6 biggest reasons the Rams missed the playoffs this season

The Rams fell well short of expectations in 2019, and these are the six biggest reasons for that.

Offensive line issues

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

After fielding essentially the same five offensive linemen in Sean McVay’s first two seasons, the Rams made big changes to the unit this year. John Sullivan was replaced by Brian Allen at center, while Joseph Noteboom took over for Rodger Saffold, who left in free agency.

Andrew Whitworth, Austin Blythe and Rob Havenstein remained at their usual positions, but all three of them regressed mightily in the beginning of the season. Whitworth was the only one to turn it around, playing well in the second half of the season, but Blythe moved to center after Allen got hurt and Havenstein has missed six games with a knee injury.

Even when everyone was healthy, the offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL. Allen and Noteboom failed to meet expectations as first-year starters, and Blythe and Havenstein couldn’t get back to the way they played in 2018.

The result was a regression from Jared Goff, smaller running lanes for Todd Gurley and an overall shaky offense as a whole.