LA Rams offense falls from highly explosive to a complete embarrassment

The LA Rams offense with DeSean Jackson averaged nearly 31 points per game. After the Rams released DeSean Jackson? The team has averaged 13 points a game and averaged giving the opposing defense seven points per game. In the Monday Night Football game, the LA advanced the football into the Red Zone on four occasions and emerged with only one touchdown.

DeSean Jackson may have had no bearing on the success of this offense before his release, nor on the woes suffered since his release. But his release coincided with the transition from a very dangerous offense to an inept, pass-happy turnover-ridden debacle.  The worst offensive output from this team in a very long time occurred in Week 10, after a ridiculously ineffective offensive effort in Week 9. And there may not be an end in sight.

Everyone wants to immolate the LA Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, but the problem over these past two games has been the bumbling offense.  In the past two games, the offense began the game with two interceptions. One leading to the opposing offense scoring a quick touchdown. The second to a complete pick-six. Spotting the opponents with 14 points in two consecutive games leads to two consecutive losses.

And yes, the Rams defense cannot stop the run. The Rams refused to run the ball to help out their defense. So the Time of Possession ends with a two-to-one advantage for the 49ers:

49ers – 39:03
Rams – 20:57

With the loss, the Rams have allowed the San Francisco 49ers to resuscitate their playoff hopes for the 2021 NFL season, at the expense of their own hopes to win the division.

The Rams offense was embarrassing. Sure the Rams could move the football. But the team made it to the 49ers Red Zone on four occasions and had to settle for just 10 points. The Rams ran the ball well but only ran the football 10 times.

Now, just to indicate how infuriating that game plan was, this was the game with the Rams relying on rookie Ben Skowronek and the debut of OBJ, who had two practices. The Rams threw to Skowronek five times, and he caught one pass for eight yards. The Rams threw to Odell Beckham Jr. three times, and he caught two for 11 yards. Eight passes for 19 yards. That is nearly as often as the offense ran the ball.

We’ll sort this all out in the days ahead. But one thing is certain. The Rams cannot win by passing alone. So until this team commits to running the ball, we will just have to sit back and bite our tongues. The Rams still need five more wins to guarantee a playoff berth. Unfortunately, their ability to win even three more games is in question.