The Los Angeles Rams are currently riding a five-game winning streak but the offense isn’t exactly the reason for the team’s recent success. They’ve scored more than 21 points in just one of those five wins, and that was a the wild 44-42 shootout against the Bills.
In their last three games, the Rams have scored 12 points, 19 points and 13 points. fortunately, the defense has held each of their last three opponents under 10 points, resulting in three straight wins.
After Saturday’s win over the Cardinals, Matthew Stafford was clearly dissatisfied with the way the offense played. The Rams had a season-low 12 first downs and just 257 total yards despite playing in perfect conditions at SoFi Stadium.
“We didn’t do a whole lot great, to be honest with you,” he said. “Didn’t run it great, didn’t throw it great, but found a way to get a win and get enough points.”
Unlike in the previous four games, the Rams had nothing going on the ground. Kyren Williams ran for just 56 yards on 13 carries after rushing for 100-plus yards in three of his last four starts and at least 80 in each of the last four.
The passing attack has struggled for most of the season but it’s become even worse as of late. The Rams have had fewer than 200 net passing yards in five of their last six games, which is no recipe for success in today’s NFL.
As the quarterback, Stafford said it all starts with him.
“Just execute and make plays. That’s what it is,” Stafford said. “Obviously, I’m the guy that touches the ball every single play so I can do a whole lot better job of making plays and giving guys opportunities to make plays and putting the ball in some spots where our guys can go make them. It’s team football, but obviously it starts with me just doing a better job of getting us going, especially early on.”
Although the Rams are doing just enough to win games, they can’t go into the playoffs with the offense playing the way it is. It’s going to be hard to beat teams like the Packers, Vikings, Lions and even Commanders scoring less than 20 points per game.
The problem is, Williams and Puka Nacua have become the only sources of production on offense for the Rams. Cooper Kupp has 53 total yards in his last three games, Demarcus Robinson hasn’t caught a pass since Week 13 and Tutu Atwell still isn’t involved as a receiver.
Good defenses are going to find ways to take away Nacua and Williams, which will leave the Rams with no other good options on offense.