The Los Angeles Rams had a lot of momentum coming into Monday Night Football in Week 10, but they fell flat on their face in an ugly 23-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
In the loss, the Rams' offense struggled all night and failed to find the end zone even one time after a few games of looking very explosive with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp back in the lineup. Sean McVay and company turned the ball over twice and converted just three out of 12 third downs in what was a very frustrating performance.
After the game, McVay took a moment to evaluate how quarterback Matthew Stafford played in the loss.
“I thought he did a good job with the circumstances,” McVay said. “I thought [he] kept the ball in play. There were some times where you want to be able to have a chance to let some things develop based on what the intent of the play was and we weren't able to do that because he had to get the ball out of his hand.”
Stafford racked up plenty of yards on Monday night, but couldn't turn those yards into points, For the game, he finished 32-for-46 with 293 yards and an interception.
Rams still pushing for NFC playoff spot after loss to Dolphins
Despite a very disappointing loss on Monday night, the Rams are absolutely still a factor in the NFC playoff picture. This loss drops them to just 4-5 on the season, but a majority of those losses came with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp on the sideline due to injuries, along with most of the starting offensive line.
As it stands, the Rams are two games behind the Green Bay Packers for the NFC's final wild card spot, and they are just a game and a half behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West. There's no question that they have the talent level to compete with some of these teams in the NFC, but their margin for error is shrinking with every loss.
The Rams' schedule is a bit up and down the rest of the way as well. They have games against the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots in the next three weeks, both of which are likely must-wins. They also have a very winnable game against the New York Jets in late December.
Outside of that, the Rams plays each of their division rivals one more time, and they also have marquee dates with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills. McVay and company will have to punch above their weight in at least one of those games, as they likely need to get to 10 wins to make the playoffs. That would require a 6-2 finish down the stretch.
The Rams have also found a serviceable defense that played pretty well on Monday night, but the offense has to be the group that carries them. If it does, this could be the team that comes out of the crowded NFC West after all.
Follow Us
Subscribe
