Harrison Mevis' limitations are becoming a major problem for the Rams

Los Angeles, we have a problem. 

Many problems, actually, and count kicker Harrison Mevis among them. Entering the season, Los Angeles Rams fans were already wondering whether the team would trust Mevis to extend his range. Since coming over from the UFL, Mevis has attempted one field goal of 50-plus yards in 26 tries, which he made. 

This season, though, he is just 3-of-5 on kicks from at least 40 yards out, including a miss from 48 against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Look, misses happen. Mevis mangling a field goal in Week 4 is not the problem. It wasn't even the most damning reflection of the Rams' lack of confidence in their kicker. That would come later in the game, when they left the offense out on a fourth-and-eight from the Eagles' 36. They didn't get it, but that wasn't the problem. 

Let's face it. The Rams don't have a real kicker, and they need to go out and get one - or at least bring in some competition - before Mevis costs them games.

Harrison Mevis will cost Rams offense before long

LA's fourth-and-eight gamble was not an unfamiliar or even an unsurprising instance. Outside the 30, head coach Sean McVay consistently attempts to convert fourth-and-medium rather than trust Mevis to make what in today's NFL is a routine kick. Because he can't trust him. 

And that's to say nothing of Mevis shanking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff after the Rams punched in their first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns. That put the Eagles on their own 40, in prime position to salt the game away. The defense bailed out Mevis just like it bailed out the whole rest of the team all day long. 

Mevis deserves credit for knocking through chip shots. He remains perfect on extra points this season. He made 12 of 13 field goals last regular season, and went 6-for-6 in the playoffs. 

But even assuming his point-blank precision continues, any small gains made there, relative to league average, won't outweigh the crippling negatives. It's not so much that Mevis has missed from 43 and 48 this season, kicks that in this day and age a solid college kicker should make. No one's perfect, not even in the pros.

It's more so that McVay's best move is leaving out the offense on fourth-and-long because he doesn't, and shouldn't, trust Mevis. How many times this season will the Rams miss out on a 58-yard field goal try before the half or near the end of games because Mevis doesn't have the range? 

For all Matthew Stafford's mistakes thus far, he's still an assassin in crunch time. Give No. 9 forty-five seconds and no timeouts down three and he'll get you in field-goal range. 

Getting in the end zone, although the Rams did on Sunday, can be another issue. This offense is not a juggernaut. McVay can't count on getting seven every time; no team can. The situation doesn't always advise going for it. A good but flawed offense needs a kicker who can, well, kick. 

Right now, Mevis isn't it. 

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