Mike LaFleur was sincere when asked about the Rams’ red zone issues. He addressed failures on behalf of himself, the coaching staff, and the players, which have led to the Rams ranking 28th in red zone touchdown percentage.
“When you get down there your execution, everything has to be tighter,” he said. “It starts with all of us, coaches, players. We’re all in this thing together. There’s no panic from it. It’s been a small sample size. Of course, in this league when you kick field goals like we have, you get the results that we got on Sunday. We have to find ways we know, as a unit. We have to be better down there and we will be. We’ll continue to work at it.”
Expecting improvements as the season continues, one should think a run-first approach to red zone situations from here on out. The Rams entered the Chicago red zone four times last week and they scored a touchdown on only one of those possessions, a Kyren Williams touchdown run.
On the Rams’ only possession within Chicago’s 10-yard line, Matthew Stafford threw three passes. He completed one for 2 yards. The Rams settled for a field goal, making the score 10-9, Bears.
Chicago would score a touchdown on the next drive and the Rams never regained the lead despite outgaining Chicago, 322-264.