Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks: Panic check shows things are looking bright

Since Sean McVay began his NFL head coaching career with the Los Angeles Rams, there has been two phases:

Before the Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Football classic... and after.

Maybe it was that everyone was watching QB Jared Goff and company hang 54 points on the Chiefs (while also giving up 51). Once the Rams went to play the Detroit Lions, defenses changed tactics and suddenly, without a big announcement, Goff became an average QB that should be better. And because of his new contract, there’s been a little panic.

In the 12 games since that game, including playoffs, Goff has 3,107 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a not-so-sparkling 77.1 passer rating — aka: the new phase of the offense.

So, going into this game, there was also some panic that the the O line was broken and Gurley was just a decoy.

Those three issues were proved moot last night. The offensive line wasn’t perfect, but Goff wasn’t sacked and the run-game was a tangible part of the offense. And then the Rams lost, 29.30 and it still feels like we’re in good shape.

And that’s because there is an aspect to this game more encouraging: the tight ends, Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, becoming major factors in the offense.

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Everett was clearly robbed of a touchdown catch on Thursday night, but his seven catches for 136 yards were still eye-catching even without the TD. Higbee’s three catches off the bench were also nice to see — it showed a glimpse of the Rams’ offense going forward.

Everett is the natural fourth option with the pass catchers. Once he becomes a target that defenses have to scheme for, the rest of the offense will thrive.

If there was panic about the Rams’ offense from last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was obviously misguided.