One thing we’ve been harping on in this space all season is LA’s inability to grab early leads. The Rams have been shut out in the first quarter seven times in 10 games.
Can you guess the only team in the NFL that’s been more sluggish out of the gates?
The Philadelphia Eagles. They’ve gone scoreless in eight first frames!
According to league research, the Rams -50 point differential in the first quarter is the worst in the NFL, while the Eagles -26 margin is 7th-worst.
Considering they have 13 wins, combined, I’m uncertain what the takeaway is here. But McVay told us this week in no uncertain terms that it’s unacceptable.
“Here’s what I would say: We need to convert on third down. It’s as simple as that,” the head coach told us Monday after the Rams went 2-of-8 on the money down in New England. “We’ve got to make those plays. We’ve got to be able to handle some of the movement (up front from the defense), and we’ve got to throw and catch, and we’re capable of doing that. And I won’t apologize for the expectations that I have.”
To McVay’s point, among qualifying quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford‘s passer rating on third down this season ranks ahead of only Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Certainly, that’s a byproduct of the injury disruption along his offensive line and in his receiving corps. Now that there’s some stability around him, a significant uptick in performance on third down will be essential to the Rams’ chances on Sunday and in the second half of this season.
The Rams would have blown out the Patriots in Week 11 with a few more third down conversions and a 26-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
Instead, the franchise is back on the kicker rollercoaster, with setbacks on kickoff and punt team, to boot. (But we see you Michael Hoecht, with another blocked PAT.)
Frankly, it’s going around the league, and rookie placekicker Joshua Karty is not alone.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, one of the most accurate in league history, missed from 44 and 51 yards, plus an extra point try last Thursday night against the Commanders. He’s now missed five through 10 games, matching the most misfires in a single season in his career.
Future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker failed on a couple field goals against Pittsburgh, costing Baltimore another game (he’s missed at least one kick in all four of the Ravens losses).
Evan…
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