kick return to RAMS 28, Stafford 19 pass to Robinson on 3rd-and-16, Stafford 10 pass to Nacua.

Detroit — LaPorta 2 pass from Goff (Badgley kick), 7:12. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:12. Key plays: Montgomery 11 run, Goff 13 pass to Ja.Williams, Goff 14 pass to St. Brown on 3rd-and-5, Goff 16 pass to Gibbs, Montgomery 2 run on 3rd-and-3.

RAMS — Atwell 38 pass from Stafford (Maher kick), 4:02. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:10. Key plays: Stafford 21 pass to Nacua, Stafford 6 pass to Kupp on 4th-and-5.

Detroit — Field goal Badgley 54, 8:41. Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, 4:36. Key plays: Goff 30 pass to St. Brown on 3rd-and-6, Goff 17 pass to St. Brown, Goff 4 pass to LaPorta on 3rd-and-21.

RAMS — Field goal Maher 27, 2:33. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 6:08. Key plays: Stafford 17 pass to Rivers, Stafford 22 pass to D.Allen, Stafford 4 pass to Kupp on 3rd-and-12.

RAMS — Field goal Maher 29, 8:10. Drive: 13 plays, 79 yards, 6:43. Key plays: K.Williams 15 run, Stafford 9 pass to Nacua on 3rd-and-8, Stafford 11 pass to Robinson, K.Williams 12 run, Stafford 22 pass to Nacua.

RUSHING: RAMS, K.Williams 13-61, Rivers 3-9, Nacua 1-(minus 2). DETROIT, Montgomery 14-57, Gibbs 8-25, Goff 3-(minus 3).

PASSING: RAMS, Stafford 25-36-0-367. DETROIT, Goff 22-27-0-277.

RECEIVING: RAMS, Nacua 9-181, Kupp 5-27, Robinson 3-44, Rivers 3-35, D.Allen 2-28, Atwell 1-38, K.Williams 1-9, Skowronek 1-5. DETROIT, St. Brown 7-110, J.Reynolds 5-80, Gibbs 4-43, LaPorta 3-14, Williams 2-19, Montgomery 1-11.

PUNT RETURNS: RAMS, None. DETROIT, Peoples-Jones 1-4.

KICKOFF RETURNS: RAMS, Trammell 1-24. DETROIT, None.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS: RAMS, Jones 4-5-2, Lake 4-5-0, J.Johnson 4-2-0, Yeast 4-1-0, Durant 3-1-0, Young 3-0-0, Hoecht 2-4-.5, B.Brown 2-2-0, Rozeboom 2-2-0, J.Williams 2-1-0, Donald 1-2-0, Taylor 1-0-0, Witherspoon 0-2-0, Turner 0-1-.5. DETROIT, Anzalone 6-2-0, Gardner-Johnson 4-3-0, Hutchinson 4-2-2, Campbell 4-1-0, Branch 3-4-0, Vildor 2-2-0, Melifonwu 2-1-0, K.Joseph 2-0-0, Sutton 2-0-0, Barnes 1-1-0, Reeves-Maybin 1-1-0, Alualu 1-0-0, Paschal 1-0-0, Cominsky 0-3-0, McNeill 0-1-0, Onwuzurike 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS: RAMS, None. DETROIT, None.

FIELD GOALS MISSED: None.

Officials — Referee Craig Wrolstad, Ump Mark Pellis, HL Jim Mello, LJ Tripp Sutter, FJ Jeff Shears, SJ Dale Shaw, BJ Jimmy Russell, Replay Kevin Stine.

Attendance — 66,367.