Midway through the third quarter, Jared Goff left the game with what appeared to be some sort of injury. He winced after taking a big hit from Mike Hilton and made his way to the sideline before a crucial third-and-2 from the Rams’ 28-yard line.

Blake Bortles trotted onto the field in place of Goff, seemingly filling in as an injury replacement. He was surprised by the shotgun snap as it hit his chest, he faked a handoff to Todd Gurley on what looked like a broken play and sprinted outside for 1 yard.

Everything about it seemed like a backup being thrust into a spot unexpectedly, but that apparently wasn’t the case. Sean McVay said after the game that play was part of the game plan and was an attempt to get Bortles involved.

“We just had Blake come in. That was the play that we had designed for Blake,” McVay said. “It wasn’t anything where Jared – you know, he was good. He was OK. That was a play that we were going to get Blake involved in and that was part of the game plan.”

It’s shocking for a coach to put his backup quarterback in the game on a key third-and-2, but that’s the approach McVay took – if he’s to be taken at his word. It didn’t work, and on the next play, Johnny Hekker threw an interception on a fake punt.

So instead of trusting Goff to pick up 2 yards on two plays, McVay went with Bortles and Hekker. That says as much about McVay’s confidence in Goff as it does anything.