LA Rams create turnovers, but didn’t make plays in disappointing opener

The LA Rams wanted to put on a good show in their home opener but those plans were scuttled in the second half of Week 1. This was never going to be an easy game, and for the remaining 13 NFL teams that the Rams will face later in the season, there are likely some that are licking their chops to play against the Rams.

A lot of streaks ground to a halt for the Rams in this one. The Rams’ streak of opening a new NFL season with a win is over in LA Rams head coach Sean McVay’s sixth season. The Rams are now 5-1 in Week1 for Coach McVay. And on the season, the Rams open 0-1.

Let’s not build a mountain out of this molehill. This is one game, a game that may serve far more good for the Rams than we can decipher right now. It was the first time that the LA Rams witnessed their starting players actually compete. In many ways, this was both dress rehearsal and opening night for the team’s 30 or so players that never saw a single offensive snap in the preseason.

The LA Rams were absolutely a den of thieves in the opener, creating four turnovers in this one. Both DB Troy Hill and OLB Terrell Lewis scored interceptions, while OLB Leonard Floyd and OLB Justin Hollins recovered fumbles. Unfortunately, that was just one of two obvious highlights for the team in this one.

There were other less obvious positives in the game, and we’ll be exploring those in the next couple of days as well.

This game exposed the Rams for what they didn’t do, not for what they cannot do. Such as?

(1)  The Rams didn’t involve WR Allen Robinson in the offense (one target, one reception for 12 yards)
(2) The Rams didn’t convert Buffalo Bills turnovers into points. (four turnovers were created resulting in a punt, a turnover, a field goal, and a turnover on downs)
(3) The Rams did not hold the Buffalo Bills’ offense in check when they turned the ball over (three turnovers resulting in a field goal, a touchdown, and a turnover)
(4) The Rams did not protect starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, giving up seven sacks and losing 49 yards.
(5) The Rams’ offense did not move the football well. The Rams could only generate 243 yards of offensive, nearly half of the Bills’ 413 yards of offense.

The good news is that each item in the list above can be coachable and corrected. The Rams have a period of 10 days before they will be tested on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.

We know what the Rams didn’t do in Week 1. Now we wait to see what the Rams will do about it.