The Los Angeles Rams' offensive unit suffered a 23-15 loss against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, ending their three-game winning streak.
"Some negative things happened at the right time,"
quarterback Matthew Stafford said, via the Associated Press.
"Whether it was a turnover, a sack, or an ineffective play on first down—we hurt ourselves around the 30-yard line. That was the difference in the game."
After two early three-and-outs and an interception, the Rams drove the ball into Dolphins territory, but were limited to six field goal attempts (five successful) over their final seven drives.
Drives stalled due to a few bad sacks by Stafford, the offensive unit never seemed in sync, and the run game was only effective briefly in the third quarter. The problem becomes apparent in the red zone and on critical downs. LA was 0-3 in the red zone and 3-12 on third downs. Failure to sustain drives and not being able to finish together spells bad results for the team.
"There was no kind of complete football game," coach Sean McVay said. "I was pleased with the play of the defensive unit. They created a lot of negative plays, got turnovers, and gave the offense a small field. However, in the end we were unable to capitalize on those opportunities."
It was the first game since Week 9 of 2023 in which the Rams failed to score a touchdown (a 20–3 loss against Green Bay, quarterbacked by Brett Rypien). Monday's game was Stafford's second game for the Rams in which the team did not score a touchdown (the first: Week 4 of 2022, against San Francisco).
The offensive line failed to protect Stafford despite the return of Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson. Stafford is pressured 30.6% of his dropbacks, his season average. He had three sacks (four total) in the first half. The Rams haven't seen a touchdown since the line up's defenses have increased. They became the only team in the Super Bowl era to attempt a field goal on their last six drives in a game in which they trailed by more than three points on each, Opta Stats said.
"There were some issues early on, but the defense got better as the game went on, which helped us sustain some drives," McVay said. "Still, we couldn't finish in the red zone. It felt like there were too many defensive bodies on some early third downs."
The loss dropped the Rams to 4-5. They are third in the NFC West and 10th in the conference. LA will try to bounce back in Week 11 against the New England Patriots
