NFL notes: No. 1 pick Jared Goff to debut Sunday for Los Angeles Rams

Jared Goff is ready to show the Los Angeles Rams he was worth the wait.

Goff will make his NFL debut Sunday when the No. 1 pick faces the Miami Dolphins as the Rams’ starting quarterback.

“I think it’s time,” Goff said after practice Tuesday. “I’m ready to move forward and play. I’m just going to work hard and hopefully win.”

Goff watched the first nine games of his rookie season on the sideline for the Rams, who have scored an NFL-worst 15.4 points per game with one of the league’s least productive offenses.

Veteran Case Keenum has started every game, passing for 2,169 yards with 11 interceptions and nine TDs.

Goff will debut in front of his home fans at the Coliseum, where Rams fans frustrated by a dismal offensive season chanted “We want Goff!” two weeks ago during a loss to Carolina.

“We’re expecting him to play well and win games for us, so it’s an exciting time for us,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said.

After weeks of increasing scrutiny on the offense’s struggles, Fisher finally decided to see what they’ve got in Goff. Los Angeles couldn’t score a touchdown in last weekend’s 9-6 victory over the New York Jets, failing to reach the end zone for the third time in nine games.

Los Angeles traded several high draft picks to Tennessee in April to move up to draft Goff, hoping to solve years of underperformance at the NFL’s most important position. The Rams also traded up to make a splash in their return to Los Angeles after a 21-year sojourn in St. Louis, where they hadn’t made the playoffs since 2004 or had a winning record since 2003.

But after Goff didn’t beat out Keenum for the job in the preseason, Fisher repeatedly declined to promote the rookie over the past two months even while his offense struggled on almost a weekly basis, saying he wanted Goff to be in an ideal position to succeed.

It’s increasingly clear that the Rams’ offense doesn’t provide an optimal opportunity for any quarterback, but at least Goff will now be learning on the job.

“It wasn’t a spontaneous decision,” Fisher said. “It was a progression. It’s a gut feel. It’s not an easy thing. It takes time, and we gave it time, and it was the right decision. We’re looking forward to watching him play. … He’s going to have some moments, like all young quarterbacks do, but he’s going to do well.”

The Rams’ offense is 31st in the NFL with just 308.0 yards per game. Their passing game is ranked 25th with 225.4 yards per game, increasing in recent weeks because of Los Angeles’ profound struggles running the ball.

The Coliseum crowd has been eager for a change, booing the offense and chanting for the rookie while the Rams struggled through a 13-10 loss to Carolina two weeks ago. Los Angeles couldn’t score against the Panthers until midway through the fourth quarter.

The Rams then failed to reach the end zone against the Jets, but the defense carried them to their first win since early October.

Fisher had finally seen enough on the field – and from Goff in practice – to warrant the inevitable change.

“It feels like a long time since I’ve got out there and played,” Goff said. “I’m excited to get back out there. … I saw a lot of stuff from the sidelines, as much as you can see during games, and learned from a lot of the things Case did, good and bad. It’s been a long process, I guess, trying to pick up everything and get ready for it. I think I have, and I think I’ve been ready for a little while. I feel good, and I feel excited.”

Goff, who turned 22 last month, was a three-year starter at California in a spread offense bearing little resemblance to the Rams’ more pro-style schemes. That additional learning curve persuaded the Rams to be patient, but Keenum has struggled along with the Los Angeles offense, repeatedly failing to make big plays in important situations.

The veteran has thrown eight interceptions and five TD passes over the past five games for the Rams, who endured a four-game skid before last weekend’s win.

Goff will get his first shot against the Dolphins, who have the NFL’s ninth-ranked passing defense with potent pass-rushers Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake, who have combined for 12 sacks.

Goff is the first quarterback chosen with the top pick who didn’t start his team’s opener since JaMarcus Russell in 2007. Since then, Matt Stafford, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Jameis Winston had all started their teams’ first games.

Romo shows support for Prescott

Tony Romo stopped a reporter in the middle of what appeared to be the first question in his first meeting with the media since August.

The Dallas quarterback brought a statement, and he wasn’t going to answer any questions.

The 36-year-old coming off his fourth back injury in less than four years conceded the starting job to Dak Prescott, who has led the Cowboys (8-1) to a franchise season record-tying eight straight wins and the best record in the NFL.

A somber Romo didn’t hide his disappointment while reading the 5-minute statement.

“He’s earned the right to be our quarterback,” Romo said of the 23-year-old rookie. “As hard as that is for me to say, he’s earned that right. He’s guided our team to an 8-1 record and that’s hard to do.”

Romo, who broke a bone in his back in a preseason game, is expected to be Prescott’s backup Sunday at home against Baltimore (5-4). It should be the first time Romo is active since Thanksgiving last year, and the first time in 10 years he isn’t the Dallas starter.

“If you think for a second that I don’t want to be out there, then you probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning,” Romo said. “That hasn’t left me. In fact, it may burn now more than ever.”

