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The Los Angeles Rams had a solid year in 2023. Led by veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, the team made it to the NFC playoffs with a 10 win season. The Rams fell in the NFC Wild Card round to the Detroit Lions, 24-23 in a very close game. Looking ahead to the Rams' 2024 offseason, it's important to note where the team needs the most help if they want to head back to the Super Bowl.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE
The Rams need some help on defense, particularly in the secondary, to go back to the Super Bowl. The Rams got exposed on defense against the Lions in the NFC Wild Card game. The Rams secondary gave up 277 passing yards and a touchdown to Jared Goff in the game, which may not seem that serious. Goff however completed 22 of his 27 passes in the game, and the Rams defense made it look too easy for him at times, struggling to cover and then tackle the Lions' receivers.
In the 2023 season, the youthful Rams defense gave up 4,195 passing yards, which was more than most teams in the league. The Rams also gave up 24 passing touchdowns on the season, which was more than all but 9 teams in the league. The secondary also struggled to come up with interceptions. The defense got 10 picks as a unit, lower than almost everyone else in the league. Only eight other franchises got fewer interceptions in the NFL during the 2023 season than the Rams.
The struggles in the defensive passing game hurt the team on more than one occasion in 2023. In a 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made an embarrassment of the Rams defense. Prescott threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns on 25-for-31 passing against Los Angeles. The Rams gave up 30 or more points to three teams that made the playoffs: Dallas, San Francisco and Baltimore. The Rams ended up losing all three of those contests, and two of those teams are in the conference championship games.
Before the team can shore up its secondary, the Rams need to find a defensive coordinator. The team just lost defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to the Atlanta Falcons. Morris is the new head coach for the Falcons, and got that job partly because of how well he did coaching the Rams defense to a Super Bowl in 2021. The Rams are speaking to several candidates to replace Morris, including current defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, per The Athletic. The team is also looking at several external candidates for the position. The Rams' next defensive coordinator will clearly play a key role in how well the team is able to rebuild their secondary.
STAFFORD WINDOW CLOSING
While the Rams defense is young and inconsistent at times, the offense has shown it's awfully good. It is led by a Super Bowl winning quarterback in Matthew Stafford, who put up outstanding numbers in 2023. Stafford finished the season with 3,965 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He led the team to a Super Bowl championship in 2021, and his window to win another one is closing. Stafford is now 35 years old and nearing the end of his long NFL career. The Rams have a lot of offensive weapons around him, including running back Kyren Williams and outstanding wide receiver Puka Nacua. Nacua finished the 2023 season with NFL rookie records for receptions and receiving yards, respectively. He's a finalist for the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Rams have the talent on offense, they just need the help on defense to get back to the glory of a few years ago.
