Turf Show Times
The Rams added WWR Davante Adams, but can he fix Matthew Stafford’s red zone problems?
Throughout the Sean McVay era, the Los Angeles Rams have lacked overall efficiency in the red zone. The Rams offense getting to the red zone has rarely been the issue, but rather how they have tended to stall once they get there. It’s a reason why they lost to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs in 2023.
Last season, the Rams offense ranked 24th in points per red zone trip at 4.6 and 25th in red zone touchdown percentage at 51.4 percent. That was despite the fact that quarterback Matthew Stafford was 10th in red zone passing attempts and running back Kyren Williams had the most red zone rushing attempts.
Heading into 2025, this is simply an area of the field in which the Rams need to be better. They were one of just three playoff teams along with the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers to rank inside the bottom-10 in points per red zone trip. For the Rams to take that next step as many expect them to, they need to be more efficient.
In the red zone last season, the Rams and Matthew Stafford ranked just 14th in EPA per pass in the red zone and his 16 red zone touchdowns ranked 15th. Among quarterbacks with at least 50 red zone pass attempts, Stafford was 20th in completion percentage, completing 46.2 percent of his passes with a -22.4 completion percentage over expectation. Additionally, he had just a 52.7 percent catchable throw percentage. That ranked last in the NFL. In fact, the gap between Stafford at 21 and Geno Smith at 20 was the same as Smith at 20 and Jalen Hurts at 11.
Stafford and McVay both need to execute better and at times be more creative in the red zone if the Rams are to be more efficient. At the same time, this past offseason, the Rams signed arguably one of the NFL’s best red zone wide receivers in Davante Adams.
Over the past three seasons, Adams’ contested catch rate in the red zone has been the best in the NFL. His catch-rate of 66.7 percent and two touchdowns on end zone fades was also the best among wide receivers last season. While Adams didn’t have as much success with the Las Vegas Raiders on these routes, in 2021 he caught his lone target on this route which resulted in a touchdown.
The end zone fade is something that McVay has incorporated into the offense in the red zone. It was the play that McVay went to in 2021 to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. However, in 2024, the Rams didn’t have much success on this route.
Much of this and Stafford’s lack of success in the red zone had to do with the drop-off in level from Cooper Kupp. The Rams simply didn’t have a reliable red zone target. Kupp had just 10 red zone targets last season...
