The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Rams 37-20 on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
What we learned from a loss that dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6.
Rams fortunate to be in middling NFC West
The Rams went into their appearance on “Sunday Night Football” with a chance to put themselves in control of the NFC West.
The Seattle Seahawks had defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 16-6.
The Green Bay Packers had routed the San Francisco 49ers, 38-10.
The Rams could not capitalize on the opportunity. Fortunately for the Rams, none of the NFC West teams are juggernauts. The Seahawks and Cardinals are 6-5. The Rams and 49ers are 5-6.
The Rams play the 49ers in Santa Clara on Dec. 12. Their final two games are at home against the Cardinals and Seahawks.
Kyren Williams is fumbling too much
Rams running back Kyren Williams sapped early momentum when he fumbled inside the 20-yard line, ending the opening drive.
“That’s the ball, that’s the most important thing,” said Williams, who rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. “You gotta be able to take care of that no matter what the situation is.”
Williams has fumbled three times in the last four games, losing two.
Is coach Sean McVay concerned?
“That’s something that we have to be better at, for sure,” McVay said.
On the opening drive, Williams broke off a 27-yard run to the Eagles’ 17-yard line. On the next play, however, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers forced him to fumble.
“I thought we came out ready to go,” McVay said. “The turnover really hurt us.”
The offensive line regressed
McVay has lamented how injuries have prevented the Rams offensive line from establishing continuity, but a week after giving up no sacks against the New England Patriots the same group of linemen gave up five against the Eagles. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was hit 11 times.
Left tackle Alaric Jackson, left guard Steve Avila, center Beaux Limmer, right guard Kevin Dotson and right tackle Warren McClendon Jr. could not hold off what mainly was a four-man rush.
McClendon started for the second game in a row in place of veteran Rob Havenstein, who has been sidelined for three games because of an ankle injury.
Third-down efficiency remains an issue
The Rams had eight third-down situations and converted none.
“We didn’t put ourselves in a lot of favorable ones,” Stafford said. “You don’t do that against that defense, it’s going to be difficult.”
The Rams converted all three fourth-down opportunities. Still, third downs have troubled them three games in a row.
They converted only three of 12 in a defeat by the Miami Dolphins and only two of eight in a victory over the New England Patriots.
Tackling in the secondary was lacking
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley ran through and away from Rams players for 255 yards and scored on runs of 70 and 72 yards.
The Rams also struggled mightily with receiver A.J. Brown. The 6-foot-1, 226-pound Brown caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, amassing plenty of yardage after the catch.
In the second quarter, Brown caught a short third-down pass and broke three tackles en route to a 27-yard gain.
“A.J. is I think one of the best receivers in this league that people don’t talk about enough,” McVay said. “He’s strong. He’s physical through the catch.”
Young defensive line was neutralized
Rams rookie lineman Braden Fiske sacked Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second quarter, increasing his season total to six.
That was the only time the Rams got to Hurts, who passed for 179 yards and touchdown and rushed for 39 yards in 11 carries.
An Eagles line that featured tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata and guard Landon Dickerson kept Rams edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young at bay.
The Rams did not force a fumble or pressure Hurts to throw a pass that was intercepted.
Kicker Joshua Karty is struggling
Rookie kicker Joshua Karty missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter that would have pulled the Rams within 27-17.
It was the second game in a row that Karty missed his only field-goal attempt. Against the New England Patriots, Karty’s 26-yard attempt bounced off the right upright. Late in that game, McVay opted to punt rather than have Karty attempt another field goal, saying after that “there wasn’t a lot of reason to feel great about that operation.”
Karty, a sixth-round draft pick, has made 16 of 21 field-goal attempts and 21 of 23 extra-points.