The Los Angeles Rams dropped their fourth game of the season on Sunday, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-12 at Heinz Field. This week’s loss continued a troubling trend of inconsistency on offense, despite getting – and wasting – outstanding performances from their core group of defenders.
They seemed to be making progress against the Falcons and Bengals, but this weekend against a tougher opponent proved the Rams have not improved much at all. They dropped further down this week’s power rankings as Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire doesn’t see them as one of the 16 best teams in the NFL.
They’re No. 18 in his Week 11 power rankings after losing to the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.
After the Rams went 13-3 and reached the Super Bowl last season, head coach Sean McVay was the toast of the league. What a difference a year can make, and not in a good way. In a 17-12 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, McVay’s offense converted just one of its 14 third-down attempts. The Rams’ drives: Punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, missed field goal, interception, interception, field goal, punt, punt, downs, interception. At one point, McVay pulled Jared Goff from the game, installed backup quarterback Blake Bortles, and then tried a fourth-down pass from punter Johnny Hekker, which was intercepted by safety Terrell Edmunds. Goff completed 22 of 41 passes for 243 yards, no touchdowns, and two picks of his own. Goff has a completion rate below 60% in each of his last five games, nobody seems to know why Todd Gurley isn’t getting the ball, and Cooper Kupp didn’t catch a single pass on a season-low four targets. The league may have figured out McVay and Goff, but McVay and Goff are helping their opponents with some truly ugly football.
Right ahead of the Rams are the Steelers, who are also 5-4. Behind Los Angeles are the Cardinals, who are better than their 3-6-1 record indicates. Now, it’s not as if the Rams have fallen below .500 or have become one of the worst teams in football, but given their talent level and expectations, 18th is certainly disappointing.
Even the Titans (No. 16) have moved ahead of the Rams and they have far fewer star players than Los Angeles. It’s just that they’ve gotten better play from their quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and more importantly, their offensive line.
The Seahawks are No. 6 after beating the 49ers on Monday night, while San Francisco ranks second.
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