Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams have had a rough two weeks. Within the last 11 days, the Rams lost the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the NFC West, and potentially a top-10 pick. Coming off of a disappointing loss in Week 16 to the Seattle Seahawks, there was a lot of anticipation on how the Rams would respond. They responded by going down 21-0 to a 6-9 Atlanta Falcons team in primetime. While their comeback effort fell short, it adds to a string of disappointing losses. Here are this week’s 10 takeaways.
Following a loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which the Rams blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead, it was always going to be about how this team responded. When the Rams blew a lead earlier in the season to the Philadelphia Eagles, they bounced back with an impressive win against what was a good Indianapolis Colts team. This time around, the Rams went down 21-0 to the third-best team in the worst division in football.
Offensively, the Rams couldn’t get any rhythm going. This is an offensive line that has dominated in the trenches at times. Without their starting right guard and left tackle, that wasn’t the case. The Rams couldn’t run the ball like they have in recent weeks which led to playing a dropback offense against a good pass rush. They simply lacked urgency in a game where they should have come out ready to make a statement.
If the Rams losing the NFC West wasn’t enough to lose Matthew Stafford the MVP, his performance on Monday Night certainly was. Stafford threw three interceptions in primetime, including a pick-six. He nearly threw a second pick-six that was overturned because the defender only just stepped out of bounds. That came one play after fumbling a snap that was overturned because of a penalty. Looking to get points before the half and at midfield, Stafford threw into double coverage on a deep shot to Xavier Smith. On the next play, the defense gave up a 93-yard touchdown run to Bijan Robinson.
Stafford’s mistakes hurt an offense that needed the Rams quarterback to be at his best on Monday Night. Outside of the turnovers, he was simply off on too many throws. A big reason why the Rams were 9-2 heading into Week 11 was because of Stafford. He now has multiple interceptions in two of his last five games. If the Rams are going to go anywhere in January, they need him to be better.
Sean McVay has evolved this season when it comes to his fourth down decision-making. The Rams have gone for it on fourth down the tenth-most in the league with 29 attempts. Their 65.5 percent conversion rate is the fifth-best in the NFL. However, going for it on fourth-and-short twice without 40 percent of the starting offensive line may not have been the smartest...
