LOS ANGELES — The locker room after the Rams’ 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was as quiet as any this season. Players shouldered blame in quiet, shorts responses to reporters’ questions before filing out and into the night.
As they dissected what had just happened, the Rams (5-6) also looked ahead and stated they could not afford for this game to spiral into the next game, which is Sunday’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints (4-7).
“Just make sure you turn the page. Obviously, there are things that we want to correct from the game and find ways to be better moving forward, but make sure that we come out with great energy today. It starts today,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said before Wednesday’s practice. “There are going to be things we want to clean up from practice, make sure we do that and move on day-to-day with the right attitude and the right spirit.”
As the Rams have gone about making those corrections, a consistent word has come to mind: Consistency.
Asked what he’s looking for from the defense Sunday after its worst performance since the early weeks of the season, head coach Sean McVay used that word. He spoke about playing as a unit, sticking to assignments, coverage and pass rush complementing each other.
Then he added with a smile, “Same things I’m looking for on the defense would be exactly how I would answer your offensive question as well.”
Even 11 games into the season, we still haven’t seen the Rams offense perform with the type of consistency you would expect from a group with this much talent.
Against the Eagles, the Rams moved the ball well in the first quarter, reaching the red zone twice without needing a third down. But any momentum was quickly lost with a 10-play second quarter that resulted in a loss of six yards. It was the same story a week before, with the offense blazing in the second and third quarters against the Patriots while going nowhere in the first and fourth quarters.
“It’s kind of the word ‘consistency’ right now,” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “There are times where it feels like we go right down the field and put it in, and there are other times where it just feels a little bit harder than it should. I think that’s the biggest key right now.”
The defense is facing a similar obstacle.
The Rams are among the best in the NFL at holding teams without a touchdown in the red zone, limiting opponents to a 48.8% success rate. That ranks eighth in the league, but the flip side is that the Rams allow teams 3.7 trips into the red zone per game, which is tied for 28th.
Defensive tackle and captain Kobie Turner raised the issue of allowing too many long drives following the Eagles loss, and defensive coordinator Chris Shula agreed with the assessment.
“Some of that, especially the other night, they were in third downs a decent amount of time and it was a third and favorable,” Shula said. “Then, finding a way to get stops, finding a way to play, get them off track, get them into 2nd-and-longs where you get those 3rd-longs, and you can earn the right to rush the passer.”
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Entering Week 13, it’s not encouraging that the Rams are still struggling to find consistency in their execution. But to this point, it hasn’t upended their season. The wild card might be out of reach, but the NFC West title is still up for grabs.
But that starts with a road win against a Saints team playing with nothing to lose.
“We know that it’s going to be a great challenge, especially at their place. It’ll be rocking atmosphere and environment with the holidays and the momentum they have,” McVay said. “We’ve a lot of guys that are experiencing things for the first time. I have seen the resolve of this group show itself. Now, we’ve to do it.”
RAMS (5-6) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-7)
When: 1:05 p.m. Sunday
Where: Superdome, New Orleans
TV/radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 382, 226