A doink and a diving catch saved Los Angeles.
Up 13-9, but defending from their own 5-yard line with less than a minute remaining in Saturday night's game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Rams needed a miracle to escape with a win.
Veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon delivered just that when Kyler Murray, under pressure, delivered an early first-down throw that hit off tight end Trey McBride's helmet into the air -- just high enough for Witherspoon to dive and collect it in bounds.
"For Ahkello Witherspoon to be able to come up with that interception, I like that we were going to come after him," Rams head coach Sean McVay said afterward. "Brought a zero blitz right there and the guys executed in a big way."
The throw closed out a stellar night for the Rams defense, which despite a shutdown performance that limited a third consecutive opponent to single-digit points required last-second heroics to propel the team's playoff chances to a near certainty.
Thanks to the victory, L.A. has better than a 99% shot at reaching the postseason, needing 2.5 combined wins (two wins and at least a tie) from the Vikings, Bills, 49ers, Commanders and Browns over the next two days to clinch the NFC West.
Witherspoon's interception made those the official stakes.
Had he not been in the right place and laid out expertly for the fingertip grab, the Rams would've gone into a Week 18 game versus the Seahawks facing a do-or-die matchup.
"It was just a friendly reminder that the game's never over," Witherspoon said of the game-sealing catch.
Before that moment, it had been the Cardinals making that clear.
Arizona battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit with successive 13- and 14- play drives on the other side of intermission to bring the score to 10-9. And although Matthew Stafford responded with a field goal following the second of those possessions, it would prove the Rams' only points in the second half.
Sandwiched around those lone three points were two three-play drives by the Rams, the second of which wasted Los Angeles' first red-zone pick and handed Murray one last shot.
But 59 yards later, L.A. found a way, just as it has so often in a season that's transformed from a 1-4 record to 10-6 on the back of one-possession wins. This time, the team's eighth such victory, happened to come thanks to Witherspoon, who started every game for the Rams in 2023 but was making just his fifth start Saturday.
"It's nothing new for me," Witherspoon said of handling his role. "It's just eight years of being on the job, honestly. That's really all it is. To be able to make a play, that's not the first time that's happened, either. I just stay consistent, and when the time comes, the time comes."
In other instances, it's been other Rams, a development McVay feels is an indication of his roster's character.
"I think this is a mentally tough team," the coach said. "I think this is a resilient team. Really when we talked about coming off the bye when we were 1-4, finding ways to finish games. Now, it hasn't gone exactly the way we want, but we've been able to finish it in the positive column nine out of 11 opportunities that we've had."
They're not in the postseason quite yet -- although the win over Arizona went a long way in getting them there.
If they do make it, plenty more resilience will likely be required for a Rams run.
