Rams can't keep having Matthew Stafford throw 50 times a game

After the Los Angeles Rams dropped another prime-time game in Week 5, fans were quick to point to special teams as the culprit. And in many ways, they are correct. But the team has fallen back into its all-too-familiar bad habit of abandoning the run, going almost entirely with the pass, and ending up in the loss column.

NFL analyst Brian Baldinger pointed to the fact that teams who pass 50+ times in a game are incredibly unsuccessful (1-8 entering Week 5). Lo and behold, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown the football 50+ times in each of the past three games, and LA is 1-2.

While that may not establish causality, it does confirm Baldy's assertion of a correlation.

LA has an offense that can move the chains and gain yards. It tops the NFL in that category. But it's a middle-of-the-road offense when it comes to scoring points. One significant factor in that disparity is the fact that the Rams are far too pass-happy for their own good.

Defenses are happy to pin their ears back and play the pass exclusively.

Rams' imbalanced offense is not a winning approach

And we've noticed. Despite an effective rushing attack led by the one-two punch of running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, the Rams continue to abandon the run in very winnable games. Los Angeles is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, good for 10th in the league.

The problem with LA's offensive game plan is two-fold. The team is parking a very effective component of the overall offense at idle. Failing to run the football not only lets defenders sell out against the pass, it hampers the ground game itself when and even if the offense wishes to commit to it. It's hard for running backs to establish a rhythm if they never carry the rock.

Pass blocking sets offensive linemen on their heels. Run blocking gives those same offensive linemen the green light to pancake anyone in their way.

The second problem: Stafford is 38 years old. The most passes he has thrown in a season is 727 for the 2014 Detroit Lions. He is currently on track to throw 734 passes in 2026. Sure, Stafford leads the league in passing yards, but do the Rams really want to wear out his arm in regular-season games, long before reaching the playoffs?

They needn't ride Stafford's arm to ensure the win. LA abandoned the run in Weeks 3 and 5 and lost both games. In fact, that Rams trend seems to repeat itself year after year.

The offense will eventually shake itself out if its slumber and get back to running the football. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.

As always, thanks for reading.

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