The St. Louis Rams have had their memorable foes and established lengthy rivalries, but there are teams within the NFL that they don’t compete against very often. This Sunday, the Rams will face the Denver Broncos for only the 13th time since their first meeting in 1972. One of the most memorable games during this 42-year span happened on November 28, 2010.
The 2010 season was just a roller coaster of highs and lows for the Rams. When Week 12 came around, the Rams had a 5-6 record, but yet the entire NFC West was struggling. The Broncos struggled even more that year, entering the game at 3-8.
The Rams arrived at Invesco Field only to be greeted by a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Knowshon Moreno on the opening drive. Broncos’ kicker Matt Prater added to the lead by kicking a 49-yard field goal. Down 10-0 towards the end of the first quarter, Bradford answered back with a 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui to pull within three points.
Early in the second quarter, Prater increased the Broncos lead to six after a 40-yard field goal. The Rams responded back with yet another touchdown pass, this time to TE Billy Bajema, which was the first of his career. The Rams took the lead 14-13. The next Rams’ possession began with a 45-yard bomb to receiver Danario Alexander, which later set up another Bradford touchdown pass to Bajema. Kicker Josh Brown kicked two field goals late in the half to give the Rams a comfortable 26-13 lead.
The momentum didn’t fade for the Rams entering the third quarter. They drove the ball downfield, culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by backup running back Kenneth Darby. This marked 26 unanswered points for the Rams. However, down 33-13, the Broncos weren’t going to go down without a fight.
The fourth quarter started off with a missile launched from quarterback Kyle Orton to receiver Brandon Lloyd to cut the lead to 33-20. After another Brown field goal, the Broncos answered back with another Orton touchdown pass to receiver Eddie Royal which allowed the Broncos to creep ever so closer, 36-26.
With 4:57 left in the game, the Broncos were forced to punt. A quick three-and-out by the Rams gave the Broncos the ball with 4:26 left. The Broncos took advantage of the opportunity with a five-yard touchdown pass to Lloyd to trim the lead to three at 36-33. Denver then attempted an onside kick, but the Rams recovered it. They needed at least one first down to end the game. Unfortunately, the Rams ended yet another drive with a three-and-out and they were forced to punt back to the Broncos. All the momentum the Broncos had was knocked out of them with a thunderous sack by defensive end Chris Long. Long pressured Orton on a fourth-and-long which caused an incomplete pass and ended the game with the Rams barely holding on to a 36-33 victory.
The Rams reached a .500 winning percentage after defeating the Broncos, but they continued being inconsistent. The Rams just missed the playoffs after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the last game of the season and finished with a disappointing 7-9 record.
Source: Footballdb.com, Pro-sports-reference.com
You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.
