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Rams beat Chiefs 54-51 in the third-highest-scoring game in NFL history

Third-highest-scoring regular season ever had 14 TDs.

November 20, 2018 at 6:36AM
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett breaks away from Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Daniel Sorensen to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. The Rams won 54-51.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Gerald Everett tiptoed down the sideline for the winning touchdown. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

LOS ANGELES – It ended the only way a game played just a couple miles from Hollywood could.

Marcus Peters, traded away by the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason, intercepted the boy-wonder quarterback to all but seal the Los Angeles Rams' 54-51 win Monday night in the third-highest-scoring regular season game in NFL history.

Mahomes used his otherworldly arm strength to fling the ball down the field in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but it landed right in Peters arm.

Clinging to a three-point lead, the Rams (10-1) couldn't capitalize on the ensuing drive and gave the Chiefs one more chance to score with 50 seconds to play.

But again, Mahomes (33 of 46, 478 yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions, two lost fumbles) tried to fling the ball down the field. And again, it was picked off, this time by safety Lamarcus Joyner with 13 seconds to play.

So often, the so-called game of the year can't live up to the hype.

This one did.

"It was one of the most competitive games I've been a part of," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "It was just a competitive game with a lot of high-caliber football in all three phases."

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Featuring 11 offensive scores and three defensive touchdowns, the 3-hour, 42-minute epic had a little bit of everything. The 105 combined points set an NFL record for the most points scored in a Monday night game.

With the Rams leading 40-30 going into the fourth quarter, it felt like the two-score lead might be insurmountable. But the Chiefs (9-2) feature Mahomes and Tyreek Hill.

With Hill streaking down the field three minutes into the fourth quarter, Mahomes unleashed the ball. Hill found himself completely wide open in the middle, the closest defender some 15 yards behind him. As he crossed the goal line, he turned back to the Rams defender closing in and flashed him his signature peace sign. That drew a penalty for taunting, but it didn't matter.

Chiefs defensive lineman Allen Bailey quickly erased the deficit a minute later with his fumble recovery touchdown. But the Rams didn't go away quietly. How could they?

Rams quarterback Jared Goff answered by directing a scoring drive that included two deep completions to Josh Reynolds and Robert Woods and ended with a Gerald Everett touchdown for the Rams to regain the lead.

With the Rams back on top by three points and 9:38 left on the game clock, Mahomes went to work again. This time, he used a seven-minute drive to pick apart the Rams' defense with gutsy runs and big completions. A lowering-the-helmet penalty called against the Rams after a catch by tight end Demetrius Harris set up the Chiefs at the 10-yard line, and a play later, Mahomes found receiver Chris Conley for his sixth passing TD of the day.

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But it wasn't enough.

Everett would score a 40-yard touchdown from Goff for the game's final touchdown with 1:49 left to play.

"We'll heal up and get set to go for the stretch run," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Brooke Pryor, Kansas City Star

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