turn was only the final big blow to the Green Bay Packers' hopes of knocking off the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams.Montgomery's mistake was far from the only error Sunday that left Green Bay's half of the rowdy Coliseum crowd going home unhappy despite an occasionally inspired effort by their team."That play didn't lose the game Troy Hill Jersey , but it definitely took away an opportunity for us to go down and win it," Aaron Rodgers said of Montgomery's fumble.Other plays loomed just as large to Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy after the Rams salted away their 29-27 victory without letting Rodgers touch the ball in the final 5:20.The Packers were on the brink of a statement victory after rallying from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. Green Bay had a one-point lead and the ball with 6:49 to play, but the Packers only ended up making a statement about their own inconsistency."You got to play a fully complete game, and we didn't do that," said receiver Davante Adams, who had five catches for 133 yards.A sequence in the second quarter fundamentally switched the momentum away from the Packers (3-3-1), who had built a 10-0 lead 鈥?the largest anybody has taken on the Rams all season long 鈥?shortly before halftime thanks to outstanding work on both sides of the ball."We came out with that energy," Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark said. "We started really fast. Like I said earlier, I think we did a lot of good things. It's just disappointing for us to lose the game."Sam Shields started the momentum swing against his former team when he tiptoed along the goal line to down a punt by Johnny Hekker, trapping the Packers at their 1. Green Bay's next play was a run up the middle by Aaron Jones, and the Rams' fearsome defensive front stuffed it for a safety.Los Angeles awoke after that stop, both in the stands and on the field. Jared Goff's offense immediately drove for its first touchdown in the final minute of the first half.The Packers lamented losing that hard-earned momentum after a largely stellar defensive first half. Green Bay sacked Jared Goff five times, including twice by Clark, and had eight tackles for loss against LA's powerhouse offense."They've had the success they've had with a lot smoke and mirrors, good play-calling, speed and misdirection," Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said. "We came out and made it kind of dirty and grimy, really got after them Michael Brockers Jersey , hit the quarterback. Obviously they found their footing in the second half, maybe late in the first half. But then we put it back on them at the end of the game. We did just enough for our offense to get down there. It really is a shame the way in which we dropped that game. You'd like to think, if we see these guys again ... but at 3-3-1, we need to start winning these games."Rodgers still had the ball with the chance to lead a clock-draining drive with 6:49 left. Instead, the Rams lost 6 yards on three plays before a 25-yard punt by JK Scott. The Rams got a go-ahead field goal on the short field, and Montgomery fumbled moments later.The Packers realize they're gaining a reputation as a team that plays to the level of its opposition. As they reach the midpoint of their season, they know they're running out of time to put together full games 鈥?particularly since their next game is at mighty New England."I don't understand that, honestly," Clark said. "In my mind, I swear, if we play games like that, we're going to win a lot of games. I don't really know how else to explain it. We've got to come out there like that every game. I really feel like we can get teams on their heels, and with the offense that we have, we can put up points and get up on guys easy." The Los Angeles Rams continued to survive as the NFL’s only unbeaten team on Sunday outlasting a feisty Green Bay Packers team making their first visit to the Los Angeles area since 1991. While there were plenty of storylines following the game, much of the post-game buzz related to the massive amount of Packers fans that filled at least half of the ancient Coliseum bowl for the game. It was not so dissimilar to when a team like Barcelona visits the Rose Bowl for a friendly. Packers fans clearly had this one circled well in advance. I had the honor of attending the game and would go so far as to say that roughly 60% of the fans in attendance were cheesed-out for the event. Of course, heavy contingents of visiting fans is nothing new at games in Los Angeles. We’re still a reborn infant among NFL cities, but the showing did serve as a checkpoint for the Rams as they regrow their roots in Southern California. Back in St. Louis, this would occasionally happen against teams like the Packers and Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs. In LA Ethan Westbrooks Jersey , we’ve encountered huge crowds of Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders fans at the Coliseum. This particular game seemed to aggravate many of the more hardcore Rams fans though perhaps mostly because the Rams are currently undefeated.And let’s be honest. Our Rams deserve a home-field advantage. And as Owner Stan Kroenke said last year, we just don’t have one...yet.There is a laundry list of excuses and/or reasons to help explain the phenomenon. The Dodgers played in the World Series that day as part of the LA Sports Equinox. Also, Rams fans could make up to five times the face value for their tickets on Stubhub selling to the highest bidder who, often, were Packers fans. Packers fans travel well in general, but moreover for Wisconsin transplants and nationwide Packers fans this was a once in lifetime event that they were willing to pay for. Coming to LA to play in the historic Coliseum before our new stadium opens in 2020 is actual bucket list stuff.All these factors are true. There will always be plenty of visiting fans who support teams that develop national brands after decades of success like the Packers, Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. Those teams and a few others should be expected to bring a sizable crowd for a destination game like LA. But to put put up a majority of attending fans means that developing a local fan base is still a work in progress for the Rams, plain and simple.Yes, the Rams fans overwhelm the stadium against teams like the Arizona Cardinals, or Los Angeles Chargers and will take over during playoff games, but for regular season games against established franchises? Clearly, we’re not there yet. The game actually reminded me of the 1999 Rose Bowl when a large percentage of UCLA fans sold allocated tickets for a profit to desperate Wisconsin Badgers fans who were traveling across the county. One difference worth noting is that a large swath of Rams season tickets, particularly on the visiting sideline, are not in fact owned by fans but by ticket brokers (whether official or unofficial) who care little about the Rams’ home-field advantage. Unfortunately, those same brokers will have dibs on season tickets in the new stadium in Inglewood. So unfortunately, this trend will likely continue until the Rams generate enough buzz that their new fans have more of an appetite to attend games than a transplant fan that has one chance to see their team in person. Due to transplants and having no team for twenty years, Los Angeles may be the most extreme example John Sullivan Jersey , but it’s far from the only city that deals with hordes of visitors. Other warm-weather cities like Miami and Arizona attract vacationers and transplants alike. Consequently, those home teams see seas of visiting jerseys in their stands. Even “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys, have been overwhelmed with red San Francisco 49ers jerseys and navy Chicago Bears jerseys largely because the Jerry Dome is on everyone’s must-see list. This week kicked off the first waves of major no shows at games that will only continue for teams out of the playoffs. The optics of those games will be much worse than packed houses at the Coliseum between Rams fans and opposing fans alike.But 60%? That’s just too much green and yellow in the (whose house?) Rams’ House. When the Eagles come to town, that percentage might be similar. Does it mean that there are more Eagles or Packers fans than Rams fans in Los Angeles? Not at all. Today I was walking around the Fox Hills mall, and I saw no less than ten people walking around in Rams hats, shirts and jerseys. I also saw two people in Chargers hats, and that was it. That tends to be how it goes with a few Raiders or Cowboys fans in the mix as well. Far from a scientific study, but until the Rams put together a multi-year stretch of success to become a national brand we won’t push the visiting fans out of the ticket market.So be it. This current incarnation does seem like it has the potential to become transcendent, but only time will tell.For passionate Rams fans, this all can be rather frustrating since we actually care about making sure the Coliseum is really and truly the (whose house?) Rams’ House. But for the time being, it is what it is. A kind of a bowl game atmosphere which is far from a horrible thing. Besides, at the end of the day, who cares? It’s just a bunch of puds in uglier jerseys than yours.Puds who lost.Go Rams! Hush the crowd!
