What must LA Rams do to win in Week 4 against the 2-1 Colts?

IV: Rams must win the time of possession and avoid turnovers

The problem with the LA Rams abandoing a rushing attack for a full-fledged and exclusive passing attack is not simply the torque and burden that the decision places on the Rams young and still congealing offensive line. It's the stress that the pass-only places on the Rams young and inexperienced receivers to hit their marks at the right moment in time.

For the Rams to gain confidence this season, the LA Rams coaching staff has to exhibit a bit more trust and confidence in this young Rams roster. Passing the football exclusively has many disadvantages for the overall team. It gives a time of possession advantage to the opposing team. The Rams aggressive passing style of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford will result in higher than expected turnovers, and the Rams will find themselves in a vicious cycle of trying to play catch up in the game by utilizing strategies that will keep them playing from behind.

This is a 17 game season. Just like 2022, the Rams cannot afford to burn through veterans at the mid-season mark by unwise strategy.

Establishing the pass means establishing the run

As an example, let's focus on the way the Rams offense uses running back Kyren Williams. In Week 1, he rushed the football 15 times for 52 yards. By Week 2, the Rams had placed disgruntled RB Cam Akers on the trade block, leaving Williams to handle the load. In Week 2, the Rams rushed Kyren Williams 14 times for 52 yards. Okay, so it was only his first game as the 'featured' running back. But in Week 3, against the worst rushing defense in the NFL, the Rams only rushed Kyren Williams 10 times for 38 yards.

Meanwhile, thanks to no threat from a ground assault, both the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals defenses were able to pin their ears back, sell out on rushing the passer, and forced Rams QB Stafford to throw two interceptions in each of the past two games respectively.

Until the LA Rams force teams to respect their run, their willingness to shift to pass-only offensive play-calling is just going to be a repeat of the same outcomes. The LA Rams need to run the football, control the game clock, and ultimately win the turnover battle. If the Rams continue to give the football away at two interceptions per game, I'm afraid they will struggle to win any games for the rest of this season.