The Los Angeles Rams arguably suffered their most frustrating loss of the season, losing to the Miami Dolphins 23-15. Needing to keep pace with the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, the Rams fell behind in the NFC West race. A loss the 2-6 Dolphins puts a stamp on the kind of season that it has been for the Rams. Here are my 10 takeaways.
1. The slow starts on offense need to stop
For the fifth time this season, the Rams failed to score in the first quarter. They currently rank 31st in first quarter points per game at 1.4 which is ahead of only the Chicago Bears. That tends to set the tone for the first half of games where the Rams rank 28th in scoring, leading only the New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Cleveland Browns.
It’s hard to believe that much of that has to do with poor game planning or being under prepared. Sean McVay is one of the best schematic coaches in the NFL. Whether it’s needing to feel out games, the Rams need to find ways to get into a rhythm and find their fastball much earlier.
2. Rams started three new offensive linemen and it looked like it
The Rams offense simply looked disjointed for much of the night. However, that should have been expected despite the fact that they were getting Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson back in the lineup. At the end of the day, the offensive line was consisting of new starters at 60 percent of the spots. While Steve Avila was certainly an upgrade over Justin Dedich and Joe Noteboom was filling in for Rob Havenstein at right tackle, there is something to be said about pulling Beaux Limmer for Jonah Jackson. The Rams offense has shown during the McVay era that cohesiveness along the offensive line is important. They didn’t have that Monday Night.
When it comes to Jackson, the situation is complicated. The Rams paid him a lot of money and he simply hasn’t worked out how they would have liked. He hasn’t played center since his sophomore year at Rutgers so not only are the Rams playing a new face at center, but someone who’s unfamiliar with the position in the offense. The Rams front office has done a good job of admitting mistakes and moving on from players. However, they won’t do it with Joe Noteboom for some reason. The offensive line didn’t look good and two of the biggest reason were two players getting the biggest paycheck.
3. Defense kept Rams in the game…which is unexpected
At the Week 10 point of the season, not many would have expected that it would actually be the Rams defense keeping them in games. However, that was exactly the case. This is a young group that still has the occasional mental lapse, but for the most part they are getting more consistent.
Following the touchdown on the opening drive, the defense allowed three more points. Those points only came after a Matthew Stafford tipped ball interception. They gave the offense opportunities to take control of the game with two turnovers, but Stafford and co. could not take advantage. The Rams defense deserves a lot of props. Against an explosive offense, they finished the week ranked seventh in defense EPA and eighth in defensive success rate. The offense simply needs to reward them.
4. The defensive front took over and Jared Verse is on way to stardom
There was a period during the second and third quarters in which the Rams defensive line simply took over the game. Jared Verse had six pressures and a pressure rate of 23.1 percent. That doesn’t mention his forced fumble and fumble recovery. In primetime, Verse was on the verge of taking over the game. Kobie Turner also added three more pressures and a sack.
Verse is running away with the defensive rookie of the year award right now and this is only the beginning. His 20.4 percent pressure rate is the third-highest among all defenders and the second-highest by a rookie since 2018 via NextGen stats. He is going to be a star in this league. The bad news for the rest of the NFL is that him and the rest of the Rams defensive line are only in year one and two.
5. Only thing consistent about the offense is getting in its own way
The only consistent thing about the Rams offense right now is how often they get in their own way. With the offense moving at the end of the first half, Alaric Jackson gave up a sack on the left side. Following Christian Rozeboom’s first interception, Kyren Williams fumbled on the very next play. With a chance to bring the game within one score, Limmer had a false start to make a 52-yard field goal a 57-yard attempt. That doesn’t mention Stafford not seeing Williams for a touchdown late in the game.
This isn’t just a one week thing. These are the same type of mistakes that the Rams had last week and have plagued them in losses to the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. The Rams offense just never looked comfortable against the Dolphins and when they had opportunities, they bottled them. To put it simply, the Rams had drives that started at their own 49, the Dolphins 36, and the Dolphins 48 and scored three points on those drives.
6. Kyren Williams has a fumbling problem
Kyren Williams has fumbled three times this season which is behind only Breece Hall and Rhamondre Steveson among running backs. He’s tied with four other running backs with three. Williams fumbled last week against the Seahawks, but didn’t lose it. He lost another fumble in the loss to the Packers.
It’s not just that Williams fumbled, but when he fumbled. The fumble came following a Rozeboom interception and a chance to grab some momentum. It’s a turnover that let the Dolphins off the hook. With how much a running back touches the ball, fumbles are going to happen. However, it’s become a problem for Williams.
7. McVay’s decision to kick late field goal was the wrong one
Late in the game, the Rams had the ball inside the five for the first time. At the time, they trailed by 11. A touchdown and the Rams could have made it a one score game with a chance to win if they got the ball back. Settling for a field goal meant the Rams were essentially playing for overtime at best.
McVay settled for a field goal to make it an eight point game and the defense gave up a field goal on the next drive. What was a two-score game was still a two-score game, but with the game pretty much over when the Rams got the ball back. It was a very obvious ‘go’ situation down by two scores. Let’s assume the Rams score a touchdown. At the very worst, they are down 20-15 or 20-17 if they convert the two-point conversion. The next time the Rams get the ball, they have a chance to tie or win. The Rams lost and that was a losing decision.
8. The early overreactions to Joshua Karty were premature
There was a lot of Joshua Karty criticism following his game against the Packers in which he missed an extra point and the Bears game when he missed a field goal from 43-yards after a bad snap. If we’re talking about how good the kicker was, it obviously wasn’t a good game. However, Karty was impressive against the Dolphins. He was 2-for-3 from 50 yards out and should have been a perfect 3-for-3 without Limmer’s false start. Karty was the only source of points for the offense.
Karty has now made 84.2 percent of his field goals on the season. It’s not great, but the ability is clearly there. With a rookie kicker, there were almost always going to be the occasional bad game or missed kick. With that said, Karty’s game against the Dolphins should be a sign of things to come.
9. Early returns on free agent class have left much to be desired
Games like Monday Night are when the lack of a free agent class really start to show. If Jonah Jackson is playing center, the Rams paid him as the highest-paid center by a good margin until Creed Humphrey surpasses him later in the offseason. The communication on the interior was poor throughout the game and Jackson is partially to blame for that. Colby Parkinson played in 11 snaps on offense after the Rams paid him as well. The Rams just traded Tre White for a seventh-round pick swap.
Outside of Kam Curl and Darious Williams, serious questions need to be asked of the free agent class. The Rams traded players like Jalen Ramsey so that they could spend in free agency. If the players getting paid aren’t producing, it sort of defeats the purpose of resetting the cap last year.
10. This Rams team isn’t what you want it to be
A lot of fans want this Rams team to be one that goes on a run like the one last year and finishes 7-1 to make the playoffs. There is nothing about this current team that says that they have the capability of doing that. The Rams are what their record says they are. They are an inconsistent, middle of the league team. Sometimes that leads to wins over good teams on a good day. On a not good day, it looks a lot like it did against the Dolphins.
The Rams have been the team that they were on Monday Night than they have been the team that beat the Vikings or snuck out with a win in overtime against the Seahawks. Even in the Rams’ one loss in the second half of last year, it was a loss that you could feel good about against the Baltimore Ravens. There isn’t a lot to feel good about after that loss to the Dolphins. While the season isn’t over, the margins are super thin. They can maybe afford one more loss. With the current state of the NFC, the postseason is going to be a very tall task. The Rams simply are not playing a winning brand of football. The injuries have been too much for a young team and that’s ok. They’ll be more ready and more mature next year. This just isn’t a consistent group.
