Rams offense shows promise while defense gets rolled

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay saw his offense establish some consistency while his defense took it on the chin. LA now moves to 1-1, as the Redskins win in the Coliseum 27-20.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff tossed an interception with one minute and 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He eyeballed rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and Washington Redskins linebacker Mason Foster looked an easy interception into his stat line.

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Game over.

Redskins 27, Rams 20.

Over nearly eight quarters, Goff had looked every bit the No. #1 pick the Rams had hoped for. And while Los Angeles didn’t make the rapid descent on offense in the same manner they seemed to ascend a week earlier against Indianapolis, fans can be confident this isn’t your Jeff Fisher kind of football team.

Head coach Sean McVay has to be quietly confident (or not), that the consistency he hoped to see in the preseason is beginning to take hold two weeks into the regular season. Goff’s interception was bad on all levels from timing, to looking it into a defenders arms.

It’s a mistake he’ll learn from.

Also, Todd Gurley looked a world better this week, both running and catching the ball out of the backfield. Goff needs Gurley as much as Gurley needs Goff. In 2016, with the Rams offense stuck in the mud, it seemed hard to conceive a better situation than what we saw in Week 2. McVay has a full complement of weapons for his young quarterback, making it crystal clear that Week 1 was not a blip, but a definite trend.

As for the fly in the ointment, clearly the Los Angeles defense looked 50 shades of awful against the Redskins rushing attack. The Rams D allowed 229 yards on 39 Washington carries.

These quotes courtesy Alden Gonzalez at ESPN:

“We gotta play better on the run,” said LA defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

“We just weren’t playing physical enough to stop the run,” said Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree.

The Redskins moved the ball at will against a Los Angeles Rams defense that has been the organizations’ calling card.

Next: Rams game recap against Redskins

A season ago, Sunday in the Coliseum gets out of hand before halftime. But for a welcomed change, the Rams offense hung around long enough to give the Los Angeles defense a chance to make a play.

My, how times have changed.