Romo was surprisingly reflective as well, recalling the early days of his career when he was an unheralded free agent fighting to stay on the roster. Now he’s the franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns, ahead of Super Bowl winners Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

But he’s also in the same place Drew Bledsoe was in 2006 when Romo replaced an ineffective Bledsoe at halftime of a loss to the New York Giants six games into the season and never gave up the starting job.

“I remember the feeling like it was yesterday,” Romo said. “It really is an incredible time in your life. And if I remember one thing from back then, it’s the people that helped me along when I was young. And if I can be that to Dak, I tried to be and I will be going forward.”

Romo signed the first $100 million contract in franchise history in 2013 and counts $20.8 million against the salary cap this season. The cap hit next year is nearly $25 million, but the Cowboys can reduce it by roughly $5 million if they release him.

The mood was more jovial earlier in the day when owner and general manager Jerry Jones made one of his weekly radio appearances.

“I paid a lot of money for a backup quarterback as you well know,” Jones said, referring to Kyle Orton’s $3 million salary as Romo’s backup several years ago. “And this, by the way, is going to be the record for having paid this for a backup quarterback.”

The Cowboys went 1-11 in the 12 games Romo missed last season with a twice-broken left collarbone. When he immediately grabbed his back after getting tackled awkwardly from behind in the preseason against Seattle, Dallas’ hopes seemed doomed again.

But Prescott had already shown promise in the preseason. And after a one-point loss to the New York Giants in the opener, he has led fourth-quarter comebacks and easy victories alike while compiling the fourth-best passer rating (106.2) with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

“We all know something magical is happening to our team,” Romo said. “I’m not going to allow this situation to negatively affect Dak or this football team by becoming a constant distraction. I think Dak knows that I have his back. And I think I know that he has mine.”

After Romo went down in Seattle, the initial word was that his surgically repaired back had withstood the hit. But the broken bone was diagnosed the next day, with an initial timeframe of six to 10 weeks to recover.

“Getting hurt when you feel like you have the best team you’ve ever had was a soul-crushing moment for me,” Romo said. “You almost feel like an outsider. Coaches are sympathetic, but they still have to coach. And you’re not there. It’s a dark place, probably the darkest it’s ever been.”

Part of the darkness came from Romo realizing where he is in his career.

“Seasons are fleeting,” he said in a speech with several pauses. “Games become more precious. Chances for success diminish. Your potential successor has arrived, injured two years in a row and now in the mid-30s, the press is whispering, everyone has doubts, you’ve spent your career working to get here.”

And now Romo’s a backup again.

Dallas takes over top spot

Big D has made a big move all the way to the top.

The Dallas Cowboys, who have the NFL’s best record, moved into the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Pro32 poll.

Dallas received 10 first-place votes for 382 points from balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

The Cowboys (8-1) have won eight in a row going into Sunday’s home game against Baltimore.

“A case can be made that right here, right now, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is the MVP, Offensive Player of the Year AND Offensive Rookie of the Year,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said.

The Seattle Seahawks jumped three spots to No. 2 for 359 points.

“Pete Carroll says he likes this Seahawks team better than any he’s ever coached – up to and including the teams that won a Super Bowl and got there the next year,” Glauber said. “His win over the Patriots tells you why he has that conviction.”

New England dropped from the top spot to No. 3 after Sunday’s 31-24 loss to Seattle. The Patriots (7-2) still received the other two first-place votes for 358 points.

“Bill Belichick and his staff still have some work to do with a defense that misses the presence of Jamie Collins,” said Ira Kaufman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Collins was traded to the Browns last month for a conditional draft pick.

AFC West teams own the next three spots in the poll.

The Kansas Chiefs remained at No. 4. The Oakland Raiders, tied with the Chiefs for first place at 7-2, dropped two spots to No. 5 after a bye week.

And the Denver Broncos (7-3) inched up a spot to No. 6 after their 25-23 win over the Saints.

The New York Giants, in second place in a tightly bunched NFC East, moved up to No. 7 after Monday’s 21-20 win over the reeling Bengals.

“A dormant pass rush came alive Monday night to bury Andy Dalton while raising the playoff hopes of Big Blue supporters,” Kaufman said.

The Atlanta Falcons dropped two spots to No. 8 going into their bye week.

The Washington Redskins at No. 9 and the Philadelphia Eagles rounded out the top 10 as the entire NFC East was represented in the top one-third of the poll.

Kaepernick takes stance

Colin Kaepernick is standing behind his decision not to vote in the presidential election or even register to take part in the democratic process, saying he can effect change in other ways besides through a ballot.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has knelt through the national anthem all season to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities, drawing criticism and acclaim alike. He took more heat for not voting last week.

“I thought a lot of different things about the process and what I could and couldn’t do,” Kaepernick said. “Once again, the system of oppression is what I have an issue with. … I don’t agree with the system of oppression and that’s something that I will continue to not agree with.”