The Los Angeles Rams were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 27-7, losing in the NFL's first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia. Here are five observations from the embarrassing defeat.
Shanahan and Morris were masterful. Their understudies were not.
One has to hope that the reason why the Rams played as awfully as they did was the travel. I do not share that hope. Sean McVay and Chris Shula got outclassed by Kyle Shanahan and Raheem Morris. Shanahan relied on his usual tactics of targeting the Rams' underbelly with the pass, while softening up their interior with the run. After enough times, Shanahan pulled the defense in to take the top off.
Morris knows McVay like the back of his championship hand. It was the second straight year that Morris outmaneuvered every attack McVay threw at him. It's
not surprising that Morris is behind the Rams' two ugliest losses in recent memory.
This is a third straight year that Shanahan has run the same thing against Shula and succeeded. When both sides are at full strength, the Rams lose, and relying on a battle of attrition to beat the 49ers over the course of the season isn't exactly an awful move, but it's one that reeks of defeatism. The Rams were defeated decisively. Aaron Donald isn't fixing this.
How badly do the Rams miss Mike LaFleur and Aubrey Pleasant?
LaFleur left for Arizona, and it appears he took the Rams' short passing attack with him. The offense could not move the ball through the air at all, and despite the addition of Kliff Kingsbury and the elevation of Nate Scheelhaase, the McVay offense was pedestrian.
The revamped secondary looked even worse. How does a unit add an All-Pro and another Super Bowl champion, just for them to get torn apart all game long? The 49ers had one game plan: target Quentin Lake. And all of a sudden, the team's most consistent defensive back is getting picked on. Kam Kinchens looked lost in space again, as he did as a rookie. It was a mess.
The Rams called Aubrey Pleasant the best defensive back developer in football last season. One has to ask what they lost, and what can Jimmy Lake do to get his men right.
The Rams have regressed offensively
The offense was inefficient, with Matthew Stafford's overt targeting of Puka Nacua having conjured images of when he would do the same with Cooper Kupp in 2023. Kupp wasn't at his best at that point, and the constant bombardment would stall drives before they could even get started.
Instead of a regressing Nacua, it's the scheme that has failed to stay ahead of the defensive curve, with Nacua being blanketed by defenders. The tight ends were around but could not break through as receivers, and the rushing attack's effectiveness is stifled by its predictability and the quickness with which McVay reverted back to the pass.
Stafford requires a rhythm to get into the game. Whenever McVay is insistent on the pass in the first half, Stafford struggles. He's like an old-school engine. Use the run, play action, and quick pass to get him going before he can launch bombs. Instead, he's blind firing into crowds of defenders.
The play calls were poor, and the sequencing was worse.
The Rams need Aaron Donald more than they realized, and Myles Garrett can be schemed out of the game
Garrett's presence was non-existent on Thursday, and it wasn't his fault. The 49ers did not put the ball anywhere near him so that he could make a play. The attacks were smart and simple from the 49ers, but it was San Francisco's high level of execution that led to the blowout victory.
Their interior defense was weak at the point of attack. Los Angeles has to hope that Donald can swing the fortunes of their pass rush because Brock Purdy was too comfortable for too long. The Rams got smoked, and considering their defense wasn't this poor to start last season, one has to wonder, what exactly did Los Angeles lose when it parted ways with Jared Verse?
Probably wouldn't be much of a difference.
The special teams had a strong debut
There's a lot of negative to take from this game, but on the bright side, the Rams' special teams had zero issues. There was a 45-yard kick return, but the punt coverage was solid, Ethan Evans was good, and Harrison Mevis made his only kick of the day. Bubba Ventrone's group was ready, and that's all you can ask for.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 5 takeaways from Rams' embarrassing Week 1 loss to 49ers
