The Los Angeles Rams lost their fourth game of the year to the New York Giants in London’s historic Twickenham Stadium on Sunday. They will now return home with a losing record for the first time since their week one loss. Though the defense was able to neutralize stars like Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr., a poor offense was unable to score effectively and gave New York’s defense opportunities to run away with the game.
Los Angeles Rams Week Seven Takeaways
Solid Defensive Play
Defense was not the problem this week. In fact, secondary players like Troy Hill, Lamarcus Joyner, and E.J. Gaines were solid against the triple threat receiving corps of the Giants. Eli Manning was unable to pass for 200 yards and Victor Cruz led the unit with only 55 yards receiving.
Veteran T.J. McDonald played strong and physical, knocking plenty of passes from the hands of receivers and keeping rushes to a minimum. To this point, the longest reception was a 25-yard grab from Cruz – a testament to the play of the safeties.
The secondary mismatch was a significant worry entering Sunday with leading corner Trumaine Johnson still unable to dress, but the Rams were excellent even in his absence. After a sloppy week six performance against the Detroit Lions, coordinator Gregg Williams righted the ship and got the job done this week.
The defensive line was stellar, as per usual. Even with no sacks to show for their efforts, Eli Manning was under pressure all game long and the rushing attack was nonexistent for New York, with only 36 yards. Robert Quinn returned right back to his old ways and players like Dominique Easley and Ethan Westbrooks continued to play solid defense every down.
As heartbreaking as the loss was to take, Rams fans should take some pleasure in seeing their defense shine again. New York’s offense only scored one field goal the entire game, which is a fantastic accomplishment, even if it was the only one worth noting this week.
Costly Penalties
The offensive side of the ball was not as pretty. They allowed 14 points off turnovers and in all reality, lost the game with the ball in their possession. However, before even looking at the errors in play, the focus must be drawn to the errors before play.
The Rams ended the game with eight total penalties for 43 yards, but the numbers were much more damaging than they appear. These flags became drive killers, momentum killers, and eventually a game killer. From holding to false starts, the offensive line took the lion’s share of flags with supposed stud Rob Havenstein getting some of the most debilitating calls. To be fair, special teams had its own problems with holding, as well.
It should be mentioned that the Rams often converted despite the flags, but entering the week with only two teams being more penalized is unacceptable. Even if the defense can shut down the opponent and the offense can convert where it counts, heavy penalties due to mental errors will sink any team. Penalties disrupt game flow and mental consistency. Yes, the Rams could convert long third downs, but they also could only score one touchdown. This is the residue of penalty after penalty, and it cannot continue.
The fact is that the Rams do not have a lot of A-list talent on offense. They have excellent players and a lot of sleepers, but they lack the Tom Brady/Julio Jones/DeMarco Murray that can repeatedly light up the field. With Todd Gurley struggling, they need to be solid mentally to win games. They have done so before and they can do so again.
Keenum is Not the Answer
This seems to be a point worth repeating. Case Keenum ended the game with four interceptions, 291 yards, and a touchdown pass. Interceptions are listed first here because they were the defining statistic of this game.
The first pick from safety Landon Collins was off a ball tipped by Tavon Austin, who failed Keenum by allowing a defender to grab it after the fact. It just so happened that Collins is unbelievably athletic and made a career play in taking it back for a score. Perhaps, this one can be written off and it cannot be held against Keenum.
However, history repeated itself when he overthrew his target and Collins once more grabbed an interception for what became a Giants’ score. To be sure, Keenum threw up two more interceptions, including one of the most painful to watch this year, to ice the game for the Giants in the fourth quarter. This came after he led them to a prime scoring chance to tie the game and take it into overtime.
Keenum marched them past some very adverse third and fourth down conversions and got the team their only touchdown as well. He also overthrew several big plays including a sure breakaway touchdown to Kenny Britt.
The question seems to get more and more pressing every week: when does Jared Goff start? Apparently not anytime soon, as coach Jeff Fisher, who is only five losses from becoming the NFL coach with the most defeats in history, has gone on record saying Keenum will continue to lead the Rams offense.
No matter how many fans and hashtags call for Goff, Fisher seems intent on sticking with the immensely inconsistent Keenum. Yes, he started strong and the wins came in early, but the losses have now officially overtaken them. Most would figure that a bye week would be a perfect chance to give Goff enough time to ease into the role and take control of the team he has been promised. Whether Fisher still feels the young quarterback is not ready or whether he is a gambling man and is choosing to let it ride, the results are set to be disastrous.
Keenum has had very poor performances and has been unable to record wins as of late. It is true that the losses cannot be solely attributed to him, but when a team spends so much on a draft pick and tells tales of their savior, fans have to wonder what is keeping Keenum in the lineup.
It would not be surprising to see offensive coordinator Rob Boras relieved of his duties soon as a sort of scapegoat for the poor managing by the team, but when does the head coach take accountability? When will Fisher address the issue staring him in the face and quit dodging the obvious next step? Los Angeles cannot and will not wait forever.
Conclusion
The Rams have now dropped three in a row and have fallen into old losing habits. The offense is not producing, and their future continues to ride the bench. With a bye coming up, the team has a lot to consider in terms of personnel and they have some big decisions to make. Hopefully, they will consider their fans in this decision making. The fans have waited so long for an NFL team and have been promised competent football. A fan base will not grow in this climate, and it runs the risk of decaying at the way this team is being led.
