Turf Show Times
After the Los Angeles Rams blew a 26-7 lead to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, it was considered one of the worst losses of the Sean McVay era. That was undoubtedly topped by the collapse on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams led 30-14 with under 8:30 minutes to play. The next 15 minutes of gameplay were shocking to say the least. As Sam Darnold threw the game-winning pass on a third two-point conversion attempt, the Rams lost 38-37. It’s the type of loss that leaves you speechless. With that said, let’s jump into 10 takeaways from the game.
A big talking point leading into both games between the Rams and Seahawks has been personnel matchups. The Rams have success in 13 personnel and the Seahawks are able to uniquely match that in nickel. In the first meeting, the Rams didn’t have a lot of success. On Thursday night, they had a 64 percent success rate in 13 personnel in the first half. This was a Rams team that was grinding down the Seahawks defense. They were playing ball control and had over 20 minutes of time of possession in the first half.
For much of the game, the Rams were playing on their terms. They were dictating the line of scrimmage and the tempo. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum had 21 rushing attempts in the first half and finished with 37 for 118 yards. While the explosives may not have been there, the Rams were consistently finding success runs, especially on first down. If these teams meet for a third time, this is something that they can build on.
The Rams offense had 581 yards of total offense, but it was clear that Davante Adams was missed. Offensively, they lacked a second option in the passing game. Puka Nacua had 12 receptions for 225 yards. Nobody else had more than three catches and only Xavier Smith had more than 50 yards. Konata Mumpfield was targeted eight times and had three catches. He has potential, but the ball skills aren’t there yet. The tight ends all had missed opportunities with Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson each having a few tough drops.
One of the biggest changes of this Rams offense is how effective they’ve been in the red zone. They were 3-for-6 in the red zone on Thursday night. The offense settled for field goals twice inside he five-yard line. As the Rams have experienced in recent years, field goals do not win these games. Turn one of those field goals into a touchdown and it might be the difference. In the red zone is where Adams has had his biggest impact. Thursday night was the first time since Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens that the Rams offense had a 50 percent conversion rate or less in the red zone.
There was a...
