Survive and advance has been the Los Angeles Rams playoff mantra and the mystical potentialities are still in force. This Sunday it’s on to the NFC Championship and a third matchup of the season with the Seattle
Seahawks. The game pits the League’s #1 offense (L.A.) against the #1 defense (Seattle).
While the Seahawks have certainly carried their ranking high down the stretch and into the playoffs, the Rams offense doesn’t always appear to be firing on all eight cylinders. What was thought to be a letdown from not winningg the West Division title and it’s #1 seed, has now lingered on through two playoff games.
Since Week 16, the Rams offense, no matter who the opponent, has drifted off to sleep for parts of games.Their record in that time is 3-2 and yes, the yardage and points are still good, but something feels amiss as the offense has a string of poor possessions in seemingly every game.
Divisional Round @ Chicago Bears
Even though the weather was miserable, the two teams did their best to make it a shootout, combining to run 154 plays for 786 gross yards. That’s a lot of offense for 20-17 overtime game in a bone-chilling clime. The Rams moved right down the field for a touchdown on their first possession at 6:24 of the 1st quarter, but would not pierce the Bears goal line again until the 4th. In that 36 minutes, the L.A. offense would tally one field goal across seven drives, the rest were punts. A total of 98 yards with three 3-and-outs.
Wildcard Round @ Carolina Panthers
In Round 1 of the playoffs, the Rams didn’t have problems rolling up yards, nor points, but after going ahead 17-7 with 5:24 left in the 1st half, L.A. only added a field goal until the 14:34 mark of the 4th quarter. Over that 21 minutes, the Rams had six possessions for 83 yards, a failed 4th down conversion, and a pair of 3-and-outs.
Week 18 @ Arizona Cardinals
There’s nothing like a game with the lowly Cardinals to rejuvenate your offense and put a break into a narrative. The Rams did have consecutive 3-and-outs to start the second half, but ended up scoring in every quarter.
Week 17 @ Atlanta Falcons
After the crushing Seahawk loss, the Rams came out flat on the road against Atlanta. The lull lasted the entirety of the first half. On six drives, the L.A. offensive output was a paltry 113 net yards on 28 plays. Included in that 30 minutes were two 3-and-out punts, two interceptions, a failed 4th down conversion, and a drive with 1:28 left in the the half that totaled 11 yards and ended with a sack
Week 16 @ Seattle Seahawks
L.A. moved the ball at will until the 4th quarter and raced to a 30-14 lead with 13:34 left to play. That would be it until overtime. The Rams would get five more possessions in the final stanza and only pierce Seattle territory on one those drives. Chalk it up to four punts with three 3-and-outs. Their one decent drive, 51 yards, ended with a missed 48-yard field goal.
What can the Rams do to improve
One thing that sticks out and is quite obvious, converting more 3rd down opportunities. Over this stretch of games and throwing out the Cardinals game, the Rams are converting at 33.8%, a number that would have been in the 2025-26 regular season Bottom 5. On plays of three yards or less to convert, the Rams succeed at 52.6%. Since better teams are above 60 percent and upwards to 70, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Interestingly on 3rd and 3 or less, the Rams thrown 68% and ran 32% over this stretch.
Be ready to run the ball. According to NFL Pro, the Seahawks have went against their tendencies in the two previous games with L.A. Seattle has not loaded the box (more defenders than blockers close to the line of scrimmage) against the Rams, which they like to do. Instead stepping away from their extensive two-high zone coverage and nickel formations. Opting for more dime, base formations and single-high coverages. In theory and keeping it simple, you run the ball and play action pass targeting the middle of the field versus a two-deep zone and go deeper and to the sidelines against a single-high.
Anything to learn from the past?
In Week 11, the Rams offense struggled mightily, but the defense provided four pass interceptions while the offense cashed in touchdowns on 3 of 4 trips into Seahawk territory. It was enough to gut out a 21-19 win. In Week 16, the two teams combined for over 1000 yards of offense and 75 points. When L.A was hot they looked invincible, scoring on 6 of their first seven possessions, but when they hit that lull, they were ice cold and Seattle re-organized and got the overtime win 38-37.
How do you think the NFC Championship Game plays out?
