Where do the Rams go after a 41-10 loss to the Cardinals
The Los Angeles Rams fell to the Arizona Cardinals 41-10 on Sunday to drop to 0-2. It’s the first time in the Sean McVay era that the Rams have dropped to 0-2. The big question now with all of the injuries is where the Rams go from here. They have a game against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3 with the potential for this season to really get away from them. Here are my 10 takeaways from Sunday.
1. Missed opportunity to take momentum early
The Rams started the game about as good as any team would like. Rookie Blake Corum returned the opening kickoff to midfield and the Kyren Williams followed that up with a nine yard run. Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got.
Back-to-back runs from Williams went nowhere. McVay then made the correct decision to go for it on fourth down and called a bubble screen to Kupp. The blocking downfield wasn’t as good as it needed to be and it was a turnover on downs. There was an opportunity to set the tone early and instead the Rams gave the Cardinals momentum. The Rams set the tone in the wrong way.
2. Marvin Harrison Jr. for the next decade will be fun
Of course Marvin Harrison Jr.’s breakout game comes against the Rams. On the Cardinals’ opening possession, Murray found Harrison in the back of the end zone. While it was close, it was a play that would have stood either way that it was called. At the end of the day, Tre White got beat. On the first play of the next possession, Harrison got behind Kam Curl to score his second touchdown on as many plays. The insult to injury was Harrison Jr. getting behind the defense on a 3rd-and-5 at the Cardinals 17 for a first down.
It was a reminder that the Cardinals got a generational prospect in the first round at wide receiver and the next decade or so will be a lot of what happened on Sunday. Harrison Jr. is very good and is going to be tough to defend against. The Rams need a better plan and better execution.
3. The secondary was supposed to be better
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Rams signed Tre White and Darious Williams to avoid the big plays in the passing game. Kam Curl was brought in to give the secondary a physical presence while the Rams have been excited for Quentin Lake. Yes, Williams is injured, but it’s hard to say that was the difference.
At the end of the day, the Rams secondary allowed Kyler Murray to have a perfect passer rating. Trey McBride added six receptions for 67 yards while Harrison popped off for 130. It can get better and it needs to be better. With that said, this could also be the result of trying to put a bandaid on what was a much larger problem.
4. Run defense and tackling must improve
Through two weeks, the Rams defense is allowing a rushing success rate of 55.1 percent. Last year’s Rams defense allowed a rushing success rate of 39.1 percent in Weeks 10-2. This is the worst the Rams run defense has been since 2020 when they allowed a rushing success rate of 53.1 percent. We’re past the days of stopping the run being the most important part of playing defense. Still, there are two many easy plays to be had and because of that the defense isn’t getting stops.
Additionally, the tackling needs to be better. Several times the defense seemed to have Murray in their grasp and instead it turned into a big play the other way. Running back James Conner forced six missed tackles. The Rams front seven simply was not wrapping up. It’s the little things right now for the defense that’s puzzling and it has to get better moving forward.
5. Rams didn’t match Cardinals energy from the start
The odd thing about the loss was the lack of energy. From the first drive, the Cardinals just looked to be out-working the Rams. That’s not something that you usually see from a Sean McVay coached team. All offseason, there was talk about the energy that the defensive side of the ball brought on a daily basis. Again, that side of the ball looked like they were playing at half speed in moments.
Sometimes it just isn’t your day and that was certainly the case for the Rams. At the same time, the lack of energy is concerning. If you can’t get up for a divisional game on the road while staring at 0-2, when are you going to bring it? Hopefully they show up next week against the San Francisco 49ers.
6. Not good enough in short yardage situations
The Rams and second or third and one six times. They turned that into a first down on one occasion throughout the entire game and that happened on the final drive. That doesn’t include a third and one that ended in a punt. They had second and three twice, one of which game in and “and-goal” situation and the Rams punted and had a turnover on downs. Those are favorable situations and to be as poor as the Rams were is a big reason for the loss.
Some of that has to do with the offensive line and not being able to run block. Those are obvious running situations and the Rams got beat up front on every occasion. At the same time, those are downs that you just have to find a way to win. Instead of extending drives or getting points, many of them ended in a change of possession the other way.
7. Rams missed Puka Nacua’s impact as a blocker
As much as the Rams missed the presence of Puka Nacua in the passing game, it was really his physicality as a blocker. On multiple occasions, Demarcus Robinson or Tyler Johnson didn’t hold a block like Nacua would have in the run game. In many occasions, it would have been Nacua lead-blocking for Kupp on the missed fourth down early in the game.
The Rams had three wide receivers with 10 or more run-blocking snaps. None of them finished inside the top-50 in run-blocking via PFF. It goes back to being out-worked and simply not playing with energy. That’s what Nacua brings to the table on every play and it was missed.
8. McVay needs to be doing more to adjust for offensive line injuries
The Rams have been in this situation before back in 2022 when it comes to offensive line injuries. Therefore, it should be expected that McVay would be more adept to handling these situations. Of course, every offense needs baseline offensive line play to function. With that said, the Rams had three out of their five starters and Beaux Limmer has stepped in well at center. The only real weak point has been at left tackle.
Through two weeks, Matthew Stafford leads the NFL in non-play action pass attempts. His 84.3 non-play action pass percentage is the fourth-highest. Stafford’s 92.8 non-screen throw percentage is the sixth highest. Stafford leads the NFL in pure drop back type throws. More needs to be done to force the defense off of its spot and to force them to hesitate. It’s not going to be perfect, but more can be done.
9. This was the most surprising blowout in the McVay era
Getting blown out in the Sean McVay era is nothing new. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. The Baltimore Ravens destroyed the Rams back in 2019. Last year, it was a game against the Cowboys where the Rams were just never really in it.
However, this was by far the most surprising when it comes to that type of loss. McVay has always had his way against the Cardinals. He’s had such a good recored against that team for a reason. For this Rams team to not show up or meet expectations against this opponent is what was shocking.
10. The Rams are staring 0-3 right in the face
The last time the Rams started 0-2 was 2011 and they finished 2-14. Not even Jeff Fisher ever started a season 0-2. Now, the Rams obviously are staring 0-3 right in the face with a matchup against the 49ers on the horizon.
At this point, it’s important for the Rams not to allow this season to snowball. They may be 0-2, but it’s hard to see a McVay team stop trying or stop fighting. There is a very realistic scenario where this Rams team starts 0-5 much like 2002 and then rattles off some wins when they get healthy and just miss the postseason. This is the reality of the situation and with all of the injuries things are looking pretty bleak. The Rams need to find a way to get the train back on the track and steady the ship. This is a young team and a few more losses could result in a downward spiral.
