touchdown

Rams kick returner Xavier Smith muffs a punt as Seattle’s Dareke Young recovers the ball in the third quarter Sunday in the NFC championship game.

(Jane Gershovich / Getty Images)

Mistake-prone special teams: Blocked kicks led to multiple early-season defeats, and the Rams in November signed Harrison Mevis to replace Joshua Karty and veteran snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward.

A punt return for a touchdown by Seattle’s Rashid Shaheed on Dec. 18 ultimately led to McVay firing special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn.

Punter Ethan Evans was mostly solid and Mevis performed well. But punt returner Xavier Smith’s attempt to catch a ball while he was falling down in the NFC championship game resulted in a fumble that led to a pivotal touchdown by the Seahawks.

Too much for Tutu: Don’t blame receiver Tutu Atwell.

The Rams selected the diminutive-but-speedy receiver in the second round of the 2021 draft, but McVay, who is regarded as perhaps the best offensive mind in football, never fully maximized Atwell’s skill set. Atwell became a free agent after the 2024 season, and the Rams gave him a $10-million, one-year contract, ostensibly with promises that they had finally figured it out.

Alas, Atwell caught six passes (about $1.7 million per catch), including an 88-yard winning touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. He was not active for the divisional-round playoff game against the Chicago Bears or the NFC championship.

No investment in secondary: The Rams were so confident the pass rush would be dominant, they stood pat and made no changes to the secondary. No draft picks. No free agents.

They made a trade deadline deal for cornerback Roger McCreary but otherwise rode with the same group from 2024.

In the NFC championship, Cobie Durant and Darious Williams started at cornerback.

Nacua’s social media mistake: Nacua, perhaps more than any other Rams player, embraces social media opportunities and has become one of the NFL’s most popular personalities.

But while appearing on a livestream a few days before a critical Week 16 game at Seattle, Nacua made critical comments about officials and, unbeknownst to Nacua, made an anti-semetic gesture. Nacua apologized and the NFL and the Rams issued statements. After scoring two touchdowns and amassing 225 yards receiving in the overtime defeat, Nacua posted another critical comment about officials. He was fined $25,000.

Lost home-field advantage: Entering a Week 13 game at Carolina, the Rams were 9-2, had won six games in a row and held the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs, which came with home-field advantage for the playoffs.

The Rams lost to the Panthers, the first of three losses in their final six games. They finished with the No. 5 seed.

That meant the Rams probably would have to win three road games to advance to the Super Bowl. They came back for playoff victories at Carolina and Chicago but could not do it at Seattle.

Shedeur Sanders made the Pro Bowl.

Let that sink in for a minute.

His father, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, made eight Pro Bowls during his 14-year NFL career. But he wasn’t selected until his third season.

The younger Sanders just finished his rookie season … for the 5-12 Cleveland Browns.

The former Colorado quarterback was considered a potential high first-round pick going into the 2025 draft, but he slipped down to the fifth round, where he was selected by Cleveland at No. 144 overall.

Sanders began the season as a third-stringer but eventually became the Browns’ QB1. In eight games played, including seven as a starter, Sanders completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a passer rating of 68.1. He also rushed for one touchdown.

In other words, he wasn’t exactly an elite NFL quarterback.

Yet, Sanders is headed to the Bay Area to take part in the 2026 Pro Bowl Games on Feb. 3. He was named as the replacement for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who is unable to participate because his team is playing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8.

Sanders is the first Browns quarterback to make the Pro Bowl since Derek Anderson in 2008 and the first rookie quarterback to make it since Maye last year.

Sanders may be the most unexpected selection since then-Baltimore Ravens backup Tyler Huntley. Huntley made the cut after the 2022 season despite playing in only six games, starting in four, and throwing for 658 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

How did this happen? Here’s what we know.

Pro Bowl selections are determined in equal parts by fan, player and coach voting. When the results were announced in late December, the three quarterbacks selected to represent the AFC were Maye, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert.

Sanders was not among the first four alternates at quarterback in the AFC.

Some of the AFC’s top quarterbacks — including Denver’s Bo Nix, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Indianapolis’ Daniel Jones — suffered season-ending injuries.

Players are not required to take part in the Pro Bowl festivities. Several other AFC quarterbacks — possibly including Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, Houston’s C.J. Stroud, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Tennessee rookie Cam Ward — may have turned down Pro Bowl invites for Sanders to have gotten the nod.

All that aside, not many people ever get to play quarterback in the NFL and even fewer can say they made the Pro Bowl. Sanders seems most appreciative of the honor.

“Thank you God. I’m beyond excited and extremely grateful for all the love and support from the coaches, players, and fans,” Sanders said in a statement released by the Browns. “This wouldn’t be possible without the support behind me. Still plenty of work to do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.