Jared Goff steps up in crunch time, leads Rams to Super Bowl

Despite a less than ideal start, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff stepped up late on Sunday against the Saints to punch a ticket to the Super Bowl.

The ending of the NFC Championship was overshadowed by the New Orleans Saints getting robbed by the Los Angeles Rams on a brutal no-call.

However, Rams quarterback Jared Goff deserves some legitimate recognition for how he handled himself in the final couple drives of the game.

Goff’s final state line wasn’t the prettiest, going 25-of-40 for 297 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The entire Rams offense struggled early on, struggling with the noise of the Saints home crowd. It was so loud that Goff and Rams head coach Sean McVay were struggling just to get the play in.

The momentum started to swing late in the first half when Goff was able to find Brandin Cooks deep on a two-minute drill to set up a Todd Gurley touchdown.

Goff’s accuracy seemed to improve dramatically in clutch moments. This throw to Tyler Higbee in the fourth quarter trailing 17-20 was another good example of that.

In the final drive of regulation and then in overtime, Goff showed great composure to keep the offense in control and helped them keep driving into field goal range. While neither drive ended in a touchdown, Goff got the job done and made some crucial throws when needed.

Goff may not get a ton of national attention for how he finished Sunday’s game. There’s still the stigma that Goff hasn’t lived up to the hype of a No. 1 overall pick after a horrendous rookie season.

However, Goff’s improvement over the past couple of seasons under Sean McVay is one of the biggest reasons why this team is heading to Atlanta to play in the Super Bowl.