Jetlagged: LA Rams stuck in two win one loss holding pattern

What does this loss mean?

For the Rams playoff hopes, this is a loss. Just a loss. No more. No less. And with one more loss, the best that this Rams team can do this season is play to 11-5. Of course, the floor for this year has fallen from 10-6 and is now 9-7.  The Rams have fallen from first place in the NFC West to second place. in terms of the NFC Playoffs, the Rams have fallen from the third-seeded team to the fifth-seeded team. That difference means that should the Rams make the playoffs, they will play on the road.

Such a dramatic difference by falling short by three points. And yet, losing to a winless team with so much within the Rams grasp seems as though the team hasn’t been penalized enough.  This was a very important game. Winning had so much to gain. And yet, as we’ve talked about before, the Rams are stuck in a win, win, loss pattern.  While the Rams had every reason to hope that the team could break the streak for this game, now the badly shaken Rams must hope that the pattern holds for the next two games.

Remorse is not an emotion

The Rams’ pattern of losing with such regularity is almost beyond all reason. Does this team really expect to be awarded a win just by showing up? Is it a sign of a true competitor to lose a winnable game so completely with poor performances by virtually every aspect of the team? Even rookie running back Cam Akers, who did enough to earn another 100 yards one touchdown game was thwarted repeatedly by offensive penalties.

This team lacks emotion. Celebrating a touchdown is not emotion, it’s a reaction. Remorse is not an emotion, it is simply regret. There are many causes for this loss, but accountability can no longer be the cookie-cutter version of someone paying lip service to the words expected to be said after such a deflating loss. Many have already assigned blame.