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One of the biggest surprises of Week 4 was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blowing out the Los Angeles Rams 55-40 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Nonetheless, the Rams will need to quickly forget about Sunday's game and prepare for a game on Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks.
On Sunday, the Rams offense continued their early-game offensive woes for the fourth-straight game of the season. Sean McVay refused to hand the ball off and Los Angeles found themselves down 21-0 in the blink of an eye.
Due to two interceptions by Jared Goff in the second quarter, the Rams were in comeback mode for the rest of the game. At the same time, the Rams' defense that looked formidable in the first three games of the season looked abysmal against the Bucs.
Throughout the game, Wade Phillips was unable to dial up anything on defense that could make Jameis Winston uncomfortable in the pocket. Winston had ample time to deliver to his pass-catchers for 385 yards and four touchdowns on the day.
After a loss like the one they had on Sunday, all the Rams can do is go back to the drawing board and iron out the kinks that have been the basis of their struggles this season. With that being said, here are three adjustments that the Rams need to make against the Seahawks in Week 5.
3. Scheme More Blitzes
The Rams' defense didn't perform up to par against Tampa Bay and the main reason was their lack of a pass rush. After having just eight sacks in the first three games, Los Angeles was only to bring Winston to the ground just twice on Sunday.
To the people who don't watch the games, some may believe that Aaron Donald isn't doing enough for the defense. Contrary to belief, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is doing his best with how he is being defended.
In the first four games of the season, Donald has been double-teamed 82 times this season (most in NFL). When he is grabbing the attention of two offensive linemen, you would think that the other pass rushers are successful getting to the quarterback.
Sadly, the team has only been able to get nine sacks while Donald has gotten one himself. To combat their lack of pressure, Phillips may have to draw up more blitzes with different defenders to accumulate more pressure.
2. Protect Goff
Coming into the season, one of the biggest question marks for the Rams was their new-look offensive line. Earlier in the offseason, the team let Rodger Saffold walk in free agency and they didn't re-sign John Sullivan.
Throughout training camp, McVay and the offense exuded confidence in Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen at left guard and center. Unfortunately, none of the members of the offensive line have been playing up to standards yet this season.
In the first four games of the season, Goff has only been sacked eight times. At the same time, the offensive line has surrendered 25 hits on the quarterback (10th most in the NFL).
Yes, Goff has to clean up some of his mental errors, but the offensive line has to perform better moving forward. The Rams could decide to utilize more two tight-end sets to bring more blockers onto the field. Regardless of how they do it, the Rams need to give Goff more time to go through his reads.
1. Utilize the Running Game
Since McVay became the head coach in 2017, the Rams offense has been predicated on play-action passes. But to have play-action passes be more effective, you have to be able to run the ball with some success.
As true as they might be, it's even tougher to run play action when you refuse to hand the ball off to your running back. Let alone your All-Pro running back at that. There have been concerns with Todd Gurley since last season but he doesn't appear to be a lesser version of himself this season.
Furthermore, Gurley's struggles seem to be coming from the lack of touches that he's been given. In Week 4, Gurley carried it just five times for 16 yards and two touchdowns.
Along with Gurley, Malcolm Brown only had five rushing attempts for 14 yards versus the Buccaneers. On Thursday against the Seahawks, McVay needs to pound the rock early and often with his running back duo to establish the rushing attack.
