Suddenly, LA Rams QB Jared Goff cannot find the endzone

Despite facing the worst pass defense in the NFL, LA Rams QB Jared Goff was unable to pass for a touchdown

The LA Rams saw the Seattle Seahawks potent offense and had to think, as we did, that they would need to win a shootout. Shootouts are games where one or both teams score more than 30 points. The Rams had only done so once this season. The Seahawks had only failed to do so once this season.

So going into the game, the game plan had to include plenty of touchdowns. Scoring via the run. Scoring via the pass, and even scoring on special teams. The Seattle Seahawks averaged nearly five touchdowns per game, while the Rams were somewhere around three touchdowns and a field goal average. So without even knowing the game plan, it doesn’t take a mind-reader to figure out the basics. Score on offense, stop the Seahawks from scoring on defense.

About that first part…

The LA Rams defense certainly stepped up in a huge way. Shutting down the Seattle Seahawks to just 16 points was something far beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. Even the most optimistic among us were looking at holding the Seahawks to 27 points as a ceiling. But the other side of the equation was a hope for an offense to knock the roof out.

By all accounts, this was a game that the Rams should have expected a minimum of 35 points to compete. The Rams had to enter the game knowing a full-throttle offense was their best chance of emerging a winner. Full throttle offense at one point in time meant a 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018. It meant a 55-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. Now? The best this offense has done in 2020 was a 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills.