The Los Angeles Rams were embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the Baltimore Ravens. It was complete opposite of last year’s barnburner on Monday Night Football against Kansas City. Here’s a few takeaways from the primetime debacle.
Rams’ defense nonexistent
It appears that something must have happened to the Rams over the past week that didn’t allow their defense to practice or come up with a game-plan to stop Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense. Maybe Wade Phillips just gave the team the week off. Any excuse as to why the Rams forgot to come up with a game-plan would be less embarrassing than if this was actually their game plan.
The Ravens scored a touchdown every single time they touched the ball in the first half and Lamar Jackson completed all nine of his passes. The Rams were hopeless every time the defense touched the field.
Something also must have happened at halftime that caused the Rams to make any adjustments, because if they actually attempted to make any adjustments, they were meaningless. Baltimore scored a touchdown on their first two possessions of the second half before Lamar Jackson called it a night.
These games happen to everyone. Good teams get blown out. Bad teams get blown out. Mediocre teams get blown out. The Rams were decimated by Baltimore’s elite offense. It happens. But it certainly stings a little more when it’s on primetime and it drops your record to 6-5.
Rams’ offense nonexistent
The Rams put together two decent drives in the first half. Down 14-0, Goff and company put together nice 15 play drive, but fizzled out in the red zone and settled for a field goal. They had a similar drive the following possession with a similar result.
Other than those two drives, everything else was a disaster. Jared Goff was unsettled and missed a couple crucial throws. Todd Gurley once again recorded single digit touches. McVay’s play-calling was uninspiring. Their miserable night was given a cherry on top when Goff forgot what team Marcus Peters played for and threw an interception his way.
It was the third consecutive game that the Rams scored under 20 points. A year ago, the Rams hung 54 points on Monday Night Football wearing their gold color rush jerseys. They couldn’t even score 15 this time around.
McVay doesn’t believe in his offense
It’s clear that Sean McVay doesn’t trust his offense nearly as much as he did last season. Two plays were telling of this,.
The first was on a 3rd and 13 on the second drive of the game for the Rams. Rather than take a shot through the air, the Rams simply handed the ball off to Todd Gurley. The crazy thing is that it almost worked, but was called back for an illegal shift. The Rams chose to throw a screen pass the following play.
The second was on their first possession of the second half, when they were faced with a 4th and 2 on their own 33. The Ravens just shoved the ball down their throats yet again. They were probably going to score again when they touched the ball. But the Rams didn’t even attempt to gain the two short yards to keep things moving, and trotted the punt team onto the field. The Ravens scored a touchdown the following possession.
This is a seriously flawed offense and McVay is aware of it. He’s not even attempting to do some of the things he did last year. It doesn’t seem like he has any confidence in Goff and his offensive line to put points on the board. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to at any point this season.
Rams need a miracle to make the playoffs
At 6-5, the Rams sit two games out of a wild card spot. They’d be right in the mix for a wild card spot in the AFC. Unfortunately, it will take a miracle for them to pass either Seattle or Minnesota for the final wild card spot.
The Rams finish the season with Arizona, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco, and Arizona again. They’d probably need to win out to even have a shot at the playoffs. Given how this team has played since their bye week, that’s not happening. Things would be different if they didn’t drop a game against Pittsburgh or if Greg Zuerlein didn’t miss a game-winning kick against Seattle. But the past is unchangeable, and the Rams will likely be watching the playoffs from home this year.
On the bright side, the Rams will be paying their young offensive core of Goff, Gurley, and Brandin Cooks roughly $70 million next season. The trio was unstoppable in 2018. Goff torched some of the best teams in the NFL, Gurley put up unfathomable statistics, and Cooks recorded his fourth-straight 1,000 yard season on his third team. 2019 didn’t happen. I’m dead inside.
