The Los Angeles Rams don’t look anything like the Super Bowl-winning team from earlier in the calendar year.
Through the first four weeks, the Rams are 2-2 and have yet to see the offense click such as they did last season. On Monday night, they were held without a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers as Matthew Stafford went 32-of-48 for 254 yards and an interception.
It was a frustrating night all around for the Rams, and if it weren’t for Cooper Kupp’s 14-catch, 122-yard outing, the numbers would be even lower.
For some perspective, the Rams had 73 plays to the 49ers’ 49 plays run. Yet, the 49ers had 327 yards, while the Rams had just 257 total yards of offense.
Something needs to change, and after the game, there were plenty of comments about the state of the LA offense.
Rams’ Personnel Express Frustration on Offensive Woes
It wasn’t just one player or coach who showed frustration. In fact, there are plenty of eye-opening quotes from the Rams after a game where they didn’t even score a single touchdown.
Rams head coach Sean McVay put it simply (h/t Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register): “It’s just been a struggle overall.”
Kupp added a more detailed explanation of what is going on with the lackluster offense:
“It’s just us messing up. Things completely in our control. Things that we know that we can do. We just need to get fixed and do it. We’ll sit here and say we have to execute better. We say it every single week, but at some point you just gotta do it. That’s our issue right now.”
The week before, against the Arizona Cardinals, the Rams scored two touchdowns — both on the ground. So, for two straight games, Stafford has not thrown a touchdown pass.
But, nobody knows what the identity of this offense is through the first month of the season, and offensive tackle Rob Havenstein said exactly that: “We gotta get in the red zone and score touchdowns. Whatever the identity of this offense is, we haven’t found it yet.”
Fluttering Offense
After an offseason where they brought in Allen Robinson and had high hopes on offense, they have yet to click on any cylinder — except for the Kupp-Stafford relationship.
It’s not everything, but here’s one example of the Rams’ struggles this season:
The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams are the only 2 teams as of today that haven’t completed a gain of 35+ yards on offense in 2022.
McVay added more comments about the offensive performance, and he admitted he himself needs to do a better job.
Sean McVay on his offense: “A lot of it was just things that guys that we’re counting on didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Clearly, that makes me think that I gotta do a better job and we gotta do a better job as an offensive staff providing clarity to our players.” #Rams
Odell Beckham Jr.’s absence is more evident than ever before, and the running game has also been a poor spot to begin the season for LA.
Through four weeks, they sit at 2-2, tied with every other NFC West team. Nonetheless, something needs to change, and quickly, before the Rams’ season fizzles and fades away with nothing but disappointment.
It won’t get any easier next week as they face the Dallas Cowboys and that tough defense. However, after that, the Rams play the Carolina Panthers. Hopefully, changes are coming for the Rams’ offense. Otherwise, they might dig too deep a hole to get out of.
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Cooper Kupp, Sean McVay Open Up On Offensive Woes