The Rams didn’t look good on Sunday night, but the panic button should be far out of reach.
Rams fans probably have a case of the Monday blues today after watching their team fall to the division rival 49ers in prime time. It’s their third straight loss to San Francisco, dropping the Rams’ record to 4-2 on the year – only one game ahead of the injury-riddled 49ers.
There’s plenty to be frustrated about coming out of that game, primarily with the offense. Jared Goff missed open receivers, Cooper Kupp dropped a few passes and Cam Akers only played one snap, to name a few points of contention. But the defense held San Francisco to three points in the second half, Darrell Henderson looked like a legitimate starting running back and Taylor Rapp had a decent performance in place of Jordan Fuller.
It’s easy to reach for the panic button after a prime-time loss in a game that the Rams should’ve won, but it’s not time to sound the alarms yet. It’s not even close to that point, actually.
The Rams still need a statement win, considering all four of their victories have come against the NFC East. They’ll get a chance at one against the Bears in Week 7, hosting the 5-1 team on Monday Night Football. If the Rams win that game, this loss to the 49ers will quickly be forgotten – even as disappointing as it was.
After that, they’ll visit a resurgent Dolphins team that has won handily the last two weeks. Still, it’s a favorable matchup before heading into the bye one week later. It’s conceivable that the Rams could hit the halfway point in the season with a 6-2 record and right in the thick of the NFC West race.
The Rams aren’t as banged-up as the 49ers are, but they’ve dealt with their own injuries. Darrell Henderson wasn’t healthy for Week 1, Cam Akers missed two-plus games, Micah Kiser and Jordan Fuller have both sat out games with injuries and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is out at least four weeks.
And the Rams’ travel schedule to begin the year was no bargain. They made three trips to the East Coast, playing three 1 p.m. ET games in the first six weeks. Sean McVay and his players won’t use the frequent travel as an excuse, but it’s reasonable to think it may have factored into the equation the last few weeks.
Even though the schedule will get much more difficult in the second half of the season, the Rams will play five of their final eight games at home with their longest trip being to Tampa Bay in Week 11 – a prime-time matchup with the Buccaneers.
Teams have bad games against lesser opponents sometimes. Just look at the Chiefs, who were 13-point favorites over the Raiders in Week 5 and lost. The Rams were only favored by three points against the 49ers, so it’s not as if this was a colossal upset.
A win would’ve been great, but starting the year 4-2 is still a reason for optimism – even if there is still plenty of room for improvement in L.A.
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