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.