In each of the last two weeks, players have cost their teams touchdowns by celebrating prematurely and dropping the ball before reaching the end zone. The Los Angeles Rams have benefited from both instances, once directly and once indirectly.

In Week 4, Colts wide receiver AD Mitchell dropped the ball before crossing the goal line against the Rams, turning what would’ve been a long touchdown into a lost fumble through the end zone. The Rams went on to win that game, 27-20, with that would-be touchdown proving to be a pivotal play in the Colts’ loss.

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On Sunday, the same thing happened with Cardinals running back Emari Demercado. He broke off a 76-yard run against the Tennessee Titans but didn’t finish the play, letting go of the ball at about the 1-inch line. It went through the end zone for a touchback instead of giving the Cardinals a 27-6 lead in the fourth quarter.

That play cost Arizona a win, keeping the Rams’ rival in last place in the NFC West.

This troubling trend hasn’t impacted the Rams under Sean McVay, fortunately, and it may be thanks to a motto that former QBs coach Zac Taylor often preached.

“Letters and logos, man. We always finish through the letters and logos,” McVay said on the “Coach McVay Show” Monday. “It goes back to Zac Taylor. He always used to say that. Show good examples of learning ops and you hopefully are never one of those teams that you’re teaching off of.”

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Matthew Stafford also talked about players giving away touchdowns by celebrating early during his appearance on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!” show Monday and he shared the same sentiment as McVay: letters and logos.

“It’s something that we as a team, and I imagine every other team, show our own team on Friday for team meetings, ‘Hey, this is what not to do. Let’s make sure that we run through the letters.’ That’s what we always say, run through the letters and the logos of the end zone before we let the ball go. Excitement’s a hell of a thing and sometimes it really backfires,” he said.

This isn’t a new issue for NFL players, either. It’s been happening for years, going all the way back to DeSean Jackson in 2008 when he celebrated prematurely against the Cowboys and dropped the ball backwards before crossing the goal line.

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Even with the long history of embarrassing gaffes, players inexplicably keep committing this costly act. It may have cost the Colts a win in Week 4 and it certainly cost the Cardinals a win on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams have motto to deter players from dropping ball before end zone