INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts appeared on the verge of breaking through and scoring their first touchdown of the game, but Rams linebacker Troy Reeder had other ideas.
Watching Colts quarterback Carson Wentz before and during the snap on 3rd and goal from the Rams 3 early in the second quarter, Reeder moved to his left, then dove in front of Wentz's shovel pass toward tight end Jack Doyle for the interception.
"They were running kind of a tricky goal line play with the option with the shovel pass, so we were pretty excited that it was a scouted look, we saw it," Reeder said. "The last thing you're thinking about is making the pick. I think sometimes that's how big plays happen, is you're in the right place at the right time and then get the big play out."
For Reeder, it marked the first interception of his NFL career. He also added four total tackles and one pass breakup to his stat line in Sunday's 27-24 win at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Picking off a quarterback isn't necessarily knew to Reeder, given his four career interceptions during his three seasons at Delaware. He also had eight pass breakups, so making plays in coverage isn't out of the ordinary for him.
In this instance, his first pick as a pro not only prevented the Colts from reaching the endzone, but also directly led to points for the Rams: Kicker Matt Gay drilled a 34-yard field goal at the end of the ensuing series to give the Rams a 10-3 lead nearly eight and a half minutes later.
"That was dope. I didn't even realize that was his first interception of his career, because he's had good games since I've been here," Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey said. "I know he had a great game last year when he was asked to step up in roles. Honestly, every time he's been asked to step up, he stepped up, so I didn't even really notice that that was his first career interception. But definitely happy for him. It came in a key moment in the redzone. It was an amazing call by coach, and we executed it."
It was also emblematic of the Rams defense's ability to come up with key plays at opportune times throughout a chaotic road game.
"In a perfect world, you're just really stopping people and stuffing them, and giving them no life and choking them out, but ultimately they came away with no points," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "I think that at some point, you're going to have to be able to display that toughness and that ability to just continue to play each and every single snap, move on from one snap to the next. Our guys have done that."
