assessments during the bye

Rams head into their bye week planted firmly in their own way

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5823253/2024/10/07/la-rams-loss-mistakes-packers/?source=emp_shared_article

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It’s the end of Week 5, the start of the bye, and the worst start by a Sean McVay-led team since he took over the Los Angeles Rams head coaching job in 2017.

They are 1-4, and perhaps the most frustrating part is that each game has highlighted a different failure or discombobulation or genuine unluckiness.

From early-season injuries to star players and starters along their offensive line to defensive breakdowns (the unit did play better in a 24-19 Week 5 loss) to poor red zone play to Sunday’s two third-quarter turnovers that both led to Green Bay Packers touchdowns, the Rams are playing a morbid version of whack-a-mole — flailing at any one problem in any one week, all while sinking deeper.

“We’ve got to be able to finish games and play consistently throughout,” McVay said after Sunday’s loss, during which quarterback Matthew Stafford and the offense got the ball back with 2:57 to play and down five points. “You look at it (and) we’re a 1-4 football team. Three of those four losses come down to one-possession games. You go into overtime. You lose (to Chicago) last week. You end up having the result that we did today. In the (Week 2) Cardinals game, we didn’t do anything reflective of what we want to be. But this is football, this is where we’re at.”

He added a few moments later: “Before you can start winning games, you have to start learning how to not beat yourself.”

Yet if there’s any one theme connecting the Rams’ four losses, it is that. They can’t get out of their own way.

Sunday, a defense that looked much better than in previous weeks (and even notched its second interception of the season, a pick six by undrafted free-agent rookie safety Jaylen McCollough) extended a Packers drive late in the second quarter because of a penalty for having too many players on the field. The Packers eventually kicked a field goal to cut their deficit to three points at halftime.

“Hated for us that we had a substitution error that extended a drive,” McVay said. “That’s on us as coaches, we’ve got to be better.”

On the Rams’ first possession of the second half, the offense cruised down the field before running back Kyren Williams fumbled at the Green Bay 27-yard line. The Packers recovered and scored a touchdown two plays later. Quarterback Jordan Love hit tight end Tucker Kraft for a 66-yard catch-and-run and defensive backs Darious Williams and Quentin Lake couldn’t bring Kraft down as he rumbled into the end zone.

Again, the Rams got the ball back — now down 17-13. Again, they turned it over. Stafford threw an interception to safety Xavier McKinney that was intended for receiver Tutu Atwell, who was covered by two players. The crowd at SoFi Stadium — split dramatically in the Packers’ favor — erupted so loudly that the press box shook.

Stafford has had to shoulder more than promised, minus the two star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and his starting center and left guard. The other through line in the Rams’ 1-4 start has been generally outstanding play by the veteran quarterback despite those injuries.

Stafford entered Week 5 with the sixth-best adjusted EPA per play, a measurement that includes the caliber of pass protection, receiver drops, dropped interceptions, luck on interceptable passes, fumble recoveries and interception returns and excludes yards after the catch over expectation (meaning the quarterback specifically is graded on the yards he creates), according to NFL data analyst Ben Baldwin. Basically, it measures how well a quarterback is playing despite any number of variables outside his control that can affect a play.

Sunday, Stafford had his worst game of the season. He was too high on a couple of passes, though one touchdown try clipped tight end Colby Parkinson in the hands and he appeared frustrated he didn’t catch it; officials threw a pass interference flag anyway. With his receivers covered downfield, Stafford held the ball too long on one of his sacks (a third down). He finished the game 29-of-45 passing with 260 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

“I thought there were some really good things, and some things that we’re going to want back,” McVay said. “But he gives us a chance, he’s so tough. … There will be some things where we want to collectively play more consistent overall. That goes for all of our offense.”

The touchdown was a thing of beauty, an arc from the 1-yard line that floated over a defender and dropped like a stone into Demarcus Robinson’s hands.

Of course, the corresponding two-point conversion attempt failed. The Rams wanted to exploit Atwell’s speed on an end-around toward the left pylon. Perhaps in considering that, they failed to acknowledge that Atwell would possibly have to churn across the goal line through some contact on the play. The ultra-fast, but small-framed receiver was knocked back and short of the conversion.

Defensive tackle Kobie Turner, a bright spot in the loss with two sacks and a forced fumble, batted Green Bay quarterback Love’s first-down pass attempt on the next possession and then helped stuff a run on second down. Veteran cornerback Williams prevented a likely touchdown with a deep pass breakup on third down.

Usually, this sets up the quintessential Stafford comeback drive moment. A soul snatched here, finger guns flying there, and a couple of relieved expletives from McVay at the lectern postgame.

But remember, this team can’t get out of its own way. A sack on second-and-5 dropped Stafford back seven more yards. He got seven of them back on third-and-12 with an outside throw to Parkinson, but the two couldn’t connect on the fourth down and Stafford took a shot at the end of the play.

The Rams defense is improving with time, though not without some big lapses. Sunday, the group forced three-and-outs on three of the Packers’ first four possessions. Kraft’s touchdown felt like a backbreaker, even more so than a perfectly placed 53-yard pass from Love to receiver Jayden Reed that set up Green Bay’s first touchdown in the first half. The Rams have given up 22 explosive passing plays through five games, which is tied for eighth-worst in the NFL according to TruMedia.

In speaking with defensive players in the locker room postgame Sunday and over the last few weeks, the prevailing sentiment is that communication at each level needs work — that players are capable of making the plays they are asked to make. McVay and defensive coordinator Chris Shula have adjusted the secondary (which in turn also changes certain responsibilities in the middle of the defense because of how often the Rams are in their sub packages).

Tre White, who had been targeted 18 times for 12 catches and a 138.4 opponent passer rating plus four touchdowns and no interceptions in four starts, was a healthy scratch. McVay called it a “coaching decision” and that White had handled it like a “pro in every sense of the word.” Williams, who missed the first four games with a hamstring injury, rotated with Cobie Durant and Ahkello Witherspoon at the outside cornerback spots.

The Rams moved Quentin Lake, who had been playing the “star” (a coverage and assignment-diverse version of a nickel) whenever the Rams moved into a five defensive backs or more package, into a more traditional safety role (positioned deeper in the defensive backfield) and also moved Kam Curl, who had been playing deep, closer to the line of scrimmage at times (inclusive to certain passing downs). Josh Wallace got snaps at the nickel/star instead, so that Lake could man the deep areas of the field and the Rams also got McCollough more reps instead of rookie Kam Kinchens.

Outside of Kraft’s touchdown and Reed’s deep catch, the new combination of players seemed mostly effective. It’s fair to wonder whether more changes are on the way. White being inactive, while not personal, could serve as a message to everybody including on offense because he’s a respected veteran. The coaching staff certainly has some soul-searching to do at every position group during the bye week.

“We’ll evaluate everything,” said McVay. “We’ll observe everything. When you’re in these situations, we have to do a good job of making sure that we look at the totality of everything, regardless of position.”