An ugly game will haunt the LA Rams as they take to the road

After the LA Rams reach 3-1, the team is left with more questions than ever

The LA Rams needed a win desperately in week four and were able to scratch and claw out a  victory. But after a lackluster offensive display where the Rams seemed unable to do much of anything on offense, the win feels hollow.  It was as though the LA Rams skipped several meals, only to sit down and feast on a rice cake.  It was a win, but it was not one to hold up to the light and show off, nor one to place up for display.  It was ugly. It was unimpressive. But it was then, now, and tomorrow, a win.

The Rams were coming off a hard-fought last-minute loss and flirted with a second such outcome for virtually the entire game. After a methodical drive that put the Rams up by seven points to open the game, the Rams offense stalled and appeared to be confused, lethargic, and at times disinterested.  The Rams were lucky to win this one. Well, the offense was lucky.

Defense dominated

The defense earned this one. They were on the field for over 33 minutes because the offense insisted on going three-and-out this week.  Thankfully, the Rams have punter Johnny Hekker, who helped the Rams defense by booming five punts at an average of 56 yards per kick. The Giants only managed to average 43.2 yards per punt.

The Rams did find a path to the quarterback, recording five sacks on the day. And the secondary was much improved, as both Darious Williams and Troy Hill had two pass deflections apiece. But it was the play of Rams cornerback Darious Williams, who intercepted a Daniel Jones pass on the seven-yard line with time running out that truly sealed the victory.

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Rams rushers just bad

The LA Rams offensive line, the talk of the town so far, came crashing back to earth in this one. Quarterback Jared Goff never seemed settled. But the true eyesore was the Rams’ complete lack of a running attack. While fans cried for Darrell Henderson to get into the game, he did.  The Rams rushed Malcolm Brown nine times for 37 yards, and Henderson eight times for 22 yards. By the end of the game, the Rams had rushed 23 times for 58 yards and a paltry 2.5 YPC average.  The Giants rushed 25 times for 136 yards for a 5.4 average on the ground.

Goff had a subpar performance.  While he completed 25 of 32 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, he was sacked twice. He did manage to help the Rams win this one with a strike to Cooper Kupp for the last score of the game.  But in the end, the Giants were far too competitive in this game which should have been decided by four touchdowns.  For all of the strides the offensive line had been making, they gave up nearly all of the positive ground in this one.

Regroup Rams, if you can

The Rams win their third game of the season, and second home game. But this was an ugly win. This was a win that felt more like a loss than their loss to the Buffalo Bills did. The Rams looked tired and now have two more road games. We’ll analyze the game and give plenty of insight for the upcoming week.

The Rams did show sparks on defense. They didn’t allow a touchdown and had three solid stops in the red zone to force the Giants to kick field goals.  Throughout the game, there was the underlying feud between Golden Tate’s anger towards Jalen Ramsey. That was held in check until the game was over when Tate launched at Ramsey at midfield.  The game was over at that point, and hopefully, the NFL Commissioner’s office will not intervene over the fracas.

As for us? It’s time to digest this game and look ahead to next week. But this one will be more painful than a week ago.