St. Louis Rams can’t get out of their own way in loss to Vikings

The St. Louis Rams let another winnable game slip through their fingers on Sunday afternoon in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings, 21-18. The offense struggled all afternoon as the Rams couldn’t find much down the field, and rookie running back Todd Gurley wasn’t enough this time around. Despite a last second effort to force overtime with a long Greg Zeurlein field goal, the Vikings stood fast and improved to 6-2 on the year and move into first place in the NFC North.

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It was a difficult offensive performance to watch as a St. Louis fan. The team posted 320 total yards of offense, the vast majority coming on short plays and and runs. Very rarely did quarterback Nick Foles take shots down field, and when he did, the balls were usually overthrown. The lone bright spot on offense was Gurley for the fifth consecutive week. Gurley rushed for 89-yards and the teams only touchdown. He also added 20-yards through the air.

Gurley, maybe not surprisingly, was out dueled by the All-Pro Adrian Peterson. Peterson, who the Rams did an excellent job containing in the early parts of the game, ran wild in the latter half for 125-yards and a touchdown.

The most concerning aspect of the loss was the inability the offense to move the ball downfield through the air. Foles was 18 of 33 for 168 yards in the game. Foles spent most of his afternoon under pressure, which has become the norm in St. Louis, but when he had his opportunities he either missed his receiver, or opted to check down to another option. A lot of criticism falls on the receiving corps in St. Louis, and rightfully so, but it’s high time some of that falls on Foles and his deficiencies throwing the ball.

Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) walks off the field after being injured after a late hit during the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Rams 21-18. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Wide receiver Kenny Britt lead the way for the Rams with three catches for 87-yards. 55 of those yards came on one play. The next receiver up, was tight end Jared Cook. Cook brought in two balls for 25-yards. The passing game wasn’t much better for the Vikings with rookie Stefan Diggs leading the way with three catches for 42-yards. However, after starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with a concussion, the passing game was nonexistent for the Vikings.

Bridgewater, who prior to his concussion had thrown for 144-yards and rushed for a touchdown and two-point conversion, took a hard hit from St. Louis safety LaMarcus Joyner as he slid into the turf after a rushing play. Bridgewater stayed down for some time after the hit, which will surely be reviewed by the league and proper discipline handed down, and did not return to the game. Former Rams, Shaun Hill came in for the injured Bridgewater and ended the day 2 of 6 for 15-yards.

It didn’t take long for the loss of Bridgewater to become apparent as the passing game took a severe nosedive once Hill entered the game. Peterson became the prominent piece of the offense, but it was the late game blunders that allowed the Rams to force overtime. With less than two minutes remaining Hill took an 11-yard sack deep in Vikings territory that they could not recover from. Minnesota was forced to punt and St. Louis would tie the game just a few plays later to force overtime.

Penalties once again hurt the Rams. 12 penalties on the afternoon afforded the Vikings 87-yards, most of which allowed for key first downs or field position. There were very few inconsequential penalties in this one.

Now, at 4-4, still middling in the NFC West, St. Louis has some serious evaluations to make. On the road to another mediocre season with another missed opportunity to help their postseason push, the Rams need to reset and reload for Week 10. Allowing the Vikings to slip away with a win was a serious blow to St. Louis’ playoff hopes, and head coach Jeff Fisher’s seat is beginning to heat up once again. The Rams will return to the Edward Jones Dome next week to take on the Chicago Bears (2-5). Let’s hope it will be a better showing than this.