St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles struggles to cope with the Packers defense

By Adam Buttigieg | Oct 13, 2015

In Week 5 of the 2015 regular season, the St. Louis Rams faced the Green Bay Packers, making the Packers the second consecutive undefeated team that the Rams have faced this season. The fortress that is Lambeau Field is legendary, and the history speaks for itself, with the Rams knowing that defeating the ‘Cheeseheads’ at their home ground would be difficult to overcome. The Rams fell to the Packers 10-24, as the Packers increased their unbeaten run to 5-0 in 2015, with the Rams now sitting on a 2-3 record.

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The St Louis offense showcased their potential in the 24-22 win over the Cardinals, and were looking to continue this trend, however, there were missed opportunities, which prevented the Rams from carrying out the win. The offensive struggle began early for the Rams, and Foles was mainly to blame, throwing for 143 yards, and a totalling 4 interceptions, one resulting in a Packers defensive touchdown.

Foles was put under pressure quickly after each snap, being forced to make his descion quickly. Foles is known for his ball protection, and his ability to choose the safe option, however, rather than going down with the ball or releasing the ball to the sideline, he continued to force the play, which resulted in multiple turnovers.

This was far from Foles’ best showing, and this was only compounded by careless penalties. Throughout the game, the Rams were called multiple times for delay-of-game, and were forced to burn timeouts to evade this penalty on more than one occassion. These penalties continued to pile up, setting the team back five to ten yards a clip. The receiving corps also struggled in Green Bay with many attempts being dropped, when they should have been caught.

Despite this offensive lapse, there were positives to take away from the loss. Gurley notched 159 yards on 30 carries; a huge workload for the rookie. The offensive line is still under performing, although it seems to be improving, showing more productivity in the run game than before.

Oct 4, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Gurley is beginning to time his cuts well with Greg Robinson and Jamon Brown, often running to the left side of the line. The offensive line needs to protect Foles much better on passing plays as he was often under too much pressure throughout the game on Sunday.

One player who is showing his value in Frank Cignetti Jr’s offensive scheme is Tavon Austin. Austin has produced a touchdown in two consecutive games now, and his showing his explosive speed and versatility. Both in rushing and passing, Austin is becoming much more involved, and is continuing to help the Rams move the ball down the field.

Despite the loss to this strong team, the Rams are developing week-by-week. The defensive roster in St. Louis has proved its elite stature in the league, breaking Aaron Rodgers’ 587 consecutive pass attempts at home, where he had not thrown an interception.

The St. Louis defense forced three total turnovers from Rodgers, as they improve. Offensively there is still plenty of room for improvement. However, the team seems to be slowly forming an understanding even with the pitfalls.

Foles’ bad performance prevented the offense from producing in this game. Foles will be expected to bounce back from this performance after the upcoming bye-week, as the Rams enter the meat of the season which will eventually determine their playoff chances in 2015.

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