Rams’ Jordan Whittington revel in special teams

Woodland Hills, CA (News4usonline) – Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington has earned his stripes with the ballclub by his play on special teams. It may be the play of the special teams unit that will decide if the Rams advance to play in Super Bowl LX. 

The Rams play the Seattle Seahawks for the third time this season. This time it’s in the NFC Championship game. Whittington figures to be in the middle of all this.  

“It’s always a huge factor,” Whittington said during an interview at the Rams practice facility in Woodland Hills. “It’s one-third of the game. Everybody has to look at special teams as one-third of the game, because it is and you know that in this game every single play matters. You know, every angle special teams rep is going to matter just like offense, just like defense. So I think you just have to go into the game with that mentality.”

Special teams is one of those areas of a football game that tend to get overlooked until a big play explodes, whether it comes in the form of a blocked punt, a missed field goal with the game on the line or a big-time run back of a punt or kickoff return. 

“Our job as a special teams unit is to just do our best job as far as creating explosives and limiting them so we can help the offense and defense,” Whittington said. 

In their two playoff wins during this postseason, the Rams have experienced both the high and low moments that come through special teams. In their 34-31 Wild Card win against the Carolina Panthers, Rams punter Ethan Evans saw one of his kicks blocked. 

This incident had a domino effect on the game as the Panthers made the recovery and went on to take a brief lead to give their fans hope of what would have been a monumental upset. 

However, quarterback Matthew Stafford helped the Rams overcome the blunder with a late touchdown to give LA the win and the right to play Chicago in the divisional round playoff game. 

With both teams playing well on defense, special teams would be the deciding factor in this contest. Harrison Mevis came through with a 42-yard field goal in overtime to give the Rams a 20-17 overtime victory at Soldier Field. 

The win vaulted the Rams into the NFC Championship game, a place LA has not been since they advanced and went on to win Super Bowl LVI.  

“I thought we did a good job in some instances last week,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I think Chicago did a damn good job too, but I thought Mevis was excellent. I thought we punted way too many damn times, but I thought we did handle that fairly well. I think our coverage units have done a nice job covering with urgency and our guys are ready to lean into the challenge.” 

In their 41-6 rout of the San Francisco 49ers in a NFC divisional playoff game, Seattle also flexed their special teams muscle by opening the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown by Rashid Shaheed. 

Game recognizes game. McVay certainly took notice. 

“Their special teams is real,” McVay said. “They’re outstanding and they’re outstanding in every phase. They are a complete football team. You could see there’s an energy, especially when you look at the last game, [Seahawks Wide Receiver Rashid] Shaheed’s punt return is really what gave them the momentum to get back. When you look at last week, that blew the game open when his kickoff return started the game.”

Whittington says his mindset going into every game is thinking about making the big play.

“Sure, I go into a game thinking I’m going to break it, but, you know, sometimes it happens, sometimes, it don’t. But all I can do is prepare as if it is going to happen,” Whittington remarked. “So, when you do that you’re doing the best thing you can. I know every guy on that unit does.” 

Making that big play happen is not an individual thing, Whittington emphasized. It requires everyone working in sync with one another, he said. 

“If you want something big to happen everybody has to do their one-eleven. That’s the main thing, as far as when you’re preparing…understanding that your job, no matter what it is, how big or how small, it directly contributes to the success of that unit or that team.” 

Whittington’s hard work on special teams has not gone unnoticed. Last season, his first in the NFL, Whittington made the NFL’s All-Rookie Team. As a kick return specialist, Whittington’s numbers are almost the same as they were during the 2024 season. 

Whittington’s success as a special teams maven could be attributed to his selfless thinking-on and off the field. 

“My biggest thing is just being grateful for the opportunity that God has blessed me with, and the second thing is playing for the guy right next to me. I don’t really play for myself. I love the game. I’m attached to it. But being on a team and doing my job and making sure I’m held accountable for the things I do on the field, and also making sure that I’m doing these things for the person next to me. That’s the biggest thing for me. I like to see the smile on guys’ faces when we win a game.” 

Cover Photo/Art: Courtesy of the Los Angeles Rams