Andrew Whitworth is 37 years old and 330 pounds. It should go without saying that he is never the fastest player on the football field.
But Whitworth, the Rams’ starting left tackle, was the fastest player down the field on a seemingly insignificant play Saturday against the Cowboys, a play that said a lot about Whitworth’s hustle and desire, even if it didn’t mean much to the final result.
That play was the Rams’ 63-yard missed field goal at the end of the first half. Watch the play and you’ll see something fascinating: Whitworth was easily the first player on the Rams to get downfield to make a potential tackle if the Cowboys had attempted to return the missed field goal. Whitworth, all 330 pounds of him, was a good five yards ahead of every one of his teammates.
The missed field goal ended up going out the back of the end zone, so the Cowboys didn’t attempt to return it. But it says a lot about Whitworth that he was so fast to get down there. Running down the field to cover a kick is not what Whitworth is paid to do, but on that play he did it.
Whitworth has been an excellent player for his 13-year career, a two-time first-team All-Pro who’s as important as anyone to the Rams’ great offense. Saturday’s game was Whitworth’s first playoff win. That was an accomplishment he was going to do everything in his power to achieve.