No word on whether or not the “pahk the cah” or “big words” jokes will come to an end, but for a while, there will be other things people can talk about when a discussion of Ryan Fitzpatrick arises: like leading the Rams to an amazing overtime win on Sunday.
Fitzpatrick, who is a rookie from Harvard (and a native of Arizona, so perhaps the “pahk the cah” jokes don’t apply, anyway), led the Rams to an improbable 33-27 overtime win over the Texans Sunday. He was called to action in the second quarter, after Jamie Martin suffered a blow to the head in the first quarter. At that point, the Rams stalled on their first two drives, while Houston scored two touchdowns and a field goal in their first three to take a 17-0 lead.
Fitzpatrick went 4-for-6 for 34 yards on his first drive, to lead the Rams to the Houston 19-yard line. Jeff Wilkins got the Rams on the board with a 37-yard field goal.
Any momentum the Rams might have gained as a result of their three points quickly floated away, when Texans returner Jonathan Wells took the ensuing kick 40 yards to the Rams’ 29-yard line. Four plays later, David Carr hit Corey Bradford for a ten-yard touchdown strike. Kris Brown’s extra point but the Texans on top 24-3 at the half.
In the second half, Fitzpatrick started to shine, thanks, in part, to some good luck. On the Rams first drive of the second half, they made into Houston territory and faced fourth-and-six at the 30. The Rams opted against a field goal and went with a pass, which was intercepted by Marcus Coleman. This is where fate stepped in for Fitzpatrick. His only interception of the day was fumbled by Coleman at the 20 and Steven Jackson recovered for St. Louis.
Fitzpatrick eventually hit Holt for a 19-yard touchdown pass and Jeff Wilkins’ extra point cut the lead to 24-10.
It remained a 14-point deficit until the fourth quarter, when St. Louis went on a 13-play, 77-yard drive, capped by Steven Jackson’s one-yard dive and the Rams trailed by only a touchdown.
Houston responded with another field goal from Brown, this time from 35 yards away, and the lead was back to ten at 27-17 with 2:49 remaining.
The Rams then retaliated with a touchdown drive, which ended with Fitzpatrick’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Holt. With Wilkins’ extra point, the Rams trailed by just three points, but only 26 seconds remained.
The Rams attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by Holt at the Houston 49-yard line. A 19-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to Holt set up a 47-yard field goal by Wilkins to force overtime.
In OT, the Texans won the toss and opted to receive. After gaining two first downs, Houston was stopped at the Rams 47-yard line and punted into the end zone for a touchback. A holding call against Trev Faulk moved the Rams back to the 10, but it didn’t seem to matter. On the fifth play of the drive, Fitzpatrick hit Kevin Curtis for a 56-yard touchdown pass to end the game.
Fitzpatrick finished 19-for-30 with 310 yards and three touchdowns. Torry Holt caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, while Isaac Bruce caught the ball four times for 94 yards and a score. Steven Jackson rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown.
