Sometimes it’s the little things that make the largest impact on an NFL team. That could be said about the 12-5 Los Angeles Rams in 2025. After all, the season seemed to be spiraling out of control, sending veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford’s All-Pro performance to the waste receptacle of ‘wudda, cudda, shudda‘ refuse.
It was a pathetic special teams performance that seemed to be burning the season despite the efforts of the offense and defense.
The team struggled with second-year kicker Joshua Karty, compelling general manager Les Snead to sign UFL star kicker Harrison Mevis to the roster for added competition. Mevis did more than compete; he won the job outright, and Karty was released and signed to the practice squad. Those moves occurred just before Los Angeles faced Carolina in Week 13.
Since arriving, Mevis has been more than a little impressive. He has successfully kicked 12 of 13 field goals (a 92.3 percent success rate) as well as booting all 39 of his extra point attempts. Unfortunately, his lone miss could not have happened at a worse time. He missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with the score tied at 30-30 with just 2:11 remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter.
That was the biggest field goal attempt of his short NFL career, and he missed it. LA would go on to lose that game by one point in overtime.
Rams beg Harrison Mevis to stand tall under brighter NFL spotlight
It’s unfair to toe-tag that Week 16 loss on one field goal. After all, it was just one of a series of events that allowed the Seattle Seahawks to claw back for a win after trailing by 16 points. And yet, it is what it is. That loss catapulted the Seahawks to win the NFC West Division, and Mevis has struggled to overcome that lone flaw since signing with the Horns.
But the brutal truth is that the team has seldom relied on Mevis to kick a buzzer-beater. For the most part, this team has been phenomenal in the red zone, which explains why Mevis has been tasked with booting 39 extra points in nine games. But the lone one-score final score in which Mevis could have played the hero, he emerged as one of multiple scapegoats.
Whether fans admit it or not, that is a huge concern.
Will the Thiccer kicker wilt under the bright lights of an NFL playoff game? That is a question that some fans are already asking. While the sample size of pressure-cooker kicks is minuscule, the concerns by those fans are warranted.
Harrison Mevis is 0-1 when the game is on the line, and he has a chance to kick the game-winner.
We’d discussed the game within the game earlier. The confidence of head coach Sean McVay in his kicker to boot a game-winner may show up in this one. But if Los Angeles continues to advance, the matter will almost certainly appear.
Championship teams need all three phases to hoist a Lombardi Trophy. Hopefully, the former UFL star kicker will do his part to ensure that happens. Rams fans are begging him to stand tall when the outcome of the game rests on his shoulders.
He will come through.
As always, thanks for reading.
