Week 17, the playoffs were out of reach a long time ago, but there came the Rams, charging down the field at Levi’s Stadium on a late overtime drive. They made it all the way to the 49ers’ 30-yard line, one 48-yard field goal away from an 8-8 finish, a record that would have been Jeff Fisher’s best result in four seasons with the Rams.
Death. Taxes. Jeff Fisher finishing 7-9
Jeff Fisher was 48 yards away from 8-8, but the 49ers blocked the Rams’ overtime field goal attempt before dropping the Rams to 7-9, Fisher’s perfect state of football balance.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
A long field goal to win a meaningless season finale in overtime. It’s what passes for clutch in Fisher’s current reality. But the league’s living embodiment of 8-8 just can’t quite reach such lofty goals anymore.
The 49ers blocked the kick. Four plays later the Niners were at the Rams’ 5-yard line, getting the kicking team on the field to boot the game-winner, a 23-yard chip shot from Phil Dawson. He made it.
Jeff Fisher’s Rams finish the season 7-9, again. That’s better than last season’s 6-10 finish, an even match for Fisher’s 2013 effort and slightly worse than an ominous 7-8-1 start to Fisher’s tenure with the Rams in 2012. It’s another losing record, but it’s perfectly on-brand for Fisher.
Most NFL franchises would be looking for a new head coach after four seasons of unfulfilled expectations from a 20-year head coach and one of the highest paid skippers in the league. (Yes, Fisher makes nearly as much as Bill Belichick).
The Rams seem to be just fine with Fisher.
The owner is more focused on moving his team to Los Angeles than fielding a winner. Fisher was Stan Kroenke’s choice to run the entire football operation. One popular conspiracy has been that that was the plan all along, let Fisher’s Midas Touch of mediocrity drive down attendance in St. Louis and give Kroenke even more cover to move the team. But that’s giving Fisher way too much credit and overlooking his very mediocre track record in Tennessee.
St. Louis’ season looked to be on track as late as November. They were 4-3 after Week 8, but then the Rams got stuck in a five-game skid, starting with a loss to the Vikings. At 4-8, the Rams appeared to be headed toward their worst season under Fisher, but then they rattled off wins over the Lions and the Bucs before pulling off a major upset in Seattle.
7-8, one game away from cosmic balance and an 8-8 record that would have been the team’s best since 2006 and Fisher’s personal best since 2008. Once again, Fisher got everyone’s hopes up. Television pundits started their usual din about how competitive the Rams would be next season.
Fools. This just peak Fisher, fooling you into thinking he’s a good coach right before losing an ugly game with another irrelevant team to finish 7-9.
Balance in the universe has been achieved. Have fun rooting for Jeff Fisher, Los Angelenos.
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