On November 19, 2018, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Both teams arrived 9-1, and the game more than lived up to the billing. It was the first NFL game in which both teams scored at least 50 points, and its 105 points are still the third-highest total in league history, behind only Washington’s 72-41 win over the Giants in 1966 and Cincinnati’s 58-48 win over Cleveland in 2004.
It was also the highest-scoring Monday night game ever played. There were 14 touchdowns, three of them by defensive players, and the teams combined for 1,001 yards. The lead changed hands six times, four of them in the fourth quarter.
A game that was supposed to be in Mexico City
The game was scheduled for Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Six days before kickoff, the league moved it to Los Angeles because the grass at the stadium was in poor condition. It became the Coliseum’s first Monday night game since 1985.
The Rams gave thousands of free tickets to first responders and to families affected by the wildfires near Los Angeles and the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks earlier that month. The crowd was 77,002.
Tied 23-23 at halftime
Jared Goff threw touchdown passes to Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds in the first quarter, and the Rams led 13-0 before Patrick Mahomes found Tyreek Hill for a 25-yard score. By halftime the turnovers had started to decide things. Chiefs defensive lineman Allen Bailey recovered a Goff fumble forced by Dee Ford at the Rams’ 21, and Mahomes hit Kareem Hunt for a touchdown on the next play.
With two minutes left in the half, Aaron Donald sacked Mahomes and knocked the ball loose, and Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam picked it up and ran 11 yards for a touchdown. Mahomes answered with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Chris Conley with 20 seconds left, but Harrison Butker missed the extra point. Greg Zuerlein had missed one for the Rams in the first quarter, so the teams went to the locker room tied.
Fifty-nine points in the second half
Donald forced another fumble on a sack early in the third quarter, rookie John Franklin-Myers recovered, and Goff ran in from 7 yards out. After a Zuerlein field goal put the Rams up 33-30, Ebukam scored again on the Chiefs’ very next snap. He reached up with one arm to intercept Mahomes at the line of scrimmage and returned it 25 yards, and the Rams led 40-30 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter had four lead changes.
| Time | Play | Score after the try |
|---|---|---|
| 4th quarter, 12:15 | Mahomes to Tyreek Hill, 73-yard touchdown | Rams 40-37 |
| 4th quarter, 11:16 | Justin Houston strip-sacks Goff; Allen Bailey recovers in the end zone | Chiefs 44-40 |
| 4th quarter, 9:44 | Goff to Gerald Everett, 7-yard touchdown | Rams 47-44 |
| 4th quarter, 2:55 | Mahomes to Chris Conley, 10-yard touchdown | Chiefs 51-47 |
| 4th quarter, 1:56 | Goff to Everett, 40-yard touchdown | Rams 54-51 |
| 4th quarter, 1:28 | Marcus Peters intercepts Mahomes at the Rams’ 26 | Rams 54-51 |
| 4th quarter, 0:25 | Lamarcus Joyner intercepts Mahomes at the Rams’ 28 | Rams 54-51 (final) |
The winning touchdown came on first down from the Kansas City 40. Goff threw deep down the right sideline to Everett, a backup tight end who had 31 career catches before that night, and the Rams’ drive covered 75 yards in 58 seconds.
Kansas City still had time. On the next possession, Peters, a former Chiefs cornerback whom Kansas City had traded to the Rams that winter, picked off an underthrown deep ball. The Rams could not run out the clock, and Johnny Hekker’s 68-yard punt pinned the Chiefs at their own 12 with 50 seconds left. Two completions later, Joyner intercepted Mahomes’ last deep throw for Hill.
The numbers
Mahomes completed 33 of 46 passes for 478 yards, the most of his career to that point, with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Hill caught 10 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Kelce caught 10 for 127. Goff completed 31 of 49 for 413 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, and he ran for a fifth score. Brandin Cooks led the Rams with 8 catches for 107 yards.
| Chiefs | Rams | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 51 | 54 |
| Total yards | 546 | 455 |
| First downs | 27 | 29 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 5 |
| Penalties | 13 for 135 yards | 8 for 60 yards |
The difference was the turnovers. The Rams scored 21 points off Kansas City’s five giveaways, including Ebukam’s two touchdowns, the first of his career. “We can learn from this,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We can’t give up 21 points on turnovers. Have to take care of the football.”
What they said
“It was a crazy game, crazy game,” Goff said. “It seemed like whoever had the ball at the end was going to win the game.”
“It was a whirlwind,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I feel like I might need a couple of beverages to relax tonight, but it was great. This is what you love so much about the game.”
“It’s always fun to play against real good teams,” Mahomes said. “You can’t make mistakes against great teams. You need to limit your mistakes, but be aggressive.”
“It was electric,” Ebukam said. “I’m still like in a game mode right now. I haven’t calmed down yet, so it hasn’t really all sunk in yet.”
What came next
Neither team got the rematch many expected in Super Bowl LIII. The Rams finished 13-3, beat Dallas 30-22 in the divisional round and won the NFC Championship Game 26-23 in overtime at New Orleans, then lost the Super Bowl 13-3 to New England. The Chiefs finished 12-4, beat Indianapolis 31-13 and lost the AFC Championship Game 37-31 in overtime to the same Patriots. Mahomes threw 50 touchdown passes that season and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Mahomes, Kelce and Reid are still together in Kansas City, and McVay still coaches the Rams. Goff now plays for Detroit, and Donald retired after the 2023 season. This Sunday, the 5-1 Chiefs visit Denver, and the 3-4 Rams host the Chargers.
Related WhyNFL reading: November 1, 2015: Drew Brees throws seven touchdown passes as the Saints outlast the Giants 52-49.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.