The Los Angeles Rams are not playing like champions right now. They actually haven't played like champions in the past four games, all of which ended up as losses. Their most recent defeat was at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, 27-20, on the road in Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season. Now at 3-7, the Rams are dead last in the NFC West. Here are the four Rams most to blame for their Week 11 loss vs. the Saints.
The Rams have made things difficult for themselves and their fans pretty much every week in the 2022-23 season. Following a fourth straight loss this week, it's becoming inevitably clear that this is a lost season for the defending champs. They just keep on slipping and sliding, and not in a fun way. Should they pull the plug? Well, if we're being completely honest, then yes, but of course, they still have, technically speaking, seven games to play.
Having said that, the Rams have practically slipped out of any Super Bowl relevance or even championship awareness. Would it be fair to say that this edition of the Rams will be counted among the worst defending champions in recent memory? Sadly, we think so.
Let us look at the four Rams most to blame for their Week 11 loss vs. the Saints.
Final. pic.twitter.com/phd2rQ0CLU
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 20, 2022
4. LT Bobby Evans
Rams offensive line tackle Bobby Evans was already pretty abysmal during the 2022 preseason, which is why fans wondered why the team ever kept him on the final roster. Now, whatever turnaround or payoff the team had hoped to see has pretty much gone up in smoke.
In fact, the only reason Evans is currently playing is that the Rams just have no choice. This is after they lost Alaric Jackson, David Edwards, Chandler Brewer, and Ty Nsekhe all in the same week.
The truth is Evans just cannot hold up at any o-line position for this team. To illustrate, he was called for holding late in the first half, and he was just flat-out poor in terms of edge blocking. He gave up a sack in the fourth quarter and consistently gave up pressure. Consequently, there's no reason Evans should be on this team or signed as a free agent this summer.
3. RB Darrell Henderson
On Sunday, Rams Darrell Henderson Jr. started as running back. He even carried the ball twice on the first drive. However, he never touched the ball again after that.
Henderson was limited to those two carries and just four total snaps. That allowed Cam Akers and Kyry Williams to take over. It was a strange move from head coach Sean McVay, considering Henderson started and gained 9 yards on two plays with no injuries recorded.
Overall, this has not been a very good season for Henderson. He has gone over 50 rushing yards just once and has not been the difference-maker that the Rams had hoped he would be.
2. Rams Secondary
Even against someone whom many consider a backup QB, the Rams struggled big time. Saints QB Andy Dalton looked like a star against Los Angeles in this game. He finished the day 21-of-26 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Although they played well against the run, the Rams' defense struggled against the pass on Sunday.
One guy we should talk about is safety Taylor Rapp. He made one good play in the first half, breaking up a pass in the end zone and preventing a score. However, that was one of the few things he did well. Remember that Jarvis Landry beat him for a score on a fast slant, and a few plays earlier, he took a bad angle on a screen ball to Alvin Kamara. The worst was when he and Jalen Ramsey were burned over the top for a 53-yard score by Chris Olave.
Speaking of Ramsey, he allowed two touchdowns on Sunday. The first was an 8-yard throw from Dalton to Juwan Johnson. Ramsey begged the referee to flag Johnson for pushing off, but it wasn't enough for a penalty. Later in the game, Olave beat Ramsey deep for a 53-yard touchdown. This Rams secondary surely has seen better days.
1. QB Matthew Stafford
Rams QB Matthew Stafford was actually performing admirably before departing the game, as demonstrated by his 126.8 passer rating. It was, in fact, his highest grade of the season.
Take note that Stafford already missed last week's game against the Cardinals because of a concussion, and he departed Sunday's defeat with another injury. We think it's high time for McVay to shut him down for the remainder of the season.
The truth is despite this performance, the Rams just cannot maximize Stafford's skill set at this juncture. Even if he were at 100 percent, they'd be in trouble — more so now that he's definitely not at full strength. One of the biggest reasons is that the Rams have placed their quarterback behind the weakest offensive line in the league. As such, there's no need to continue putting him at risk in meaningless games during a bad season. The bitter reality is that the champs have nothing to play for at 3-7, especially as they face Kansas City next week.
With the Rams' offensive line rapidly disintegrating and star WR Cooper Kupp unlikely to play again this season, the decision regarding Stafford is pretty straightforward. Shut him down already. The Rams should shelf this season. They should treat every game as a glorified audition for next year, and preserve whatever talent they still possess.
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