The Los Angeles Rams suffered their first loss of the season in Week 3, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles 33-26. It’s a game that the Rams probably should have won after leading 26-7 in the third quarter and then having an opportunity at a game-winning field goal on the final play. This is arguably one of the more disappointing losses under head coach Sean McVay. Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. Rams offense came out buzzing
For the entire first half, it looked as if Rams head coach Sean McVay had put defensive coordinator Vic
Fangio through a blender. While Matthew Stafford threw an interception to start the game, that was the only bad play for the offense for the first 30 minutes. Throughout the entire first half, the Rams offense couldn’t be stopped. They were running the ball well and Davante Adams picked up where he left off last week. The Rams scored five times in the first half. That’s a huge testament to the game plan that McVay had coming into the game.
During the first half, it seemed as if McVay had sat on the Eagles loss all offseason and was ready for this matchup. He seemed determined not to allow that to happen again. This was an offense that punted one time during this game. They didn’t finish how they wanted, but during the first half, the Eagles had no answers.
2. Defense looked like the real deal
For the entire first half and much of the fourth quarter, the Rams defense looked like the real deal. Coming into the game, they ranked second in defense EPA per play and DVOA. After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive following the interception, they forced four consecutive three-and-outs. The pass rush was getting to Jalen Hurts and they were shutting down Saquon Barkley. In the first half, Barkley had nine carries for 14 yards.
To start the second half, Jared Verse forced a fumble and the offense was able to score a touchdown. To put it simply, the defense looked dominant. Despite a poor third quarter, they got a fourth down stop in the fourth. There were a lot of things to like about this group, but after taking a big lead, it seemed as if they couldn’t make a play when they needed one. In the second half, they allowed three conversions of 3rd-and-10.
3. Good mix of Williams and Corum
The Rams seemed to find something last week when they got both Blake Corum and Kyren Williams running together in the fourth quarter. That continued into this game. In the first half, Williams had 11 carries for 56 yards while Corum had six carries for 40 yards. The touchdown from Adams came off of a play-action fake to Corum.
When all was said and done, Williams finished with 20 carries to nine from Corum. However, that’s much closer to the split that would be nice to see going forward. Corum added an element of speed and creativity to the run game and Williams had his best output of the season. As a duo, they combined for over 140 yards rushing. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
4. Cornerbacks are a problem
Following the injury to Ahkello Witherspoon, it is clear that the Rams have a problem at cornerback. The Rams have several cornerbacks that are good CB2 caliber players. They don’t have a player as that top level cornerback. Cobie Durant probably had his worst game of the season and Darious Williams wasn’t good. Instead of competing, Williams did a terrible acting job, trying to get a pass interference penalty. He then gave up a catch on 3rd-and-10 later in the game. Forbes is fine, but gave up the game-winning touchdown.
For much of the game, the Rams defense played well. However, the Eagles started to find success once they started to test the cornerbacks on the perimeter. Witherspoon will be out for the next 2-3 months. This is going to be a situation to monitor and see if the Rams opt to make a trade or try to bring someone in to help.
5. Matthew Stafford not sharp
Through the first two games, Matthew Stafford had mostly been good. However, Stafford missed multiple easy throws in this game that would have been the difference. He overthrew Adams in the red zone that led to a field goal and then missed a wide open Puka Nacua late in the half that led to another field goal. On the play before the Coleman Shelton holding penalty, it appeared as if Adams was open on a slant. Stafford sailed the ball over Adams’ head.
This isn’t to say that Stafford was bad. He made some good throws in this game. Still, he was only 19-for-33 and there are certainly some throws that he would like back. The Rams needed Stafford at his best today and he started the game with an interception and then missed too many routine throws.
6. Too many field goals
When the Rams have lost to good teams over the last few years, there has been a common theme. That theme has been settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. In the playoff loss in 2023, the Rams were 0-for-3 in the red zone while the Detroit Lions were 3-for-3. The Rams were 2-for-5 in the red zone in the loss to the Lions in Week 1 last year. They were 2-for-5 in the red zone in the playoff loss to the Eagles and they were 2-for-5 on Sunday.
It’s fair to say that the Rams had a touchdown taken from them following a holding on Coleman Shelton. At the same time, Stafford missed a few routine throws to Adams and Nacua that would have kept drives going. An argument could be made that McVay should have been more aggressive, but for the most part, McVay followed the analytics. The offense simply needs to be smarter in that area of the field and make plays. The big difference in this game was the Rams settling for three while the Eagles got touchdowns. Those four points missed begin to add up.
7. Special teams good until they weren’t
For much of this game, the Rams special teams was very good. On the final four drives of the first half, the Rams had a starting field position of the 44.5 yard line. A lot of this was because of Joshua Karty and his squib kick on the kickoff. Karty seems to have mastered the new kickoff rules. The Eagles consistently were starting inside their own 20-yard line. Additionally, Xavier Smith was good on the punt return unit and Karty was making his kicks.
It’s unfortunate that special teams were then the reason for the Rams losing this game. The Rams had two chances to extend their lead to eight and then a chance to kick a game-winning field goal. Both attempts were blocked due to breakdowns in protection up front. The two blocked field goals make it three in two weeks. It’s something that needs to get fixed.
8. Eagles had to thread a thin needle to beat this Rams team
The Rams losing this game was certainly disappointing as they were the better team for a lot of the game. They punted the ball one time on offense and at one point led 26-7. To put it simply, the Rams were dominating the defending Super Bowl champions at home. It’s almost unfathomable that the Rams found a way to lose this game.
However, it’s also important to put the loss in perspective. It took the Eagles converting four times on fourth down, including the game-winning touchdown. The Rams had not one, but two field goals blocked, including what would have been the game-winning field goal. That doesn’t mention that the Rams had a touchdown taken away that would have put them up 17-7. A potential field goal opportunity was taken away because of a taunting penalty on Puka Nacua. The point here is that for the Eagles to come back, numerous things had to go their way. That’s not to say that they were lucky, but it took the Eagles threading an extremely thin needle for this team to lose.
9. Was this worst loss of McVay era?
While it took a lot of things going against the Rams for them to lose this game, it’s hard to say that this wasn’t the worst loss of the Sean McVay era. They’ve gotten blown out in the past and given up a double-digit halftime lead. In Week 18 of the 2021 season, the Rams lost 27-24 to the San Francisco 49ers, falling in overtime. The Rams led this game by 19 points and lost in regulation.
For much of the McVay era, the Rams have had a very strong record when leading at halftime. McVay had typically done a good job managing those situations. They may have been the better team on Sunday and probably should have won. However, they weren’t and they didn’t. This could be the type of loss that is difficult for a younger team to get over.
10. Loss doesn’t change anything
At the end of the day, this loss shouldn’t change anything. If anything, this might be the rare good loss. Coming into the season, many would have had the Rams losing to the Eagles on the road. They weren’t favorites in this game and had a chance at the end to kick a field goal that would have won it. The narrative can’t completely change because of a blocked kick.
This loss shows what the Rams are capable of. They are still one of the top contenders in the NFC and they are going to be a very difficult team to beat. Again, it took two blocked field goals and for the Eagles to go 4-for-5 on fourth down to win. The Rams were a serious contender before the blocked field goal and they are still a serious contender. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that they need to clean up, but there are things to be optimistic about going forward.
